Declan McBennett: Nudie Hughes was our Páidí, our JBM, our Jimmy Keaveney

He thrilled us, he gave us hope, he went toe to toe with the big dogs, and he delivered on the big stage. For a teenage fan in Clones at the Ulster final, watching the mesmeric Nudie Hughes as creator and executioner was a life-lasting thrill.

Monaghan's Eugene Hughes. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho

FOR those of us over 50, 1979 will forever be the year of the Pope’s visit. Ireland was catholic Ireland and everything was bedecked in yellow and white. 

Helicopters, huge crowds, totus tua and of course the immortal words of John Paul “Young People of Ireland, I love you.“