John was raised, along with brother Damian, on the songs and stories of their local heritage and when, at the age of fourteen, Damian bought John his first guitar he amazed his family with his instrumental ability and was astounding audiences playing solo by the age of sixteen. In tandem with his musical prowess, his passion for sport has brought success after success. After captaining the all-Ireland 2004 Winners St Kieran’s College in hurling, John has since been the recipient of the 2007 Fitzgibbon All-Star Award and has had the great honour of leading his local team as captain throughout 2008 and 2009. He recently ceased playing for the Laois Senior Hurling team to focus on his musical accomplishments with Na Fianna.