In the name of the father

PAUL MCSHANE will captain the Irish team against Italy in Liege tonight, making it a doubly emotional couple of days for the Wicklow boy.

On Sunday, McShane was one of 13 squad members who took part in a golf tournament at Druid’s Glen named in honour of his father Sean, a former inter-county hurler for Dublin, who passed away last March aged 65. The event was also a charity fundraiser in aid of the autism centre at St Joseph’s school in Newtownmountkennedy.

Said McShane: “My dad was a major influence in my life and since I was very young, he went to every game and he was always there for me. And hopefully he will there looking down on me when I lead the team out against Italy. I am sure he would have been very proud.”