The former Wexford hurler Liam Dunne has a fascinating book on the shelves right now. Entitled I Crossed the Line, it is an account of both his wondrous hurling career and his battle with alcoholism.

On Sunday, in the Irish edition of an English broadsheet, Dunne lived up to the title of his book. He crossed the line in a piece designed to explain his respect and hero worship for one Roy Keane.

Dunne was in one camp and one camp only during the Saipan row, and good luck to him. I have no problem with that even if I was sitting on the other side of the fence.

Where I have a problem with Dunne is his claim that some of those who rowed in behind Mick McCarthy only qualified for Ireland through their parentage and thus were not entitled to call foul on Mr. Keane.

“I felt he was hung out to dry on that one,” wrote Dunne. “Here was a fellow who was 100% Irish, who didn’t have to go back through his grandparents to find a way of playing for his country, unlike some of those who went against him.”

What a load of crap. As a recovering alcoholic Dunne of all people should know to look behind the story when it comes to discussing anything as complex as Saipan. He should know the sort of demons Keane was going through at that time in his life.

Dunne should also understand that Irishness is not a badge bought in the maternity ward of an Irish hospital. You don’t have to be born on this island to be Irish and proud of it, as many of you living in America will well understand.

Dunne, like so many others, is almost racist in his attitude to those players not born in the Republic. It is not the first time I have encountered such an argument and it won’t be the last.

What saddens me is that a great sportsman like Liam Dunne, a man who had to battle his own personal demons just like Roy Keane, could make such a sweeping and such a distorted opinion.

He also claimed in the piece that “I know there are always two sides to every story.” Pity then that he won’t open his eyes to that other side.