Commentator living out a childhood dream in his home town

If you stood on the steps of the main stand at Listowel in the early 1990s you might recall a young boy, no more than eight or nine, looking the wrong way.

You probably presumed he he was throwing a tantrum having been denied a trip to the ice-cream van, or that watching horseracing could not compete with an episode of The Flintstones. But the nipper in question was actually in awe of his idol.

“I used to spend the whole day with my back to the track, gazing up at Dessie [Scahill] and watching everything he was doing. I never watched the races, I watched Dessie. I could not believe that one voice was able to explain everything that was happening and generate such a wonderful atmosphere. I was fascinated. It grabbed me.”