We've already seen how the likes of Chris O'Dowd and Shane Long went downhill after their inter-county careers came to an end. Now we're back for another round of famous names who played GAA at minor level before their hearts and minds were captured by other pursuits.
The list has a literary tinge in patches this week...
1. Brendan Kennelly
The poet was a wing back on the Kerry minor team that reached the All-Ireland minor final in 1954, only to fall to the Dubs. According to the magnificent Terrace Talk website, he made one senior appearance for Kerry against Waterford in the League in 1957.
2. Aengus Fanning
The charismatic newspaper boss, jazz lover and cricket aficionado played his club football for Austin Stacks and lined up at midfield for Kerry in the 1960 minor championship.
3. Jim Stynes
Practically royalty in Melbourne at the time of his death in 2012, Stynes was first spotted by the AFL scouts playing Gaelic football in Dublin. He won a minor title with the Dubs in 1984.
4. Liam Lawlor
If a protester threw a bag of flour from the viewing gallery of the Leinster House chamber onto the seated ranks of TDs below, the chances of at least one former GAA player getting their suit destroyed would be very high indeed.
It transpires that the late Liam Lawlor was a seriously talented underage hurler, not only playing for Dublin but also featuring for the Leinster Railway Cup team.
5. Ciaran Fitzgerald
Following the unending trial that was the 1960s, Galway senior hurling was still in the doldrums in the early 70s, but if one studied the underage scene, it was clear the weather was about to break.
Fitzgerald, who played both hurling and rugby in Garbally college in Balinasloe, played on the Galway minor team that reached the All-Ireland final in 1970 and was part of the 1972 U21 that made the breakthrough and won the All-Ireland.
Three years later, the Galway seniors stunned Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final, kick-starting the modern era of Galway hurling.
6. Martin O'Neill
O'Neill won an Ulster minor title with Derry in 1970, but this achievement ultimately set the scene for major disappointment in the All-Ireland semi-final.
O'Neill missed a penalty and Kerry beat them by two points.
7. Eric Elwood
Not only did Elwood play minor football for Galway, he played senior football as well, playing against Mayo in a drawn championship match in Tuam Stadium in 1989.
8. Geordan Murphy
The most stylish rugby player in Ireland in the early 2000s was another of the army of rugby players who was also player Gaelic football at underage level. Murphy played minor football for Kildare during the county's years of plenty (by Kildare standards) in the late 1990s.
9. Gavin Duffy
Almost as famous for being a Mayo Gaelic footballer as a Connacht and Ireland rugby player, Duffy reached the All-Ireland final with Mayo in 1999. They were beaten by Down. Was invited back to train with the Mayo seniors at the start of last year.
10. Danny O'Reilly
Lead singer of the Coronas and the son of Mary Black, O'Reilly has been somewhat derailed since he played for the Dubs in the 2003 minor championship. But not entirely. He still plays senior football for the North London Shamrocks, winning a county title in 2014.
11. Paul Dunne
Six years before he led the British Open after 54 holes, Dunne was part of the Wicklow minor panel in 2009. Though Mark James would be keen to keep you in the dark about this. Rumour has it, James was about to announce he was a keen underage cricketer for Warwickshire just to rile Irish viewers.
12. Packie Bonner
Bonner played midfield minor, U21 and senior for Donegal during the in the late 1970s. He contended he could catch the ball but do little else. He spoke to us about his days with the Donegal Gaelic footballers.
Listen below:
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/157135516" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
Other rumoured stars who we sadly could not confirm are Patrick Kavanagh, Robbie Henshaw and Brian Cowen.
