Underdog GAA players who made it at intercounty level?

Just listening back to Eddie Brennan interview with Off The Ball.

He didn't like playing hurling at underage and only really got into it at minor level with his club.

He was a sub on u21 KK team with Martin Comerford and Derek Lyng.

Interesting.
 
Just listening back to Eddie Brennan interview with Off The Ball.

He didn't like playing hurling at underage and only really got into it at minor level with his club.

He was a sub on u21 KK team with Martin Comerford and Derek Lyng.

Interesting.
Is there some story about Eddie Brennan playing a senior game with Kilkenny before he'd actually played senior with the club?
 
Ger Spillane of Ballygarvan, never played underage for Cork. Went away and got an All-Star at centre back in 06.
There was a stretch of time when the likes of himself were underage in the late 90's and early 00's, where minor and u21 selections in Cork were a bit of a joke, especially in failing to identify players from smaller clubs.

Donncha O'Connor and Pearse are others that came in around the same time. The Cork Juniors were a vital springboard to make up for the inadequacies of underage.
 
I was close to giving John O'Driscoll playing for Ireland before making his Cork debut as an example, but a quick search confirms he appeared in 2 Munster Championship matches earlier that year.
 
Seánie McMahon never played underage for Clare.

He might have played U21?

He also struggled at underage for Doora-Barefield, in 'The Club', Christy O'Connor intimates that having his front teeth knocked out at a young age impacted his confidence.

He turned out alright!
 
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