GAA Sport Books

A slew of GAA books are coming out just now, which may help to tide us over beyond Christmas, anyway.



https://www.southernstar.ie/sport/denis-hurley-column-its-time-to-tell-the-story-of-cork-and-castlehaven-legend-larry-tompkins-4202625

"He might have remained in the Big Apple as the greatest footballer you never saw, but through playing for Donegal GFC, he came into contact with Anthony Collins, Vincie Collins, Martin O’Mahony and Martin Connolly, who spoke of a place where they football as seriously as Larry took his.

That place was, of course, Castlehaven and the course of Cork footballing history, at club and inter-county level, changed with his decision to throw his lot in with the Castletownshend/Union Hall club."
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https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40055933.html

"ON SUNDAY July 28th, 1968 Glen Rovers played UCC in the quarter-final of the county hurling championship and it was a tight game. UCC had a very good team including Ray Cummins, Billy Morgan, Tom Field, Paddy Crowley and John O’Halloran. With about a minute to go, we got a ‘70’.

Our man mis-hit it and I caught the ball – I was playing centre field – and I put it over the bar. So, we were two points up practically on the final whistle.

When I ran back to my position and turned to face the puck out, I noticed a schmozzle in the college goalmouth, which left one of the UCC players injured. There was a dispute afterwards whether or not a Glen Rovers player had been sent off before the final whistle; but whether or not he was, everybody was shocked a few weeks later when the county board expelled him from the association.

His previously exemplary record – he was also on the Cork panel at the time – counted for nothing. Three other Glen players were also suspended for six months and three months, but to have somebody actually expelled from ever being involved in the GAA again as long as he lived, shocked and angered everybody in the club – as far as I know he was the only person ever to have been expelled from the association. Now, I’m not forgetting the player who was injured, and whom I still know to this day and I play golf with him from time to time; and it was a serious injury too."



https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40059470.html

"We had great men around us such as John Doyle, Michael Maher, and Kieran Carey in the full-back line; they were powerful men.

They had a reputation for being rough, tough, and dirty and were given the immortal title of “Hell’s Kitchen” but they weren’t really. They were tough and used their power and their weight to their advantage. Doyle loved a skirmish and pounding into lads, and the Tipperary fans loved him for it.

We came in one day after playing Cork, and this elderly supporter was in the dressing-room. How he got in I don’t know. But there he was, rubbing down John Doyle. I was looking around wondering where my shirt was, and I saw it was my shirt and vest he was using to rub him down with."

The Invisible Game

Extract from the Examiner review:

"That's where the invisible game comes in. Shackling the Kerry boys wasn’t just about physical pressure. It was what you did away from the contest, the invisible stuff.

Taking their space, under the ball of course, but also denying room for a run, clogging up the passing lanes. Our full-back line had been under too much pressure. I took it upon myself to provide a shield. I always took it upon myself to provide that shield.

That type of analysis wasn’t done too often in that era. It isn’t done too often now, so it was a credit to Kieran and Alan. It showed quite clearly the madness of not coaching players for all that time when they did not have the ball."

More about the man and the book here:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40234658.html

I was at the Munster hurling final mentioned here. It was a horrible misty wet day. The match was close and dour, but Cork were always ahead. There were no goals scored and very few points. Mick Malone was full-forward for Cork, enough said! We didn't hear about the raid until we were on the way home.



The GAA officials held at gunpoint were not the only ones feeling cheated

'My father was being brought to the church, but I was still hurling'

In the Examiner Sport section, Sean Silke's account of the day they beat Cork in an All-Ireland hurling semi-final. (They still haven't beaten us in a final!)

'For too long we had been defined as losers'

In case any of ye need toilet paper

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/sport/gaa/omahony-to-address-drugs-test-donncha-oconnor-slap-and-dwts-in-new-book-40695553.html

leesider wrote:In case any of ye need toilet paper

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/sport/gaa/omahony-to-address-drugs-test-donncha-oconnor-slap-and-dwts-in-new-book-40695553.html

Oh, Jaysus!

Is there a chapter on last night's game?

A scut then and a scut now.

It's out! “A journey of adversity, mental strength and physical fitness”
https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40724889.html

T. Leaf wrote:It's out!  “A journey of adversity, mental strength and physical fitness”
https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40724889.html

Pr1ck

He'll be on the LAte Late Show yet to publicise, mark my words.
He was on with Timmy Bow on Morning Ireland on TV3 yesterday morning

Tipp Ex wrote:He'll be on the LAte Late Show yet to publicise, mark my words.
He was on with Timmy Bow on Morning Ireland on TV3 yesterday morning

In that case there will be two..................Pr1cks ............in the same room.