Once a big brother, always a big brother, and Donal was made for it, a natural. On a couple of occasions, when I was under pressure in another row, he’d suddenly and violently appear, looking after baby brother. You see, from the time eight years ago when he was diagnosed with throat cancer, Donal wasn’t for dying. ‘Larger than life’ is an expression often used to describe people like Donal, but of course nobody is. Donal’s work is done, that towering intellect, that great strength, that indomitable will, is no more – a free spirit, that spirit freed.

Source: Irish Examiner December 23, 2025 16:01 UTC