Kieran Donaghy spoke to Joe Molloy on Off The Ball this evening to discuss his new autobiography What Do You Think Of That?
Donaghy revealed that he has received a positive reaction to the book, in which he addresses themes including his fragmented relationship with his father and how his mother played the role of 'quiet hero' in his upbringing.
The former Kerry forward also confronts a very personal matter in the book, and explained exactly why he chose to reveal so much during the interview.
"Picture yourself going home to the missus," he begins, "and you're having a nice relaxing evening and you get a phone call and you take it. Then you hang up the phone and wonder 'what's that about?'. I knew it was something I had to address straight away with Hillary (his wife) and our close family and friends. I didn't make a big deal out of it publicly because I felt it didn't deserved that."
He adds:
"The reason I put it in was because I had to and I felt we had to as a family. Part of me was addressing it for the next guy it happens to, or the next girl it happens to, or something like that. Where something goes out about you that is so far off the point, it's scary. It was a tough thing for me to deal with as well, because I'm a real people person and I was going around the place looking at people and thinking: 'have they heard something, or do they think I'm a so and so?'
"I really just dealt with it the best way I could and I stuck close to my family. I felt that once they knew the story, they knew it was complete rubbish. It was mentally tough to deal with. I felt I just had to put it in there because, for the people who have heard it and the people who are gonna read this book, I want them to know the truth."
Later on in the discussion, Donaghy also discussed an interesting pre-game custom he shared with Colm Cooper, which illustrates the respect he has for his inter-county colleague.
He points to Kerry's All-Ireland Quarter-Final win over Armagh in 2006 as the starting point of this interesting ritual.
"This game against Armagh was daunting to say the least. They were so good, and an unbelievable team in the noughties. They had a mean defence, and I'm after causing wreck against Longford, which is all well and good when you're in Killarney and you're at home and you've the home crowd behind you. But now I'm going into the lion's den, and I remember walking out behind him and thinking 'Jesus this fella is next to me. I don't have to do much, just win a few balls and lay it off to the boys around me.'
"We never talked about it, and if he hasn't read the book yet, this will probably be the first he'll hear about it! But going into every game, I don't get up off the seat until he goes before me. And whether you call it a piseog or just that sense of 'we're playing for Kerry and we have to have a chance to win,' as long as you have this fella, there is this chance."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
