Cillian Brennan: ‘There were some comments I came across on Twitter this week, it is disappointing to see it’

That scarring by social media is something intercounty players increasingly dealing with. Brennan works as an Assistant Professor in PE at DCU. His worlds collide online. He is still learning how to deal with that.

Cillian Brennan of Clare. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Let’s talk about the fashionable cliché in Gaelic football: learnings. They are referenced endlessly; they are a constant takeaway and they are necessary. For Cillian Brennan, they all led to Sunday.

For years an idea existed in his mind that is finally made flesh. He is the captain of Clare’s senior footballers, preparing for a Munster final in their home of Cusack Park. Brennan is steeped in this. His father Martin spent years involved with county minor teams. His brothers Shane and Gary both represented Clare previously. There Cillian found a template. His schooling began on the road with his father supporting his siblings.