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Kieran Donaghy on The Late Late Show.
SURE he’s an ‘oul pro at this craic by now!
Kieran Donaghy made another appearance last night on The Late Late Show and was his usual charming self in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers.
The 35-year-old Rockie announced his retirement from the Kerry team last week and he discussed this and much more with host Ryan Tubridy, while wife Hilary and sister Sarah looked on in the audience.
First of all he explained the reason he wrote a poem to announce his retirement.
He said poetry ran in the family and it was a way of expressing something passionate, which was apt in this case because he wanted to express his gratitude to the people of Kerry for getting the chance to represent his county for the past 14 years.
Continued below…
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Ryan asked him to read a few verses of it and Kieran said rather apprehensively “you’re asking a person with dyslexia to read live on TV so this could go any way!” before reciting it with aplomb.
.@starryboy14 reciting the poem that announced the end of his inter-county career with Kerry #latelate pic.twitter.com/IsBTbJw2FP
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) September 21, 2018
He spoke about his brother Conor’s wedding in Spain next Friday and his predicament of flying back on Saturday morning for Austin Stacks championship game in Tralee against Dingle. He’ll then fly back on Sunday for the rest of his family holiday.
He said Conor isn’t expecting much from Kieran’s best man’s speech as he’ll have to do it without having a drink!
Kieran also spoke of the women in his life; mother Deirdre, wife Hilary and daughters Lola Rose and Indie. He said he was, in a way, raised by women and his mother did so much for him and his siblings.
Irish men and their Mammies! Kieran Donaghy @starryboy14 talking about the huge contribution his mother made to his success. We are live on the #latelate pic.twitter.com/WL0OnoY8Ss
— RTE One (@RTEOne) September 21, 2018
“I got a lot of my people skills from watching her and how she interacted with other people. She always had a big thing when we were young that ‘it was nice to be nice’. That’s something that stuck with us from the start,” he said.
He said Deirdre did not have an easy time of it with him.
“No, it wasn’t easy. I struggled in school — messing, standing out in the hall, kicked out of class. A lot of that stuff going on and not a lot of As coming through the door.”
However, Kieran said with his brother and sister doing so well she can now sit down at nighttime and be happy that she did a great job with the three of them.
Kieran also spoke about how “unbelievable” his wife Hilary is as a mother and friend. Hilary said his retirement is just a new chapter in their lives and one thing she won’t miss is hearing the abuse he got from the stands.
He spoke of his love for his daughters and how he had been looking forward to becoming a dad and being there for them when they needed him.
As for his future, he might combine a bit of punditry and coaching. He said in the long term he’d like manage Stacks and later Kerry, but he has a lot of work to do before then.
All through the interview he was his relaxed and charming self. The future looks bright for our ‘Star’. See the full interview here…
Kieran Donaghy talks all things family, football and a little bit of basketball on the Late Late Show. https://t.co/eNvg00zv1m
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) September 21, 2018
