A Saint marching on: Tales and truths from the colonel of the hurling Cobbes

While hurling's map can be creased by the decades, Vivian Cobbe traces the winding roads and almost-forgotten terrain with unerring clarity. When it comes to the current Limerick vintage he has an unsurprising favourite — fellow St. Patrick's clubman Gearóid Hegarty 

HURLING MAN: Vivian Cobbe's lifelong devotion to the game began when he moved from Laois to Limerick in 1942. Pic: Brian Arthur

Sinéad Cobbe is a physio with a useful surname.

She laughs at the good of it: “The beauty of anything unusual, I guess. I could be anywhere. Maybe doing a home visit with a farmer out in County Tipperary, someone who might be in a fair bit of pain and in serious need of the therapy. But the minute he’d see my name badge, he’d be off: ‘Are you one of the hurling Cobbes?’