He might be not be backing down in his criticism of Kieran McGeeney and Armagh, but RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly seems to have buried whatever animosity he once shared with one of hurling's all-time legends.
Brian Cody was in Thurles earlier this afternoon, presumably 'keeping an eye' on Waterford as they romped to victory over league champions Clare, and his old pal Brolly was photographed by Sportsfile sharing a moment with the Kilkenny icon.
Captions welcome, but you likely won't do much better than Sportsfile's own Steve McCarthy, who couldn't help but notice the pen in Brolly's hand.
Brian Cody signs an autograph for Joe Brolly in Thurles today! pic.twitter.com/6XrRCz1Pv8
— Stephen McCarthy (@sportsfilesteve) June 5, 2016
Not one to take the sheer indignity of asking another human being for an autograph lightly, Brolly issued a curt but sublime response to the man behind the camera who had snapped him at an obviously vulnerable time.
you nosy bastard
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) June 5, 2016
Last year, Cody took issue with Brolly's insinuations that inter-county GAA players were "indentured slaves." The then-10-time All-Ireland winning manager was speaking at an event at UCD when he said:
There has been a huge amount of talk in the last few weeks about the life of top sportspeople across all codes and the fact it’s going to be so short. It’s been said it’s akin to slavery what’s required now at the top level of sport. That you’ve no life, that you have no career, that you’ve nothing except you’re being slaughtered essentially.
I just think that a lot of these people are missing the point completely. The reason why any of us are involved in sport from day one and the reason why all of us stay involved in sport is because you enjoy it.
A year previously, however, Brolly produced one of the most wonderfully obscure openings to a GAA article ever, whilst discussing Cody's perceptively hypocritical reaction to referee Brian Kelly's performance during the drawn All-Ireland final of 2014.
Brolly's overall summation in Gaelic Life was that Cody lacked class in criticising Kelly after Kilkenny had won the replay against Tipperary, and as such, had emulates the likes of the snarling José Mourinho as opposed to the gentlemanly Mick O'Dwyer:
A FRIEND of mine told me a story once about a drunken night in Dublin when she was a university student. She fell in with a student from Cavan and they ended up back in her place. After a bit of passionate kissing on the sofa, she suggested they move to the bedroom.
Just as they were climbing into the bed, he suddenly stopped and said to her “There’s something I want to do.” “What is it?” she said. He hesitated for a second, then blurted out “ Ah f*** it I’m just going to do it.”
As she looked on in bemusement, he stood bolt upright and sang the whole of Amhrán na bhFiann at the top of his voice. At the height of his passion, that was what came into his mind.
A Frenchman would have difficulty understanding his motivation, but when she told me the story I didn’t really think it that strange at all.
The two appear to be pals again - and likely always were, even amidst the occasional disagreement; Brolly, for one, has often cited Cody as a shining light of the GAA in his columns. Still, if you're so inclined, you can read that highly entertaining Brolly article from 2014 in full over on Gaelic Life.
