GAA books

[tyroneman]

Tyrone man, dont give us your rubbish about letter of the law etc, it was brutal was phily jordan did, marsden should never have been sent off.

Like I say, it's the one that will run and run.

Jordan didn't cover himself in glory but Marsden raised his hands, made contact and the ref applied the rules of the game, we will prob never agree on this one.

If I was an Armagh supporter I would prob take your viewpoint though 

Fair point made about 2005 - if Armagh had won, Joe taking off Geezer would have been hailed as genius. Also very true that Peter struggled big time against Enda McNulty (I think he only ever managed 1 or 2 points off him in his career - could be wrong but don't think so?)

I think it was also clear whoever won that day was going to take the final.

All in all a very good manager who did what no-one else in Armagh had managed and should always be remembered for that.

[Orchardman]

Your right man, we will agree to disagree on this one. What i would say is that in the years after that final, jordan became one of my favourite players, brilliant wing back. I read both of mickey harte's books, might get this one sometime.
Enda always had a great record against canavan, think sean marty lockhart had a good number for a few years on him too.
Aparently this is in 2mro's indo:

Sensational revelations from Joe Kernan's autobiography 'Without a Shadow of a Doubt'.

"By then, information was leaking from our camp as if through a sieve. Details of things we were doing in training were being passed on to others outside the county. We had always prided ourselves in keeping a tight ship, but now all had changed."

Also: The Laois man who called us "Orange B*****ds".

Plus: Paul O'Connell's talk to Armagh

[Qwerty28]

Has anyone read the " County by County" book yet...the follow up to the People's history book that was out in the last year or two. Looks a well presented book with lots of photographs so think it will be on the list for Christmas!

[5 Sams]

Anybody read big Joe's book yet?? I'm looking forward to it....believe it or not...

Great title by the way...but hasn't the same effect unless read out loud with a cross blas

[NP 76]

Started big Joes book today interesting to hear his views

[Stevie g 8]

i read big joes book and its typical of GAA books,quite boring and soft.We want to hear the dirt like the ovbious fallout with team leader Mc Geeney

[ONeill]

List of nominees for the WilliamHill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year

Parish Far From Home                           Philip O'Connor                                     (Gill and MacMillan)
Deadlock                                              Eoghan Corry                                        (Gill and MacMillan)
Brothers in Sport                                    Charlie Mulqueen                                   (Mercier Press)
Inside the Peloton                                  Nicolas Roche                                       (Transworld)
Joking Apart                                          Donncha O'Callaghan                            (Transworld)
Engage-The Fall&Rise of Matt Hampson Paul Kimmage                                       (Simon & Schuster)
Walk On – My Life in Red                       Ronnie Whelan                                      (Simon & Schuster)
Cyclone – My Story                               Barry McGuigan                                     (Random House)
Mick Mackey                                         Henry Martin                                         (Collins Press)
Ocean Fever                                         Damian Foxall & David Brannigan           (Collins Press)
The GAA – County by County                Mike Cronin, Mark Duncan & Paul Rouse(Collins Press)
Places We Play                                     Mike Cronin & Roisin Higgins                 (Collins Press)
Ambassadors on Horseback                   Michael Slavin & Louise Parkes              (O'Brien Press)
Who Dares Runs                                   Gerry Duffy                                           (Ballpoint Press)
This is our Year                                     Declan Bogue                                        (Ballpoint Press)
Can You Manage?                                 Tim Healy                                             (Ballpoint Press)
One Hell of a Ride                                 Paul Carberry                                        (Paperweight Press)
100 Irish Rugby Greats                          John Scally                                           (Mainstream Publishing)
Just Follow the Floodlights                     Brian Kennedy                                       (Liffey Press)
The Dubs – Road to Sam Maguire          Malachy Clerkin                                     (Penguin Ireland)
AP McCoy – My Autobiography              AP McCoy & Donn McClean                  (Orion Books)
Life, Death & Hurling                              Michael Duignan                                    (Irish Sports Publishing)
Without a Shadow of a Doubt                 Joe Kernan                                            (Irish Sports Publishing)
Red Blooded                                         Alan Quinlan                                          (Irish Sports Publishing)
Blue Blood                                            Bernard Jackman                                   (Irish Sports Publishing)
Gods Vs Mortals                                    Paul Keane                                           (Irish Sports Publishing)
The Official Book of the FAI Cup            Sean Ryan                                            (Liberties Press)
Whose Side Are You On?                       Teddy Jamieson                                    (Yellow Jersey Press)
John Doyle                                            John Harrington                                     (Irish Sports Publishing)
Six After Six                                          Ger Siggins                                           (Brickfield's Press)
Born to Perform                                     Gerard Hartmann                                   (Orpen Press)


The nominees for this year's WilliamHill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year have been announced today.  There are 30 contenders for this year's award, the largest entry since the award was established 6 years ago.

Some of the top names in Irish sport and Irish sports writing will compete for the award this year covering a range of sports from rugby and soccer to Gaelic Games and cycling.  Some of the contenders from Gaelic Games include Joe Kernan's autobiography "Without a Shadow of a Doubt" detailing his life in the GAA and also how the downturn left him bankrupt, while Malachy Clerkin's book, "The Dubs", details Dublin's march to All-Ireland glory for the first time in 16 years.

Former Offaly double All-Ireland winner Michael Duignan tells his story in "Life, Death and Hurling" while  Declan Bogue's "This is our Year" is a behind the scenes look at the fortunes of the Ulster teams competing in this year's Football Championship.

Horseracing throws up a couple of this year's contenders with Paul Carberry's "One Hell of a Ride" and AP McCoy's autobiography both in the hunt for the award, while Nicolas Roche's "Inside the Peloton" gives an account of his life as a professional cyclist. 

Soccer is also represented in the list of contenders with Ronnie Whelan's account of his time at Liverpool and the Irish team, "Walk On – My Life in Red" and Brian Kennedy's book on the League of Ireland, "Just Follow the Floodlights".  Former William Hill Sports Book of the Year winner Paul Kimmage is also in contention with his book, "Engage – The Fall & Rise of Matt Hampson", on former English rugby international Matt Hampson who was paralysed during training.

Some of the other books in the running are "Born to Perform" by Gerard Hartmann, one of Ireland's top physical therapists and how he has helped to mould the careers of some of the world's biggest sports stars, while "Cyclone – My Story" tells the life story of Barry McGuigan, one of Ireland's greatest boxers.

Tony Kenny, PR Manager for WilliamHill.com, said; "There has been huge interest in this year's award which shows how far we have come with the competition in the past 6 years.  The standard of sports writing this year has again improved with some top class books in the running for the award and a range of stories from autobiographies to accounts of some of the most famous occasions in Irish sport.  This year's is probably the most competitive list of contenders we have seen so there will certainly be a deserving winner come December."

The shortlist for the WilliamHill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year will be announced in November with the winner of this year's award being revealed in early December. The award will be decided by a judging panel of 11 of Ireland's most respected sports commentators, which includes George Hook, Matt Cooper, Eamon Dunphy and Paul Dempsey.

The WilliamHill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year was established in 2006 to reward excellence in sports writing in Ireland.  This is the sixth year of the award with previous winners including, "The Club" by Christy O'Connor, Dónal Óg Cusack's "Come What May", Paul McGrath's "Back from the Brink", Tommy Byrne's "Crashed and Byrned" and "Heart and Soul" by Trevor Brennan.

[The Moon is Down]

Is there any sports book published this year which hasn't made the list?

[ONeill]

Boyle takes Cass to book


By Tom Comack
Published on Saturday 5 November 2011 13:01

All-Ireland winner and former Donegal senior team mentor Tony Boyle has responded this week to the criticism levelled by All-Star defender Kevin Cassidy at John Joe Doherty and his management team in a newly published book.

Boyle, along with Tommy Ryan and Michael McGeehin, was part of the management team during Doherty's two years as Donegal boss. Cassidy was captain of the Donegal team in 2010.

'This is our Year' was penned by well-known Fermanagh journalist Declan Bogue of Gaelic Life. It chronicles the 2011 season of a number of top Ulster GAA stars such as Cassidy, Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone), Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Barry Owens (Fermanagh), Aidan Carr (Down), Paddy Cunningham (Antrim), Micky Conlon (Derry) and Val Andrews and Terry Hyland (Cavan).

In the Gaoth Dobhair man's section an exclusive extract which was recently published, Cassidy outlines the frustation he felt during 2010.

He was highly criticial of Doherty - who he described as a decent man - and his management team for the lack of proper preparation and a lack of tactical awarness.

Speaking to the Donegal Democrat this week, Boyle said that he was very surprised to read Cassidy's criticisms, especially coming from a player that he always had the height of respect for.

He insisted the main thing that Doherty and the management team tried to instill from day one was honesty and pride among the players.

In relation to a number of Cassidy's criticisms and the lack of a professional approach to training and preparation, Boyle said: "We had one of the most highly respected Sports psychologists, Des Jennings from Armagh, involved with us to try and bring out some leadership qualities in the players. He had been with Armagh during their sucessful period.

"We did so to encourage the players to express themselves in team meetings and bring this on to the field. But sadly in all the team meetings we had, the same two or three players were speaking all the time and the rest just sitting there saying nothing."

The Dungloe man said allowances could be made for the younger players, but he said he always found it hard to take in that the more experienced players had nothing to contribute.

He also went on to say that you always had the one or two disgruntled players that were always pulling against the grain, usually after being dropped.

He also expressed his disappointment that these players were never challenged by the other players, which resulted in a wedge being driven between the players and the management.

In response to the lack of proper training and the lack of fitness required for the modern game referred to by Cassidy, Boyle argued that they brought in some of the top people in the business to assist, in particular strength and conditioning training.

"Gerard Hartman from Limerick, recognised worldwide as an expert in strength and conditioning, was one such person. Tommy Stevenson from Armagh, also highly acclaimed, was another that assisted with strength and conditioning.

"But as Kevin admitted 'most of them weren't into training themselves. Kevin's admission of players not being fit enough says more to me about the players' mindset and what they are willing to put into training sessions."

The lack of analysis of the opposition which was raised by Cassidy and the fact that the management never had an observer in the stand is also challenged by Boyle.

"All I can say here is that every team we played against were analysed before each game by Michael McGeehin. Specific match-ups and positional switches were made if needed. But when we lost it was the usual 'it's not our (players') fault'. It was always the game-plan, the system, or we didn't know our role, but never the players. Kevin would remember this if he thinks back to the Antrim game (2009).

"On the Down game (2010) that he spoke about, match-ups were made that day. But with championship games you will have some lads that will have an off day and some that are not up to it. I think the biggest thing we lacked that day was when after 20 minutes and Down were there to be put away we hadn't enough leaders to drive on and kill the game. And it wouldn't have mattered if we had a man in the stand or on the roof of the stand, we could see that from the sideline."

Boyle admitted the one mistake that they as a management team made was that they expected some of older players to show more leadership qualities and to think on their feet in the course of games.

"This is why I would give Jim McGuinness great credit for realising this straight away when he came in and devising a game plan to make up for these shortcomings. As he (McGuinness) said himself if they had gone toe to toe with the Dubs they would have been beaten out the gate."

Boyle finished up by saying he never got around to writing a book. "Maybe you have to make it more interesting but I'm sure I'll get a chance to discuss this with Cass over a pint some time. Maybe even at the launch."

John Joe Doherty did not wish to comment for now on the criticism and the contents of the book.

'This is our Year' will be officially launched by Joe Brolly, at Teach Mhici, Gweedore, on Saturday week, November 5 at 8pm

[Minder]

What is your cut O'Neill?

[ONeill]

A bag of floury pypers.

Big Joe offering a gallon of red.

[brokencrossbar1]

A bag of floury pypers.

Big Joe offering a gallon of red.

Diesel or wine?

[ONeill]

He didn't say.

You should write a book about the Cross awakening in the 90s from an insider's POV. You can explain away the elbows etc.

[brokencrossbar1]

He didn't say.

You should write a book about the Cross awakening in the 90s from an insider's POV. You can explain away the elbows etc.

Have often thought about it, the elbows though never happened

[tonesfirstandlast]

He didn't say.

You should write a book about the Cross awakening in the 90s from an insider's POV. You can explain away the elbows etc.

Have often thought about it, the elbows though never happened

Would it not be better if one of the footballers wrote it.