NOVENA… Joe Brolly
CONTROVERSIAL TV sports pundit and barrister, Joe Brolly kickstarts this year’s Novena of Hope at the Graan (28th February – 9th March), and he is looking forward to the challenge.
So, how did the invite come about?
“I liked the way Fr D’Arcy spoke at the funeral of Eamon Coleman (one time Derry manager), and when he asked me to do this, I was happy to return the favour.”
As to his ‘religious’ credentials for the task, he described himself as ‘not a particularly religious person’, but he had always liked the New Testament, and ‘that whole idea of love of your fellow man’.
“No, I have never been to the Graan, and it’s my first Novena to speak at. Fr Brian told me I would need to be there one and half hour before it starts, so it sounds like an Ulster Championship match in Clones.”
A native of Dungiven, Joe lives on Belfast’s Ravenhill Road with his wife, Emma and their five children.
An accomplished speaker, be it in RTE’s Croke Park studio or public engagements, he is in constant demand, with a rakish sense of humour. For instance, when asked his age, he said 45 and quipped, ‘very young to be a national sex symbol’.
On Friday night last, he spoke at a meeting of the Institute of Structural Engineers, on Saturday night, at a GAA event and on Monday morning he was cross-examining at Belfast Crown Court.
“I like to be stimulated”, he explained, before admitting that he can make do with just two hours’ sleep at night.
“That’s been the way since I was a child. I may go for a walk or for a spin in the car but, usually, I use up my waking time by reading newspapers, writing articles or preparing my cross-examination.
“You do feel it at times when you hit the wall and then I would sleep for a while, say every 5/6 weeks when I would get a proper night’s sleep. But, I am relaxed with it. I accept it now.”
It’s a side of him few people would be aware of, in the same way as people’s attitudes towards him changed when he donated a kidney.
Asked about the state of his health now (‘very good’) and to recall why he donated a kidney, he was candid in the extreme.
“It took me a few years to recover, but I would do it again if I could. It was very interesting personally and one that unleashed very powerful issues.
“It was the fact that, while I was in hospital, I saw people who had transplants who had been extremely ill and within days: it’s the closest thing to a miracle you could find, people on the verge of death suddenly becoming alive, like Lazarus.”
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere