The 57-year-old was diagnosed a fortnight ago and is currently undergoing intensive treatment at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. He is married with two sons, Barry and Conor, both keen hurlers.
The school principal from St Aidan’s National School in Shannon Co Clare is a regular panelist on The Sunday Game, however he will be absent from next Sunday’s Leinster hurling final between Kilkenny and Dublin.
Loughnane made his name as a player in the 1970’s and 1980’s, winning two All Star awards playing for Clare.
In 1995 he led Clare to their first All Ireland hurling title in 81 years in his first year as manager. Two years later Clare won the All Ireland title again. Since stepping down from management at Clare, he managed the Galway hurlers for two seasons, but left management to concentrate on his work with RTE during the summer and with the Daily Star newspaper,