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Published 13:25 23 Aug 2021 BST
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Rob Kearney pictured playing for Cooley Kickhams GAC during the Hollywood Developments Division 1 League match against Newtown Blues at Fr McEvoy Park in Carlingford. (Photo by Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"In Louth, GAA is massive there. It's massive everywhere in Ireland, now, but to have someone like Rob going back to his club, and giving something back, will be huge for the area. "We always give him abuse for not doing anything for anyone in his area! So now he's going back to play Gaelic football. "In fairness, it's something that nearly every rugby player in Ireland - if they had GAA roots - we'd obviously love, if your body would allow, to go back and play with your club. Because your community, and what it means for your club, is massive."O'Brien himself played some club football, for Fighting Cocks, while he was a Leinster player. He lined out for his local side in Junior B action during the summer of 2014. https://twitter.com/FightingCocksIE/status/473587127448788992 Asked if he would be tempted to go back, after he hangs up his rugby boots, and play for the Fighting Cocks again, O'Brien declared:
"Oh yeah, I'd go back. If I can move properly, at that stage [after I retire from rugby]. "I wouldn't be a goalie! I'd be playing full-back... I'd be playing at either end of the pitch. I'm a better Gaelic footballer than a hurler... That's class for the area. It's what everyone aspires to. Everyone that started out as eight or nine-year-olds, many of us in Ireland, started in the GAA and then developed into rugby. It's great to go back and finish off there. He's a class footballer."O'Brien still has some unfinished rugby business with London Irish so he will not be following Kearney into club GAA just yet. When he does, it would be great if both sides could arrange a wee exhibition match. Cooley's Rob Kearmey being man-marked by Seán O'Brien on the Fighting Cocks - a clash we'd all pay to see.
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