'I'll be forever grateful to those I hurled with and hurled against'

Brian Greene was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer in 2022. In January, the same month as Cork and Waterford played a fundraising game for the Greene family, he entered remission.

Former Déise hurler Brian Greene being presented with signed Cork and Waterford jerseys by managers Pat Ryan and Peter Queally after January's hurling challenge between the counties to raise funds for Brian's battle with cancer and Waterford Hospice. Pic: Tomás McCarthy

It’s gone 1am. Tuesday hasn’t long left the stage. Brian Greene greets Wednesday from the local riverbank. His preference has always been to fish at unorthodox hours.

In the dead of this particular night, he is without company at the end of his rod. No tug on the line to indicate success. No bait touched or taken. A fruitless 1am fish.