Former Kilkenny star DJ Carey has shared an anecdote which goes to show just how humble and down to earth Galway hurling talisman Joe Canning is.
Canning shared an insight into his character after the All-Ireland hurling quarter-final win over Clare when he spoke to Newstalk's Oisin Langan, putting hurling and criticism into perspective when it comes to real life.
He had said: "There's more important things in life. With Fitzy [Davy Fitzgerald] getting sick during the week it was great to see him on the sideline. We wish him every success in his recovery.
"I went through it last year with Mam and I'm going through it at the moment with Dad. You have more important things in life than sport. Comments that are made about certain individuals when they play an amateur sport and it's a hobby, it does hurt.
"When you go out there on the field you try and express yourself to the best of your ability. But there's way important things in life than hurling."
You can listen to Canning's full chat with Oisin on the Monday Rewind podcast:
Carey joined Off The Ball tonight to react to the weekend's hurling results but began by discussing the Galway forward.
"I know Joe and that's genuinely who he is. We were on a selecting committee a few years ago for a team of 15 years and Joe opted out of his name being on the team because he felt he hadn't won an All-Ireland and other fellas [had]. I was trying to argue against him. That's the type of guy he is," he said.
You can listen to DJ and Shane Dowling's analysis of Sunday's quarter-finals right here:
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