Piece on Going to a Championship Match in Thurles
10 May 2022
I went to the Clare Cork hurling match in Thurles. Wrote about it for the Irish Examiner. You can read it here.
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sportswriting
Article on legendary sportswriter Brendan Mooney
13 April 2022
It was a privilege to write about the laying to rest of the eminent sportswriter Brendan Mooney for the Irish Examiner. It was a humbling event, lit up with love. You can read it here. Photo of Sonia O’Sullivan with Ann Mooney at the funeral of her husband and former ‘Irish Examiner’ sports reporter Brendan Mooney at St Patrick’s Church, Rochestown. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney
Cover Reveal of The Game!
13 April 2022
I’m thrilled with the cover of my forthcoming book The Game: a Journey into the Heart of Sport from Merrion Press in May. The cover was designed by Fiachra McCarthy of Fiachra McCarthy Design and it features a photo of me taken by my brother Dermot in Banna Strand, c. 1974. The book is now available to pre-order from your local bookshop or online from Merrion Press and the usual outlets.
Launch of Denis Hurley book Cork Hurling: Game of My Life
25 March 2022
I was delighted to launch Denis Hurley’s book Cork Hurling: Game of My Life with Denis in the lovely Cork Waterstone’s in Patrick Street. It was a really enjoyable event, especially after the tough two years we have put in, losing out on so much. Thanks to Denis and Liam Hayes from Hero Books for asking me to be there. There was a great crowd there including several hurlers who feature in the book. It’s a great book, I recommend it highly and it’s now available in all good bookshops. Here are some photos of the night, taken by the great John Breen of Waterstone’s.
Essay Published in the Journal of Sports Literature
10 March 2022
A new essay of mine ‘A Place Beyond Words’ has been published in the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 issue of Aethlon: The Journal of Sports Literature which was issued in March 2022. Aethlon is a publication of the Sports Literature Association, which is centred at East Tennessee State University. It’s a print journal published twice yearly and publishes works about sport and sport literature, including original fiction and poetry, juried scholarly and critical essays, and book reviews. My essay is about the intersections between art and sport and features in my upcoming book, The Game which will be published by Merrion Press. More information about my book here. More information about Aethlon here.
Essay Published in the Journal of Sports Literature
10 March 2022
I’m delighted that my essay ‘A Place Beyond Words’ has been published in Aethlon: The Journal of Sports Literature. Aethlon is a publication of the Sports Literature Association, which is centred at East Tennessee State University. It’s a print journal published twice yearly and publishes works about sport and sport literature, including original fiction and poetry, juried scholarly and critical essays, and book reviews. My essay is about the intersections between art and sport and features in my upcoming book, The Game which will be published by Merrion Press. More information about my book here. More information about Aethlon here.
Time for another sports diet… maybe next week
1 February 2022
Column in the The Irish Examiner about how much sport I consume. Featuring TJ Reid, Claire Melia, Tom Brady, Jonathan Wilson, Raymond Carver, Jorge Valdano and Catherine Tate. You can read it here.
My tribute to Canon Michael O’Brien published in The Irish Examiner
14 January 2022
I was delighted that my personal tribute to Canon Michael O’Brien was published in The Irish Examiner. ‘The Canon’ coached me on six teams between 1979 and 1984. The tribute revolves around The Fitzgibbon Cup of 1983 hosted by The Ulster University at Coleraine. You can read it here. Photo taken in Bellaghy after the win, courtesy of Mick Lyons. That’s me behind the cup.
‘Possession’ from Winter Papers features on Arena
7 December 2021
I was delighted that my sports essay ‘Possession’ from Winter Papers featured on on the RTÉ Radio 1 arts show Arena. The programme was devoted to Winter Papers 7 and Billy O’Callaghan kindly picked out my essay to discuss. You can listen back here (‘Possession’ appears at 43:52).
Irish Examiner piece picked among Sportswriting of the Week
1 December 2021
I was delighted that my piece Boring pubs, jumpy legs, Midleton and Glen Rovers: A boy watches his first county final was picked by those lovely people at The42.ie as one of their Sportswriting of the Week choices – in some heady company. You can read the four selections here.