HoganStand GAA Football and Hurling

National Forum

GAA Books

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

You need to Login to Post

House of Pain the story of mayos heartache. God knows there could be a part 2 at this stage. Ger loughnans was great few others - great Munster hurling finals and I think the other is classic gaa matches - picks out some of the less obvious matches. theduke66 (Dublin) - Posts: 334 - 22/11/2016 19:12:45 1936075 Link
Replying To SaffronDon: "That time of year again lads. Are there any new books that are worth a read or old favourites worth mentioning. Always good to know when buying gifts for Christmas." Depends what your looking for in terms of the biography/autobiography or more the history side. As someone whose interested in the history of the GAA and sport in general I would recommend, The GAA: A People's History which was brought out in 2009 on the back of the Association's 125th Anniversary. A really good introduction to the history of the Association and it has some great photography. The GAA and Revolution 1912-1923 which was published last year deals with the GAA's links with the Irish Revolutionary period and has some very good chapters each written by different historians. I havn't gotten around to reading Michael Foley's The Blooded Field yet, but given his track record and from hearing him give a lecture on it, I'd be confident it is excellent . Tom Humphries Dublin v Kerry is one of my favorite GAA books as is Joe Ó Muircheartaigh and T. J. Flynn's Princes of Pigskin. Breandán Ó hEithir's memoir Over the Bar: A Personal Relationship with the GAA has often been called the best book on the GAA, and its certainly up there. I really enjoyed Jack O'Connor's book when it came out a decade ago. Dara O'Se's is not great and as someone said Tomas's wasn't a huge amount better which was a great shame because if they had been done properly they could have been epic. I liked Paidi's. Cue I see you mentioned Cody's one was terrible, no surprise seeing as the same man was allowed write Micko's book Blessed and Obsessed which was equally dire. In fairness to Galvin at least he wrote it himself and it was no worse than any of the other GAA 'auto'-biographies. I am hearing good things about Star's book so I'm looking forward to reading it over Christmas. How two posters can say Drico's book was decent. is beyond me completely. It was the worst sports autobiography I have every read and given the amount of crap that's out there, that is saying something!! TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 22/11/2016 21:16:02 1936101 Link
While it caused ructions in Donegal 'This is our year' by Declan Bogue is a terrific read. The players are frank and honest (too honest for some managers liking) but that is what draws the reader in. Not the typical inoffensive vanilla read you get in most player autobiographies and it's a novel approach as different players give their account of the 2011 Ulster championship northernsoul (Leitrim) - Posts: 78 - 22/11/2016 21:30:53 1936110 Link
Have read a good few over the years, not into the history type ones though. The best gaa books I have read include: Kings of September The Club Last Man Standing Parish far from home Working on a dream Unlimited heartbreak House of Pain This is our year Road to Croker Eamonn Sweeney Autobiographies of Anthony Daly, Donal Og, Paul Galvin Jack O'Connor, Jim McGuinness. Screaming at the Sky Tony Griffin Away from gaa but staying with sport: Paul Kimmage's Engage (rugby player Matt Hampson) Jim White's 'You'll win nothing with kids' great for coaches. Loads to choose from this Christmas, let us know if ye have read any of them ! BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1131 - 22/11/2016 22:38:13 1936122 Link
Replying To TheHermit: "Depends what your looking for in terms of the biography/autobiography or more the history side. As someone whose interested in the history of the GAA and sport in general I would recommend, The GAA: A People's History which was brought out in 2009 on the back of the Association's 125th Anniversary. A really good introduction to the history of the Association and it has some great photography. The GAA and Revolution 1912-1923 which was published last year deals with the GAA's links with the Irish Revolutionary period and has some very good chapters each written by different historians. I havn't gotten around to reading Michael Foley's The Blooded Field yet, but given his track record and from hearing him give a lecture on it, I'd be confident it is excellent . Tom Humphries Dublin v Kerry is one of my favorite GAA books as is Joe Ó Muircheartaigh and T. J. Flynn's Princes of Pigskin. Breandán Ó hEithir's memoir Over the Bar: A Personal Relationship with the GAA has often been called the best book on the GAA, and its certainly up there. I really enjoyed Jack O'Connor's book when it came out a decade ago. Dara O'Se's is not great and as someone said Tomas's wasn't a huge amount better which was a great shame because if they had been done properly they could have been epic. I liked Paidi's. Cue I see you mentioned Cody's one was terrible, no surprise seeing as the same man was allowed write Micko's book Blessed and Obsessed which was equally dire. In fairness to Galvin at least he wrote it himself and it was no worse than any of the other GAA 'auto'-biographies. I am hearing good things about Star's book so I'm looking forward to reading it over Christmas. How two posters can say Drico's book was decent. is beyond me completely. It was the worst sports autobiography I have every read and given the amount of crap that's out there, that is saying something!!" Excellent post Hermit. As long as its a good read I don't mind if its a biography or history. The ones I'm buying for would be more a fan of the biography though. So thanks for the insight, much appreciated. SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2386 - 23/11/2016 09:56:14 1936163 Link
Replying To TheHermit: "Depends what your looking for in terms of the biography/autobiography or more the history side. As someone whose interested in the history of the GAA and sport in general I would recommend, The GAA: A People's History which was brought out in 2009 on the back of the Association's 125th Anniversary. A really good introduction to the history of the Association and it has some great photography. The GAA and Revolution 1912-1923 which was published last year deals with the GAA's links with the Irish Revolutionary period and has some very good chapters each written by different historians. I havn't gotten around to reading Michael Foley's The Blooded Field yet, but given his track record and from hearing him give a lecture on it, I'd be confident it is excellent . Tom Humphries Dublin v Kerry is one of my favorite GAA books as is Joe Ó Muircheartaigh and T. J. Flynn's Princes of Pigskin. Breandán Ó hEithir's memoir Over the Bar: A Personal Relationship with the GAA has often been called the best book on the GAA, and its certainly up there. I really enjoyed Jack O'Connor's book when it came out a decade ago. Dara O'Se's is not great and as someone said Tomas's wasn't a huge amount better which was a great shame because if they had been done properly they could have been epic. I liked Paidi's. Cue I see you mentioned Cody's one was terrible, no surprise seeing as the same man was allowed write Micko's book Blessed and Obsessed which was equally dire. In fairness to Galvin at least he wrote it himself and it was no worse than any of the other GAA 'auto'-biographies. I am hearing good things about Star's book so I'm looking forward to reading it over Christmas. How two posters can say Drico's book was decent. is beyond me completely. It was the worst sports autobiography I have every read and given the amount of crap that's out there, that is saying something!!" You said you liked the Kerry v Dublin book,hermit.Well it's your lucky day pal.I'm working on a newer edition called "Dublin v Kerry,2010-2016:The turning of the tide".I'm feeling extra generous today so i'll send a signed copy from all the Dublin team to you for Christmas.All the best buddy. cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 23/11/2016 10:29:03 1936168 Link
No reading in it but Season of Sundays is a great Christmas present for any GAA supporter. This is their twentieth year of publication. Drama in the Bahamas, Dave Hannigan's new book about Ali's last fight, sounds like a great read. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7347 - 23/11/2016 11:48:15 1936197 Link
Replying To SaffronDon: "Excellent post Hermit. As long as its a good read I don't mind if its a biography or history. The ones I'm buying for would be more a fan of the biography though. So thanks for the insight, much appreciated." Obviously its a bit Kerry biased!! I also liked Ger Loughlane's biography but it might be hard to get your hands on these days. Outside of the GAA, two rugby books I would highly recommend are Alan English's Stand Up and Fight the other is a book called Playing the Enemy, but is was renamed Invictious to tie in with the Clint Eastwood film that was based on it. The film was disappointing but the book based on South Africa's victory in the 1995 RWC is spectacular. Like all the best books of sports history it is much more than a simple story of the tournament itself, it deals with a fascinating period in the history of that fascinating country around the end of Apartheid, the emergence of Mandela from prison and the attempts to bind the wounds of a deeply divided society through sport. In terms of soccer I enjoyed Paul McGrath's and John Giles first book, Tony Cascarino's is brilliant too! TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 23/11/2016 11:52:20 1936202 Link
Replying To cuederocket: "You said you liked the Kerry v Dublin book,hermit.Well it's your lucky day pal.I'm working on a newer edition called "Dublin v Kerry,2010-2016:The turning of the tide".I'm feeling extra generous today so i'll send a signed copy from all the Dublin team to you for Christmas.All the best buddy." Not thanks Cue your grand. Anyway in the long history of Kerry v Dublin, the last couple of years would only amount to a leaflet. The tide has crested and in another 3 years will be at a low ebb in the capital. A tsunami is bubbling up in the Kingdom that will devastate Ireland before this decade is through! TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 23/11/2016 11:55:06 1936203 Link
Liam Haye's Book "Out of Our Skins", is a fantastic read. footballingman (Westmeath) - Posts: 27 - 23/11/2016 14:20:15 1936250 Link
Auto-biographies are bland enough in general. I wouldn't begrudge any GAA player from doing one, and making a few pound in the process. But in terms of stimulation, you're likely to be disappointed with the vast majority of them. I read Tomas O'Sé's in about 2 hours I reckon. (I can speed read, but again the content wasn't exactly too taxing) I might check out the Leonard one over Christmas. Sounds like a bit of a header with a good back story. If Eamonn McGee decides to pen one it might be a bit of craic. Watch this space as they say. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9141 - 23/11/2016 15:23:25 1936272 Link
Galvins and McConville's autobiographies are very good. Really enjoyed 'this is our year' and 'the bloodied field' is excellent. Away from GAA 'all played out' is brilliant-it tracks a journalist covering England in Italia 90 based on interviews with fans and players kanu (Cavan) - Posts: 181 - 23/11/2016 21:20:16 1936320 Link
Whatever you do, don't waste your money on Cathal McCarron's book. How that was nominated for sports book of the year I'll never know. Thankfully i got sent a free PDF of it so didn't waste any money. CroiGorm (Dublin) - Posts:1531 - 22/11/2016 11:30:27 What didnt you like about it? I'm in the middle of reading it at the moment and find his story unbelievable, hes very honest and doesnt tell bits of stories which is all you want in an autobiography. I will admit, he does come across as very arrogant and unlikable. Joe_Bloggs (Tipperary) - Posts: 186 - 24/11/2016 08:50:21 1936365 Link
Replying To theduke66: "House of Pain the story of mayos heartache. God knows there could be a part 2 at this stage. Ger loughnans was great few others - great Munster hurling finals and I think the other is classic gaa matches - picks out some of the less obvious matches." House of pain is a good one, the road to 51 I liked more which would be the prelude to the house of pain. Hurling the revolution years I've read recently was a great one nearly as good as kings of September! Spoddgy (Mayo) - Posts: 660 - 24/11/2016 10:20:19 1936377 Link
Rory Kavanagh's book 'Winning' is the best I've read of the modern books, I like Jim's book as well but felt he just loved himself a bit toooo much in it - I really like McGuinness though. I agree with Lockjaw, Eamon McGee's potential book would be a great read - he seems like a great character. This is our year was a decent book too, it was a great idea in fairness by the author - just a pity it cost Kevin Cassidy an all ireland medal - I always sided with him on the JmcG saga, but then again, you can't argue with what JmcG done there, it worked. Tomas O'She and Kieran Donaghy's books are great too, just finished the latter recently - Have to say, he strikes me as a great man altogether and someone you'd love to have a beer with. Just coming to the end of Cathal McCarron's book right now - I agree with some of the previous sentiments - he doesn't come across very well personally at all, seems to play into the 'hardman' image - although perhaps that's an authors techique which is lost on me? The fact I know some of the people in his book perhaps has slanted my view regarding Cathal personally here but I do have the utmost respect for him for putting out everything on the table. I don't want to write too much detail as some might be reading these books in the upcoming weeks though, Actually forgot Mugsy wrote a book....I've never read it either, maybe Santa will be kind to me this year! GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 24/11/2016 12:16:37 1936408 Link
I might buy Donaghy's book, I certainly wouldn't buy mc Carron's after the sh1te I heard from him on Newstalk off the ball last night, he is not someone that should be playing for the county, he is no role model for our kids, that's all I'm saying. El_Torro (Tyrone) - Posts: 155 - 02/12/2016 18:26:21 1938069 Link
Replying To El_Torro: "I might buy Donaghy's book, I certainly wouldn't buy mc Carron's after the sh1te I heard from him on Newstalk off the ball last night, he is not someone that should be playing for the county, he is no role model for our kids, that's all I'm saying." What about Donal Reid's book "CONFESSIONS OF A GAELIC FOOTBALLER".Did anybody read it yet. gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1058 - 02/12/2016 20:50:41 1938091 Link
Replying To El_Torro: "I might buy Donaghy's book, I certainly wouldn't buy mc Carron's after the sh1te I heard from him on Newstalk off the ball last night, he is not someone that should be playing for the county, he is no role model for our kids, that's all I'm saying." Wow el toro that off the ball interview with macarron yesterday was something else, fair play to the guy asking the questions as there was no beating around the bush. KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 02/12/2016 21:22:04 1938095 Link
Replying To El_Torro: "I might buy Donaghy's book, I certainly wouldn't buy mc Carron's after the sh1te I heard from him on Newstalk off the ball last night, he is not someone that should be playing for the county, he is no role model for our kids, that's all I'm saying." You not get the pdf like everyone else? gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 03/12/2016 11:00:29 1938129 Link
Replying To El_Torro: "I might buy Donaghy's book, I certainly wouldn't buy mc Carron's after the sh1te I heard from him on Newstalk off the ball last night, he is not someone that should be playing for the county, he is no role model for our kids, that's all I'm saying." He doesn't seem likeable but his story about gambling might be a good lesson to let anyone know about potential problems of gambling. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7347 - 04/12/2016 12:46:41 1938235 Link