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.”
https://vine.co/v/emAz2Jw0VJa
A lot harder to win an all Ireland coming from Derry though pat
Spot on there. I actually thought Spillane was excellent on rural Ireland though. He just had to spoil it by banging on about his medals..
I wonder how many Pat would have won if he was from Derry? Would it have even bee one? What an idiot
Ron, Spillane does like to remind us of his success too often, but there’s no denying his ability as a player. Although he had a great team around him, that shouldn’t take away from his praises, as he would’ve improved any team if he was added to them. He has a big mouth, but a big reputation to go with it too.
He lost me at the bit where he named George Hook as evidence for the very high standards of sports analyst employed by RTE….
Blowing his own trumpet, as usual.
This is pure arrogance from Spillane; winning lots of Celtic crosses doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll always call a game correctly. If it did, Jack O’ Shea would have been a huge success as a manager and Jim McGuinness would have won nothing with Donegal. In a lot of sports, great players rarely make great managers. Essentially, he’s saying practically no-one from outside the Kingdom should have an opinion on the game.
Mind you, he tied himself up in knots trying to justify Kerry’s defensive tactics in last year’s All-Ireland final, when he had lambasted others for the same thing in the past, so he has form.
McGuinness won an all Ireland as a player…
Everybody calm down. It was only a bit of banter… Plus it’s after having the desired affect… No such thing as bad publicity…. But seriously it’s only a bit of banter between two lads who genuinely seem to have great respect for each other… #pcgonenuts
Don’t think the number of all Irelands someone has won comes under the pc umbrella.
He was an unused sub in the final Nevan, and he certainly didn’t win eight All-Irelands. My point is that he has the same right to give his views as Spillane, Ogie Moran or whoever else from down in the kingdom.
Both are footballing pundits and the problem lies in football been shite! The game needs a drastic overhaul
Shane totally agree.but you can’t say that here you’ll get red thumbs galore
Had to be said :)
I think its all well and good for pundits like Spillane and Brolly to go on crusades or try to be entertaining on the sunday game but I wish they would realise that its predominantly amateur athletes and coaches who give huge huge sacrifices to put teams on the pitch each week that they are criticising to an audience of hundreds of thousands. Some of the criticism is over the top and unnecessary in my view.
Spillane’s coarse language was a disgrace and his interview was comedy nonsense.
“The ultimate thing in life is to get paid for your hobby”unfortunately if you play GAA it will never be possible
I agree completely. I was left wondering what was the point of it. It was one of the worst interviews in late late show history. An obnoxious opinionated kerryman.
The most of ye lads wouldn’t last a half hour on the Sunday game judging by the comments ye have posted Grow up lads it was a light hearted interview, I don’t recall Spillane boasting about his eight all Ireland’s and the many other successes he’s had. Try marking him for half an hour in his playing days and I think your comments would be much different.
Read between the lines Henry son.
He’s a bad advertisement for Kerry. Full of his own self importance.
Football is hard enough to watch but the sight of Spillane or brolly on the tele has me reaching for the remote. No interest in pundits who try to make the conversation all about themselves and their massive egos like these two idiots.
I like pat abs brolly even though I find myself disagreeing with them…same as Dunphy, Giles, Hook and co..go watch boring boring Rednapp, Henry and Yorke if that’s your thing
Loves the smell of his own farts
Who doesnt?
He is & all ways be a narcissistic windbag.. what kind of encouragement is that for a kid kicking football in weaker county’s. Basically the retired headmaster is saying ain’t regarding anyone without 2 plus senior All- irelands.
” joe is a barrister , you have to remember that “, now “pat is a Company man, from Kerry” and we also have to remember that . Brolly frightens Spillane, he is so afraid himself to upset the powers to be, his love of the game only surpassed by his devotion to the €, and anyone who might rock the boat and stop pats handy few bob is to be avoided. Brolly
Cos everyone gives a shite what Pat says
It was a pub talk interview and his opinions were never challenged. Why was he on? Was it to announce his daughter was leaving home or advertise the Sunday game?