Kicking down the barriers together

AS THE familiar figure took his place at the top table behind the microphones, it was almost like deja vu - except of course that, in reality, everything had changed utterly.

Brian Kerr faced the press on Thursday, as he had done on so many occasions in recent years, but this time he was making his first appearance as the ex-Republic of Ireland manager.

The occasion was the launch of the ‘The Brian Kerr Intercontinental League’ - an initiative of that admirable organisation Sport Against Racism in Ireland (SARI) - which sees teams representing 16 ethnic groups currently taking part in a six-week tournament in Dublin.