The spring of 2004 was a difficult time for Kevin Kilbane personally - his daughter Elsie was born with Down Syndrome. Playing for Everton at the time, Kilbane was told by David Moyes to take as much time as he needed.
Speaking on Jarlath Regan's An Irishman Abroad podcast, Kilbane explained that his daughter had been born on a Monday. Though he did not feel like returning to training, he did so - with a little bit of encouragement from club and international teammate Lee Carsley - on the following Friday.
His Everton teammates were cagey, not knowing what to say or how to act. Carsley, who also has a child with Down's Syndrome, helped find him his way. He says the two are now like brothers.
Shortly after the birth, Kilbane went on international duty with Ireland. Brian Kerr was the manager at the time and the Czech Republic, for a friendly at Lansdowne Road, were the opposition.
Kilbane says that Kerr is "an extra-special" man to him, partially due to how he dealt with the 110-cap Ireland international's personal situation following Elsie's birth.
"Brian took time to call me on a regular basis and he was in the unknown himself. Brian didn't know how to deal with the situation I was in. He'd met people with Down Syndrome before, he'd met families that had children with Down Syndrome before but he didn't really know how to deal with it from a managerial perspective."
I can't speak highly enough of Brian Kerr, Brian was amazing for me. I felt as though every time I went out to play for Ireland, it was the ultimate for me but playing for Brian Kerr at that time, I just felt as though I was playing for such a great man - it added [something] for me coming into playing for Ireland and my teammates as well.
Brian, with the time he took to talk to me, to speak to me from a personal point of view that, 'Look, yeah, you're going to play. Don't worry about anything.' I think I came in for the Czech Republic about two weeks after Elsie was born. I didn't think I'd be playing.
Kilbane described it as a 'mentally tough' period of his life. How Kerr handled the circumstances helped alleviate any possible worries in the build-up to the game. The team met up on the Sunday before the match but Kerr gave Kilbane an extra two days off to be with his family.
"Brian will probably never know the things that he said to me. The things that he did with me at that time helped me unbelievably."
The 40-year-old said that being a parent to Elsie, who is now 13, has made him "mentally stronger". She taught him how to interact with people and how to just be himself. He became a better player following her birth, one who had less insecurities about his career
Kilbane went on to say that he believes Kerr's absence from a substantial role in Irish football is "a travesty", calling him "the most knowledgeable football man living on this island."
I always remember the hairs on the back of my neck standing up when he was talking about what it meant to play for Ireland; what it meant to him growing up. He never got that opportunity to play for Ireland. Now he's managing his country, this is everything. The speech he gave, I can't remember the full length of it but that's how he was talking.
Brian encapsulated what it meant to be an Irish footballer.
