Pat Spillane has gone into further detail on why he was overcome with emotion in the aftermath of Kerry beating Galway to the All-Ireland title.
While Kerry players were taking turns hoisting Sam Maguire up to a joyous crowd in Croke Park, there was a different mood in the RTE studio as Spillane reflected on the personal loss he endured immediately after another final clash between the two counties.
His father Tom, who was only in his 40s, was a selector with the Kerry team as they headed up to Dublin for the 1964 decider.
He ignored a pain in his chest the day before the game as he was so focused on his duties with the team and subsequently died three days later.
Now while speaking on The Independent's The Throw-In podcast, he tried to articulate why Galway-Kerry fixtures always effect him so much.
He also revealed a lovely touch by his nephew Adrian who along with his brother Killian, came off the bench at half-time to inject some much-needed verve into Kerry's performance.
He said: “I know it was my last day on The Sunday Game but that story about my father …”
“Even Adrian texted me last night and he had written the year 1964 down on his gloves just to remember his grandfather and just to remember the occasion and why it meant so much.
“Kerry Galway matches matter so much to us in the Spillane household. My father was a man in his 40s, passionate about football and was a selector with Kelly in 1964. They were staying in the Gresham Hotel and he went for a walk along O'Connell Street and got a very bad pain in the chest.
“He should have gone to the doctor but said no I want to be in the dugout tomorrow with Kerry and the man died on the Tuesday after returning home from the All-Ireland final the day before.
“So Kerry Galway clashes have always brought back those memories and this was sort of an outpouring of that on Sunday. It was just brilliant to see the two lads and just to see it. Like I said the GAA is all about families and it's just nice to see.
“My father played with Kerry, my uncle captained Kerry in the Polo Grounds in New York. My uncle Jackie trained Kerry to win All-Irelands and played with Kerry to win All-Irelands.
“Then myself, Mick and Tom, and then to have another generation there on Sunday in Killian and Adrian was just something special, something very personal. I can't sum it up any more.”
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