My Weekend: I get to indulge my two hobbies... sport and travel

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I still find it hard to believe that I am 63 years old. It doesn’t feel that long ago since I was in primary school. I am married to Anne for 40 years now and we have three children, Donal Óg, Sean and Bríd, one a daughter-in-law, Marion and one grandchild, Lily.

I currently work as General Manager of Farranree Sheltered Housing Association. I have been here since 2019. Before that I spent 35 years with the Examiner and Echo and five years with the Cork County GAA Board. They were 24/7 jobs; my current job allows me more time to plan my leisure.

I have always been involved with the GAA but not so much in recent years. I continue to be involved in voluntary work. I chair a school board and I act on several other school boards. I am also involved with the parish finance committee of the North Cathedral, Blackpool, The Glen and Ballyvolane.

I have Masters Degree and a keen interest in history, especially local history. This proved very useful recently when we undertook the project of renovating the nine bells in the bell tower of the North Cathedral.

I also like to research and write. I contribute to the Holly Bough each year; I write the occasion book review for the Irish Examiner and I act as a “sort of stringer” for Radio na Gaeltachta when they need me to.

We are very fortunate to have a house near Ballyferriter in West Kerry and I try and spend as many weekends as I can back there.

Sport and travel are my two main hobbies. Generally, I try to combine the two. I try to catch an NFL or Baseball game in Boston or a Cricket test in England whenever I can.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

Friday night is my night out. It has been for years. I meet up the with the same friends. We are all very involved with St Nicks and Glen Rovers as well as having an interest in many other sports. On Friday nights we review the week that has passed and predict what will happen in sport over the coming weekend.

Lie ins or up with the lark. which is it for you?

Maybe it is because I had to be an early riser for years, I rarely get up now before 9.00am on a Saturday or Sunday. 

I like to cycle at the weekends. Unfortunately, I was injured while cycling in West Kerry last year and am only slowly settling back into that habit.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

Not anymore, although it could still happen if something major went awry. When I was working with the GAA, most weekends were taken up with work. Now, I’m more or less free to do whatever I want.

If money was no object, where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

My preferred travelling partner is Anne, my wife. Our first preference destination would be to go to West Kerry. Although, since our daughter, Bríd, moved to London, we have developed a fondness for the place and its exhibitions and museums. Anne and Bríd tell me there are shops there too! Also, I wouldn’t consider it to be a hardship, if I had to visit a couple of other European cities each year.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries? 

As I already said, I’m very happy to spend my spare time in the Gorta Dubha, near Ballyferriter. The Beal Bán Strand is only a couple of hundred meters from my house. 

It is almost 2km long and you could walk across it three times in one day and each time the beach would have a different character.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

Friday night is for my friends. These days I spend more of the weekends with my family. When our granddaughter, Lily, is in Cork we go and visit her in Kinsale.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

Sport is my main hobby. I was a senior hurling selector with Glen Rovers last year. After GAA, my four main sports would be cricket, baseball, American Football and Rugby. I have tickets for the Ireland v England, and England v Australia (Ashes) cricket tests this summer. 

I’m still hopeful of winning a ticket in the Wimbledon lottery. It’s been a while since I saw the Red Sox playing baseball, but you’d never know… 

Entertain or be entertained? If it's the latter, do you have a signature dish?

Be entertained preferably. There are half a dozen recipes I can cook from scratch, mostly stir-frys and chillis. I have not inflicted them on anyone outside of the family. The promise of Anne’s Sunday roast brings the family back from all corners of the world. They are the best meals; the ones when we are all together.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

We’re not really evening diners. On a Saturday, I like to hang around the city in places like Nash 19, the Farmgate and the Liberty Grill. I also love the energy of the Marina Market. When the weather is good, it’s a great place sit out, have a bit of lunch and read a book. For family breakfasts or brunch, we like to go to the Barn restaurant on the Middle Glanmire Road.

Sunday night comes around too fast. how do you normally spend it?

Sunday nights from September to February is all about watching American Football on TV. I watch the games with my friends Bill Schwab in Cape Cod, Mike Torresan in California and Tony Wall in Dublin Pike (just out the road). 

Despite the time differences, we have a very busy group chat between 6.00pm and midnight. 

For the rest of the year, I spend Sunday evening wishing it was September again.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

7.55am. That’s the joy of working within three kilometres from home. Occasionally, I stay over in Kerry on a Sunday night, when that happens I set the Alarm for 6.00am.

Anything else you are up to right now… 

I am involved as a researcher and co-ordinator with Crossing the Line Productions in the production of documentaries. The project we are working on at present is a four-part documentary on the history of Gaelic Football. The title will be “Hell for Leather”. This is a massive undertaking that will hopefully be aired next year. The series will be a sister series to “The Game”, the story of hurling that was aired some years ago. I previously worked with Crossing the Line on the “Christy Ring, Man and Ball” Documentary of 2020.