FINDING STRENGTH: What the stars said

“When I was young, going back 20 years, as a 20-year-old playing for Munster, playing with a lot of legends, there was a lot of doubts, like: ‘Am I good enough to play at this level?’ That happened for nearly two years. Then there was the constant assessment with goal-kicking, and the pressure that comes with goal-kicking. It can be such an easy skill and then [on] other days, such a difficult skill.” — Ronan O’Gara, Ireland rugby hero.

“I saw myself lifting up the cup and giving it a kiss, just like Higgins did, and it gave me a calmness,” — snooker legend Ken Doherty.

“I used to write a plan before a race, drawing up how I felt I could approach the race and get the best result,” — Sonia O’Sullivan former Irish Olympic athlete.

“To help me get the best out of my performance, I would always reduce how big the task was in my mind,” — Derval O’Rourke, former top sprint hurdles athlete.

“The best performers are almost never the most talented, but they have an internal reason for succeeding,” — Eddie

O’Sullivan, former Irish rugby union coach and player.

“I didn’t always succeed, but never making it easy for an opponent was a victory in itself,” — Sean Og O

hAilpin, former top hurler and Gaelic footballer.

“In team sports, if you don’t trust the guy beside you, you’ve lost the game,” — Victor Costello, former Ireland rugby player.