SPORTING PASSIONS JOHN MOONEY:I WAS like any other sports-mad youngster really, if there was a ball to be hit or kicked I wanted to be in the middle of it all. I was somebody who played every single sport that I possibly could, writes EMMET RIORDAN

Gaelic games wouldn’t have really been in the family, it was always cricket, and it goes back for generations. My Dad and Grandad and my Granduncle especially – Kit – he was the one everybody talks about.

He was a brilliant bowler and there’s plenty of people around the Fingal area who believe he should have played for Ireland.

The history of cricket in the area is fascinating, it’s said that there were more cricket clubs in the Fingal region than anywhere else in the world at one stage. The lords who had the big houses would stage matches between each other and the local people who worked on the grounds initially made up the numbers.

They were obviously quick learners, and they had good reason to be as the ones who were good at cricket got the best land to farm.

So it’s stuck in a few clubs around here; there’s a very similar feel to the clubs as you’d have in Gaelic. They’re obviously completely different games but the community and family aspect to cricket and to Gaelic are the same.

Down here at North County, it’s like a little community; it’s like every little Gaelic club around, like Man O’War or the Naul or Ballyboughal. Sides that are built on a parish.

I’ve played Gaelic with Man O’ War since I was a youngster. I play left half-forward and would describe myself as a very direct player, I get the ball and sometimes just get the head down and don’t see as much around me as I should do.

There are definitely comparisons between the sports, obviously in fielding and catching, but they also rely on explosive bursts of energy, like bowling a delivery or making a run, be it with bat or football in hand.

There’s a few other cricketers in the club, lads like Darren Byrne and my cousin Luke Clinton, who play for The Hills. On a Saturday we could be playing against each other in a game of cricket.

You’d get plenty of slagging over the cricket, but the lads in the club were chuffed for me and my older brother Paul, when we were both picked for the Ireland World Cup campaign in the Caribbean. They’d tell you that they don’t like cricket but they really do at the same time. Around this area there are lads that know their cricket, they can talk to you about cricket in the bar.

So I decided I had to pay the boys back and I got my chance in our famous victory over Pakistan at Sabina Park on St Patrick’s Day.

I was only a sub fielder that day, standing out at cow corner in front of the party stand. Now with the day that was in it, there was a fair drop of rum drank and the atmosphere was electric, especially as we had Pakistan at 132 for nine.

Their number 11 batsmen Umar Gul then launched a ball in my direction and I knew my chance had come. With the ball safely caught, I decided to solo it in from the boundary for the boys back home. I’m not sure if the commentators had a clue what I was up to, but I’d done my little bit as we went on to beat Pakistan by three wickets.

It’s just one of so many great memories I’ve had from playing for Ireland and the travel is a huge part of it. I still remember the day I decided it was a cricketer’s life for me and that I may have to give up my other dream of playing in Croke Park with the Sky Blue jersey on my back. I was no more than seven or eight and remember my cousin Mark Clinton coming back from Australia. He brought back this shiny, white Albion helmet and I said it to myself ‘I want to go to Australia’.

My old school-mate in De La Salle in Skerries, Bryan Cullen, has gone on to fulfil his dream with the Dubs, although it must feel more like a nightmare after Monday’s result. You’d never know, I might get my chance yet.