Kilkenny fight with the humility of their modest old heroes

For years I spent so long trying to take down Kilkenny lads that I am now spending so much time alongside in TV studios, writes Anthony Daly.

Early start yesterday morning. Kilmacud Crokes played the first round of the Dublin League against Craobh Ciaran. The match was played at 10.15am. Even when I played soccer with Turnpike Rovers, we never started that early. Welcome back to Dublin, not with a bang, but with a big, loud bong, an alarm clock hopping off the bedside locker at an ungodly hour.

I headed from the match to the RTÉ studios in Montrose because I was working for Sunday Sport last night with Henry Shefflin. After shooting the breeze together for a while, we watched the Clare-Wexford game live, before studying Kilkenny-Tipperary and then having a glance at Cork-Waterford.