Derek ‘Fresh’ O’Connell: The 54-year-old footballer who helped Kilcavan to Laois title

Derek “Fresh” O’Connell already has his answer neatly packaged and ready to go. It’s fair to say this is not the first time he has fielded the question, only he gets to deliver his response now as a county intermediate champion.

O’Connell is 54 years young. And last Saturday he came off the bench in the closing stages of the Laois intermediate football championship final as Kilcavan beat Ballyfin 1-19 to 0-9 in O’Moore Park to win the club’s maiden title at that grade.