| Honours
were even in the
early rounds of
this RTE grudge
match. Cahill came
out swinging, but
his blows failed
to penetrate
Lyster's cast-iron
body armour.
Lyster attempted
sporadically to go
on the offensive,
but the weight of
his armour slowed
him down
considerably. It
was clear that
Lyster's strategy
would be
predominantly
defensive.
It
wasn't long before
the Galwegian
began to tire.
However,
Cahill's
stout-based
training program
was not designed
to build
endurance, and his
own strength was
also failing. He
could not find the
reserves to finish
Lyster off. His
boxing-based
approach to the
Wars was proving
ineffective
against a man
prepared for
mediaeval warfare.
It
was not until the
tenth round that
the tide turned
decisively. Lyster
shot himself
spectacularly in
the foot by
attempting to end
the match with a
coup de grace.
With a prearranged
signal to the
gallery, he
directed his
pageboys - fellow
Connacht men Sean
Ban Breannach and
Minister Michael
D. Higgins - to
tip over a pot of
boiling oil, Dark
Ages-style, onto
the bare-backed
Cahill. Cahill
nimbly dodged the
oil, but Lyster
was not so
fortunate. A
goodly portion of
the oil poured
into his armour
and deep-fried the
Galwegian a golden
brown. He took a
sizzling standing
count of 10 to end
the fray.
|
/cutofflyster.jpg)