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Pat Spillane talks Joe Brolly: '1 All-Ireland medal Joe. No one gives a shite'

Spillane gave a great interview to Ryan Tubridy on last night’s Late Late show.

PAT SPILLANE APPEARED on the Late Late Show last night ahead of the The Sunday Game returning to our screens on 17 May.

He talked to Ryan Tubridy about a number topics, ranging from his daughter’s emigration to Dubai to Tv3′s documentary on Arranmore fisherman Neilie Kavanagh. After a passionate discussion about rural Ireland, the topic changed to one of his other great passions – GAA.

The ultimate thing in life is to get paid for your hobby, to be a soccer player or a singer. The next best thing in life is to get paid for talking about your hobby or writing about you hobby. And I write with the Sunday World, and I’ve written every Sunday since October 1991.”

Tubridy then asked him about The Sunday Game, which Spillane has now been involved with for over two decades.

The Sunday Game is an institution, it’s a brilliant brilliant programme. This year we have arguably the greatest hurler of all time. Henry Shefflin has joined us.  I think while RTÉ comes in for a lot of criticism, it’s sports coverage is unrivalled. I don’t mind saying, it’s down to the analysts. Whether it’s racing with Ted Walsh or George Hook.”

This was of course a great lead in to a question about his relationship with Joe Brolly, and Spillane didn’t pass up the opportunity to discuss the things that annoy him about Brolly.

“One of the successes of The Sunday Game is the analysts. Fellas that have been there and done that. They’ve delivered on the playing field, or off the field as a manager. They’re opinionated, stubborn, full of egos and they’re unpredictable. But Joe is a barrister and it’s very important to realize that.

If I said to Joe ‘up’, Joe has to automatically say ‘down’. If I said to Joe now ‘that’s Ryan Tubridy’, Joe would say ‘no it’s Brendan ‘O Connor’.”

He did have some nice things to say about Brolly, saying he was a marvellous and remarkable man. In particular, he highlighted the fact that Brolly had donated his kidney to a man he didn’t really know well. But it wasn’t long before he was back having a dig at his fellow pundit.

“He is a remarkable man but he would drive you bananas, absolutely bananas. One week he could be on a crusade about something and you would argue against him. The following week his crusade would be the exact opposite. He’s had more conversions on the road to Damascus than St.Paul. Sometimes I just annoy him. Just before he starts going, I’d whisper to him ‘one All-Ireland medal Joe. No-one gives a shite’.

And that bothers Joe. If there was an argument about football in a pub in Kerry and a fella with one all-Ireland medal tried to get involved, they wouldn’t even listen to him. There would be lads with three or four in there.”
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