FORMER Tyrone GAA captain Sean Cavanagh has spoken about his "hero" Cormac McAnallen and how he tried to model his life on him after his sudden death.
The All-Ireland winner was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Sean O'Rourke about his newly-published autobiography The Obsession.
The Moy man, who has now retired from inter-county football, told how as a young player Cormac would "give me a bit of grief about the diet".
"I remember sitting eating a Mars bar in the Citywest (hotel) one evening and Cormac looking at me in absolute disgust... you couldn't have someone eating the diet I was on, the Tayto cheese and onion and Mars bar diet."
He said Cormac - who was just 24 when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition in 2004 - has had a big influence on his life.
"He was someone who I would have played basketball with as a teenager at the front of my house... and even though he became captain and later very quickly passed from us, he was a hero of mine and everything I did from there on I started to think how would Cormac deal with the situation. I still visit the grave and I still have really, really fond memories of Cormac McAnallen and I've tried to live my life as well as he would have done."
Cavanagh also speaks during the interview about false rumours about his marriage, his relationship with Mickey Harte and his regrets over 'sledging' other players on the field.
Listen here:
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