Fine Irish lad, and what cannibal might make of him? (1,5,2,1,3)
I believe the answer is:
a broth of a boy
'fine irish lad and what cannibal might make of him?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.
'fine irish lad and what cannibal might make of him?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'fine' could be 'f' (abbreviation e.g. condition of old coins, books) and 'f' is found in the answer.
'lad' could be 'boy' (lad means a young boy) and 'boy' is found within the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is present in the answer.
'him?' could be 'ab' and 'ab' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for a broth of a boy that I've seen is " An outstanding individual".)