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Over the course of fifteen years, John Delaney ran the Football Association of Ireland as his own personal fiefdom. He had his critics, but his power was never seriously challenged until last year, when Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan published a sequence of stories in the Sunday Times containing damaging revelations about his personal compensation and the parlous financial situation of the FAI. Delaney's reputation as a great financial manager was left in tatters. He resigned under pressure, and the FAI was left hoping for a massive bail-out from the Irish taxpayer. In Champagne Football, Tighe and Rowan dig deep into the story of Delaney's career and of the FAI's slide into ruin. They show how he surrounded himself with people whose personal loyalty he could count on, and a board that failed to notice that the association's finances were shot. They detail Delaney's skilful cultivation of opinion-formers outside the FAI. And they document the culture of excess that Delaney presided over and benefited from, to the detriment of the organization he led. Champagne Football is a gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back the curtain on the FAI's mismanagement. ISBN 9780241990063 -
Ireland is home to some of the most dramatic and beautiful outdoor swimming spots in the world. Whether you are an experienced swimmer or just starting to discover the joy of wild dips, this comprehensive guide will inspire you to discover new locations for swimming, diving and snorkelling in dramatic bays and magical waterfalls, in secret coves and serene rivers and lakes. Here you will find expert tips, spectacular photos and practical information on parking, access and swimming conditions. The maps, grid references and clear directions make it easy to find these locations where you can escape the crowds and take the plunge in some of the most awe-inspiring corners of Ireland’s landscape. -
The riveting full-career autobiography of Barry Geraghty, one of the most successful jump jockeys in the sport's history. Now retired, Geraghty takes his rightful place in the pantheon of greats that inclues AP McCoy, Richard Johnson and Ruby Walsh. Barry Geraghty is an Irish horseracing legend. From his first win in 1997 he has gone on to ride almost 2000 winners, making him the fourth most successful jumps jockey of all time. With the second most wins at Cheltenham in the sport's history, he has worked with all the greats - Moscow Flyer, Kicking King, Monty's Pass. Barry finally retired in July 2020, covered in scars. He has broken all of his limbs, his shoulders, his ribs, his nose. He has survived falls too numerous to recall, and spent most of 2019 with a metal cast on his leg. And yet, he kept getting back on the horse, for twenty-three years. His autobiography is about resilience, the mental power that enables the great to keep going despite the pain, despite the odds. It explores how Barry has developed the mind tools to continue to push himself, even when all seems lost. Containing startling revelations and a searingly honest insight into the life of a top jockey, this is a must-read for all sports fans. ISBN 9780717191970 -
"Murakami is best known as a highly original Japanese novelist - but he is also a marathon runner! This thoughtful book on what motivates him to run (and write) is both philosophical and inspiring. It made me buy running shoes (and use them) but also made me appreciative of what life can offer us." Bob ISBN 9780099526155 -
Take a dive into the deep with writer and swimmer Bonnie Tsui and discover what it is about water that seduces us, heals us and brings us together. Our evolutionary ancestors swam for survival. Now we swim in freezing Arctic waters, wide channels, and piranha-infested rivers just because they are there. Swimming is an introspective and quiet sport in a chaotic age. It is therapeutic for those who are injured and it is one route to that elusive, ecstatic state of Flow. Propelled by stories of polar swim champions, a Baghdad swim club, Olympian athletes, modern-day samurai swimmers and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survived a six-hour swim in the wintry Atlantic, Why We Swim takes us around the globe in a remarkable, all-encompassing account of the world of swimming. ISBN 9781846046605 -
When Conor Niland was 16, he got the chance to hit with Serena Williams at Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis academy. Conor, the Irish junior number one, was feeling a bit homesick. Serena, also 16, already owned her own house beside the academy. Conor Niland knows what it's like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room ('Ciao, bonjour, hello!'), and he has had the exquisitely terrible experience of facing Novak Djokovic in the world's biggest tennis stadium - while suffering from food poisoning. But he never reached the very top. The Racket is the story of pro tennis's 99%: the players who roam the globe in hope of climbing the rankings and squeaking into the Grand Slam tournaments. It brings us into a world where a few dozen super-rich players - travelling with coaches and physios - share a stage with lonely touring pros whose earnings barely cover their expenses. Painting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, The Racket is a witty and revealing underdog's memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world. ISBN 9780241998076 -
Keith Earls started out in senior rugby as a teenage star and during the course of his long career has become one of the most admired and respected players of his generation. A British & Irish Lion at the age of 21, he is now closing in on his 34th birthday and still playing at the top of his game. He has won 93 caps for Ireland and played 179 times in the famous red of Munster. He started every game of the 2018 Six Nations campaign that culminated in an Irish Grand Slam victory. A lethal finisher blessed with thoroughbred speed, Earls is the second-highest try scorer of all time for his country. With Munster he is one try short of the all-time total and looks set to break that record next season. Behind the glittering success, there is another story to be told. He has achieved these milestones whilst being racked by private battles with his mental health for most of his career. A number of crises brought him to the brink of voluntary retirement from the game. A long series of injuries have taken their psychological toll too. A native of Limerick city, Earls grew up in one of its most socially disadvantaged housing estates. Moyross was blighted by crime and violence and he did not escape unscathed from the surrounding fear and trauma visited upon his beloved community. His natural sporting talent brought him into the privileged bastion of elite rugby union. His frank and fearless autobiography tells the story of his long struggle to reconcile the world whence he came with the world opened up by his brilliance with an oval ball. Earls has maintained a low profile throughout his career. For the first time he will talk in depth and at length about the inner turmoil that went unseen by team-mates, friends and fans. It is a confessional, intimate and courageous story of the pain that was a constant companion to the glory. ISBN 9781914197413 -
Cast aside by his family at an early age, abandoned and left to fend for himself in the woods of Washington State, young Joe Rantz turns to rowing as a way of escaping his past. What follows is an extraordinary journey, as Joe and eight other working-class boys exchange the sweat and dust of life in 1930s America for the promise of glory at the heart of Hitler's Berlin. Stroke by stroke, a remarkable young man strives to regain his shattered self-regard, to dare again to trust in others - and to find his way back home. Told against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat is narrative non-fiction of the first order; a personal story full of lyricism and unexpected beauty that rises above the grand sweep of history, and captures instead the purest essence of what it means to be alive. ISBN 9781447210986 -
Who am I now? That's the dilemma facing many elite athletes when they stop chasing their dreams and transition into retirement. Far too young for slippers and often at anage when non-sporting peers are still climbing the career ladder. For decades, they've trained relentlessly, dedicated to the pursuit of glory - to victory and to defeat. They've made unimaginable sacrifices, sidestepped the trappings of'ordinary' life, invested blood, sweat and tears to represent their people on local, national and international stages. Along the way they've formed tight-knit communities and friendships. Adhering to rigid training schedules, out-of-step with loved ones, they become somewhat institutionalised. But such steadfast, single-minded obsession cannot last forever. When that final whistle sounds, these athletes retire, often left behind by fans and team-mates. An overwhelming uncertainty lingers: 'What now?' Post-sport, life isdaunting. From incredible highs to earth-shattering lows. Studies show that 46% of retired athletes experience depression or anxiety. When the World Stops Watching tells intimate stories of 14 Irish sportspeople. From rugby grand slam winners to Olympic boxers, European Tour golfers to World Cup footballers, from local GAA heroes to international hall of fame winners - offering front-row insight into how elite sports people fare in their sporting afterlife. With searing honesty, these athletes recount dramatic personal and social changes,from loss of income to loss of purpose. A complex journey of resilience and regret, despair and desolation, fear and fulfilment is undertaken as tentative new beginnings dawn. Woven in are gems of guidance from professionals, academics and experts for the rocky retirement road that leads to a life beyond sport. ISBN 9781785303449 -
Richie Sadlier's autobiography is a judiciously layered and thoughtful examination of how to live a life and develop as a person despite everything. It's also relentlessly entertaining. A rare and precious example of a sports book that has both story and stories in abundance.' Malachy Clerkin, The Irish Times'The kind of book to stop you in your tracks.' The Irish Farmers JournalWhen a career-ending injury saw former Ireland and Millwall striker Richie Sadlier retire from football at age 24, his life spiraled out of control. Without structure or a sense of purpose, and fueled by a dependency on alcohol, he spent years running from the dark memories and feelings that had haunted him since childhood. Until one day, he hit rock bottom and decided to confront his demons. Now a successful soccer pundit, psychotherapist and mental-fitness teacher, Recovering is about a life shaped by efforts to escape, and how it is possible to rebuild a life, piece by piece, with the right help. Inspiring and groundbreaking, it is an important reflection on the need to move away from perceptions of shame in our discussions about mental health, sex, relationships and addiction. ISBN 9780717189540 -
Wayne Barnes - one of the most-experienced international referees in history and criminal barrister to boot - uniquely lifts the lid on a lifetime of trying to keep the biggest names in the sport on best behaviour. There aren't many people who can say they've been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you're a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place. Candid, humble and warmly told, Throwing the Book is a definitive account of what it means to be a rugby referee and a love letter to the sport that has provided Wayne with so much. Covering his childhood days, family life, career highs and lows, side-step into law, as well as what's next in store for Wayne both on and off the pitch, this book reveals the man behind the referee for the very first time. Serious when it needs to be, but also rich in good humour and humanity, Throwing the Book is a memoir to remember. -
Ireland went to the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the number one ranked team in the world. They had a unique Test series win in New Zealand on their list of achievements; they were the reigning Grand Slam holders; and still they came home early. Getting to the last four has become an obsession. But is this the only measure of success?This ambition is a country mile removed from the awfulness of Irish rugby as the game went from amateur to professional during the nineties. We were all over the shop, and the men behind the counter were lost and disgruntled. But by the arrival of the Six Nations in 2000, pain gave way to change. There were real signs of growth. From Eddie O’Sullivan, who kicked it off and then was deported to a limbo where he couldn’t get a decent job, to men of massive influence like Joe Schmidt and Stuart Lancaster, to David Nucifora – the first tsar of Irish rugby in the pro era – rugby here became unrecognisable from its old days. But with the clock already counting down to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, where are Ireland on their race to the top? And is glory finally within reach? -
The Game is a multifaceted reflection on sport. It is part memoir, outlining Tadhg Coakley’s time as a player and fan, and how sport has shaped his life. But it also tackles sport on a universal scale – the good and the bad – and its immeasurable influence on our world. For fans, sport can be all-consuming. Indeed, we are consuming sport in ever greater gulpfuls, often blindly. It has a dark side; it is rife with corruption, sexism, homophobia, nationalism and a raft of toxic masculine behaviour, and Coakley interrogates his own attitudes on each of these fronts. On the other hand, sport builds all manner of valuable connections and communities, and in sport – as in art – people can forge their own identities with grace, imagination and the possibility of what may be. This duality is one of the most fascinating aspects of sport. Written with warmth, openness and keen insight, The Game is an entertaining and thought-provoking meditation on the uniquely intense highs and lows of loving sport in today’s world. ISBN 9781785372971 -
Shane Carthy writes frankly and eloquently about his journey over the last five years. He details, without overdramatising, the downward spiral which, days after producing a man-of-the-match display in Dublin's 2014 Leinster under-21 final win over Meath, saw him wake up in St Patrick's Mental Hospital. Carthy also explains what ultimately brought him back to where he is now, discovering a path where life is worth living. He hopes that through his words and actions he can show people that there is a way out of the suffering they may be experiencing and the path, although difficult, is worth travelling. ISBN 9781788491501 -
'After the massacre, the GAA became even more important to us as a real sense of identity. It's difficult to explain but we could cling to it in a sense, and say this is ours, this is us.' - Clare Rogan, wife of Adrian Rogan, killed by the UVF in the 1994 Loughinisland massacre. The GAA has long been at the heart of Irish life, nurturing our culture and communities and fostering powerful social bonds. However, as sectarian conflict intensified in the North, the GAA became the object of animosity and surveillance by loyalist paramilitaries and Crown forces. Clubhouses and pitches were occupied by British forces, fans were security checked and harassed on their way to and from games, and over 150 members were killed. Lost Gaels is the first comprehensive account of the devastating impact of the Troubles on the GAA, providing a platform for bereaved family and friends to pay homage to their lost loved ones. Capturing the deep connection between the GAA and the everyday lives of Irish people, this is a poignant and powerful tribute to the lives of lost Gaels. -
The hilarious memoir from the funniest man in football!Roddy Collins is a football man - now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at sixteen clubs), manager (twelve clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny man: an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'. Now, with the brilliant Paul Howard, Roddy puts it all down on paper for the first time - the adventures, the rows and the craic - in what will be not only one of the funniest but one of the most eye-opening books ever written about professional football. -
From the bestselling co-author of Soccernomics comes the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful football club in the world - and how that envied position now hangs in the balance. Barca is not just the world's most popular sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organisations on the planet. With almost 250 million followers on social media and 4 million visitors to its Camp Nou stadium each year, there's little wonder its motto is 'More than a club'. But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona has transformed from regional team to global powerhouse, becoming a model of sporting excellence and a consistent winner of silverware. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how these transformations took place. He outlines the organisational structure behind the club's business decisions, and details the work of its coaches, medics, data analysts and nutritionists who have revolutionised the sporting world. And, of course, he studies the towering influence of the club's two greatest legends, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi. Like many leading global businesses, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders a view behind the scenes. But, after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given unprecedented access to the inner sanctum and to the people who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest successes and upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond football to understand Barca as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon. "I began my research thinking I was going to be explaining Barca's rise to greatness, and I have, but I've also ended up charting the decline and fall." 'This is a masterfully written history of the world's greatest football club. Mes que un book!' - GARY LINEKER -
He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court - but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself to become a prodigy, an inner conflict that would define him. Now, in his beautiful, haunting autobiography, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by such conflicts. Agassi makes us feel his panic as an undersized seven-year-old in Las Vegas, practicing all day under the obsessive gaze of his violent father. We see him at thirteen, banished to a Florida tennis camp. Lonely, scared, a ninth-grade dropout, he rebels in ways that will soon make him a 1980s icon. By the time he turns pro at sixteen, his new look promises to change tennis forever, as does his lightning fast return. And yet, despite his raw talent, he struggles early on. We feel his confusion as he loses to the world's best, his greater confusion as he starts to win. After stumbling in three Grand Slam finals, Agassi shocks the world, and himself, by capturing the 1992 Wimbledon. Overnight he becomes a fan favorite and a media target. Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match, and every public relationship. Alongside vivid portraits of rivals, Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his brief time with Barbra Streisand and his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He reveals the depression that shatters his confidence, and the mistake that nearly costs him everything. Finally, he recounts his spectacular resurrection and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one. In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf. With its breakneck tempo and raw candor, Open will be read and cherished for years. A treat for ardent fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis. Like Agassi's game, it sets a new standard for grace, style, speed and power. ISBN 9781529362442
