Pat Spillane has explained his emotional moment on the final day of his legendary Sunday Game career in a fascinating interview with Ryan Tubridy on RTE's The Late Late Show.
Spillane was a bundle of energy as always and was extremely engaging in this wide-ranging and enthralling chat. The 66-year-old touched on a number of topics including his relationship with his mother, secrets to a healthy marriage and professed his love for his wife, saying he loves her even more now than when they first met.
The eight time All Ireland winner elaborated on why he got so emotional on the day of the All Ireland final, with factors such as it being his final Sunday Game appearance and Kerry lifting the Sam Maguire Cup contributing to his emotional state. However, it was the absence of his late father and all he had missed that really hit home for Spillane that day.
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"The big thing was, is that Kerry v Galway All Ireland final is something that was always in me," began Spillane.
"In 1964, Kerry played Galway and my father was a selector."
"They stayed in the Gresham Hotel and they went for a walk on the Saturday night and my father got a bad pain in the chest."
"Like all Irishmen, he wasn't going to the doctor. He had to be in the dugout the following day."
"On the Monday night when they went back to his car after coming down from Dublin, he got a bad pain in the chest again and leaned against the wall."
"And on the Tuesday night he died."
Spillane was just eight years old when his father Tom died and was too young to properly grieve. The legendary pundit went on to become one of the greatest players of all time and along with his fellow family members kickstarted the Spillane dynasty.
But his father never got to witness any of that, and with nephews Killian and Adrian winning their first Celtic Crosses, this fact hit Spillane like a train.
"Why did I get so emotional? Because it was a huge significance. And what was huge was that my father never saw his sons play, and the three of us won 19 All Ireland medals, and now he had two of his grandsons winning two more and that's 21 medals."
"And you start to say, wouldn't it have been lovely if he was alive to see it."
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