On The Town: Croke Park's Hogan Mezzanine was "filled with legends", said Prof Brendan Kennelly, as he gazed around a room full of All-Ireland medal winners.
The occasion marked the launch of Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh's autobiography, From Dún Síon to Croke Park: The Autobiography. The broadcaster's eight adult children travelled from as far away as New York, Dusseldorf and Singapore to be by his side.
"He has a comic wisdom, which is a rare thing," said Kennelly. "Part of him is in the proverbial seanfhocal tradition and there's that scholarly quality in him too. He has a sense of the legendary. He has an uaisleacht about him . . . the way he delivers the scores, it sounds regal. He's a natural philosopher. What he has is the wisdom of An Seabhac."
Others who came to join these "Kerry men in exile" as they are described in the book, were easily spotted in the crowd. They included Kerry's Mick O'Connell, Mick O'Dwyer, Jimmy Deenihan TD and Seán Kelly, president of the GAA. Also there were fellow veteran broadcaster Jimmy Magee, former Tipperary hurling manager Babs Keating, former Dublin footballer and manager Pat O'Neill and former Roscommon footballer Dermot Earley.
Earlier in a busy week of sporting books, another publication, The Lifelong Season: At the Heart of Gaelic Games, by Keith Duggan of The Irish Times, was launched in Dublin's Palace Bar by former Galway manager John O'Mahony.
Len Gaynor, one of Tipperary's hurling legends with three All-Ireland medals dating from 1964, came along. He is profiled in the book, along with his daughter, Ciara Gaynor, a key member of the county's camogie team, which has won the last five All-Ireland championships.
"It tells the story of the GAA under the surface, about the people behind the scenes," said O'Mahony.
Others present were Paddy Downey, a former Gaelic games correspondent of The Irish Times for 32 years, who is also profiled, Liam Mulvihill, general secretary of the GAA, and Galway football legend, Seán Purcell.
• From Dún Síon to Croke Park: The Autobiography, by Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, is published by Penguin Ireland
• The Lifelong Season: At the Heart of Gaelic Games, by Keith Duggan, is published by TownHouse Dublin