My friend and room-mate, Moss Keane

I OFTEN wondered what those people working in the high-rise office block behind the Shelbourne Hotel thought of it all.

For a few of us it became a bit of a ritual when big Mossie would open the bedroom window every Friday morning before a home international and let out such a primal roar at those positioned behind their desks that his ranting could possibly be heard at home in Kerry. It was a few years later that I appreciated that was his way of easing the tension and distracting the younger players on the eve of the big occasion.

Moss Keane – mad, mischievous, marauding, magnificent. His passing early yesterday morning after a typically-brave fight with illness will be felt by so many people from home and abroad. The word legend and phrases such as “larger than life” are often used when describing the passing of famous figures in Irish society. In Moss Keane’s case, they don’t even come close.