Nuxer is back. Soothing words around the satellite towns of Kildare. Throughout the last decade, they identified in young Buckley the heart of a stoic, an uncomplaining martyr to Lilywhite football, a fine and often excellent performer on days of half-deceiving promise that lit up gloomier reaches of the league, a lone reason for pride on the endless summer days when Kildare seemed to melt.

After the great coming in 1998, after Glenn Ryan had delivered a long and famous oratory from the podium in the since razed Hogan stand, Niall Buckley's place in Kildare became fully apparent.

A leg injury prevented his participation in what became an emotional All-Ireland semi-final win against Paidi O Se's reigning All-Ireland championship side. Afterwards, during a long slow jubilant hour in the cellars of Croke Park, the players reflected on what the day meant.

"We all said we'd dig deep for Nuxer," declared Ryan. "We said we'd do it for him because it would have been terrible if he had to have missed out on an All-Ireland final."

That was the refrain. For Nuxer. Even if it lacked the metre of "this one's for the gipper", it carried the same sentiment. Buckley was one of those unreservedly favoured characters that emerge within counties every so often.

He had been sentry through all the bitter days and his failure to regain full fitness for the All-Ireland final against Galway, the sight of his hampered frame moving on the edge of proceedings, seemed wrong, cruel. If Buckley had been fully fit in that match, who knows . . . Tomorrow will be Niall Buckley's first start for Kildare since the All-Ireland loss of 1998. Injury speared him again for the early, flat championship exit against Offaly a year later and last summer he was, of course, the victim of one of those arcane passages of bureaucracy that find their way through the cobwebs of GAA policy every so often.

"Niall had the bag packed, he was ready to come home," remembers Sarsfields chairman Brendan Ryan. "I was speaking with him just before we got the news and he was really looking forward to the championship. Then this rule came up and he was denied the chance."

Section D of the GAA's Rule 41 section - with the unlikely, groovy heading "Playing in the USA" stipulated that Buckley's intentions to play with Kildare negated his rights to perform with St Brendan's in Chicago, where he had been working for the winter.

Although the Kildare officials pleaded the spirit of the law applied to club games only, it was deemed impossible for Buckley to play. And so he spent his Sunday mornings watching Kildare's slow advance on satellite television.

"It was incredibly hard for him to miss out on it," says Willie McCreery, Buckley's stablemate at midfield under Mick O'Dwyer.

"Especially when you consider what he endured in 1998, having put so much in over the years and then not being able to play was an absolute killer. He has been unfortunate in recent years and his return now is a massive boost for Kildare."

The Sarsfields man has pledged to remain in Ireland for as long as his club and county are still involved in the championship. Although last year's legislation still applies, his passage was effectively cleared by the Chicago club. The reaction to Buckley's return - he flew into Dublin just weeks ago - has been unreservedly positive.

It is possible to imagine that such a reappearance could upset the cohesion within the squad. But while Buckley's availability was always going to put somebody else's place in jeopardy, his reintegration has been smooth.

"The fact is that there are very few counties that could do without a player of real genuine star quality," says Ryan. "I don't think that Kildare can."

McCreery can testify that his old friend's comeback has been seamless. "We have a settled squad here but it is also flexible in that the selectors are constantly looking at fresh players.

"Even those who might impress in recent championship games have been considered. Look at Cormac Davey who didn't feature in the league but starts tomorrow. So Niall's a familiar face anyway and, given the nature of the squad, his presence again was seen as perfectly natural and a great addition."

Those associated with the Sarsfields club will say that Buckley looked like a likely candidate for serious inter-county service from a very young age.

"He took the football ability from his father and when he was playing underage, he was always stronger than the other players. But what also impressed was his obvious love for football," remembers Brendan Ryan.

"He used to take guidance from his older brother, Michael Gerard, who was six or seven years older than Niall and would have played minor for Kildare. Michael Gerard was tragically killed in a car accident six years ago, it was a terrible thing. Niall was already dedicated to the football by that time."

Always regarded as a skilful footballer, Buckley drew rave notices as Kildare's ever-flaming potential at last yielded results. An All Star in 1997 preceded the 1998 Leinster championship run.

"To me, he just oozes class. I think his greatest strength is probably his distribution. He has that peripheral vision that sets special players apart from the bunch. You watch Niall and see how much time he seems to have on the ball. That's the mark," reckons McCreery.

Contrary to public perception and his senior status in the panel, Buckley is not a fire and brimstone merchant.

"He is not at all vocal. I'd be the one with the bigger mouth. Sometimes you'd have to get on to him, he might be a bit lazy in the middle. It's difficult for Niall because he does so much. Like, he takes frees and if he misses, well he might be inclined to let it play on his mind for a split second," continues McCreery.

Brendan Ryan has known Buckley since his boyhood and believes that he never fully rid himself of an inherent shyness.

"He was doing an interview for TV during the week and I'd say it lasted all of five minutes. He is just not too comfortable with that sort of thing. But he does have a way of getting his point across very succinctly and what he does say carries weight."

One memorable demonstration of that was during the heady aftermath of that All-Ireland semi-final triumph over Kerry when he quietly dissected a decade of Kildare football.

"That was heroic, what they did," reflected Buckley afterwards, nickname tattooed on his forearm, his leg mummified by bandages. "Nineteen ninety-two the games against Meath did we get respect.

"Before that, people's idea of Kildare football was that we were soft and windy and when it came to the crunch, we'd lie down. Today, we showed that we won't lie down."

If Kildare enjoyed new respect, then Buckley was regarded as the instigator. "He has had a big rise in profile," "He still has the hunger," says McCreery. "I don't know what Niall's plans for the future are but I could see him returning to Chicago. My view is that he was making a good life there and has put it all on hold to throw his lot in with Kildare again."

For McCreery, tomorrow carries a degree of poignancy. Having declared that this is his last summer with Kildare, the big man finds himself suspended. "If I am to play again, we will need to reach a Leinster final," he says.

So the situation is reversed from that late summer day three years ago when Buckley was the agonised spectator. Now, McCreery is on the periphery, hoping for another hour or so with his midfield partner, to see if they can't push it one bit further.

"It'll be hard against Meath, always is, but you'd feel better about it with Niall out there."

Nuxer, eternal white hope, is back for summer and in the Curragh and beyond, they are happier for it.