“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
Tipperary's Patrick Maher tries to put some metres between him and Michaeal Walsh (l) and Stephen Molumphy (r)
Waterford suffered their second Munster Final defeat in a row in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday. Again, it was Tipperary who were their torturers, running in a seven-point victory against the Déise hurlers.
Although there was no denying the fact that Tipp deserved their win, the scoreline did flatter them somewhat in the end. For this match was one of high intensity and high skill levels. Ultimately it was Tipperary that showed their skill levels to be that little bit sharper, particularly in the latter stages of the match, when some of Waterford’s best performers went a little blunt. They produced eight wides during the second half. Tipperary, meanwhile, kept their level up throughout and, crucially, they got the goal from which there was to be no way back.
But Waterford will have taken some heart from this match. For most of the game, they were toe-to-toe with a team that used to be beating quite regularly up to a few years ago; a team that has won an All-Ireland only two seasons ago, let’s not forget.
Next up for Waterford is Cork. If they had a look at the game between Cork and Tipperary, they will have seen that there isn’t a whole lot to be terrified of. Certainly, it’s heartening to see Cork coming back to something like their best, but if Michael Ryan’s charges produce a similar performance on July 29th, then they should manage to overcome Cork.
Another note of positivity was the continued rehabilitation of Eoin Kelly to inter-county hurling. He came on towards the end and contributed well to the overall play, as well as assuming free-taking duties from a visibly tiring Maurice Shanahan.
Finally, there may have been some doubts as to the wisdom of including Tony Browne in the starting line-up, but he proved that there is some amount of life in the old dog yet. He was one of Waterford’s best players in a game where no Déise player produced anything less than a highly competent performance. If he’s fit for the next game, then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t play against Cork. And if he does, it will increase our chances of victory.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” was released in November 2009 and was long-listed for the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year in 2010. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” was released in November 2009 and was long-listed for the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year in 2010. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
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“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
There was a time not so long ago when I couldn’t finish a book – I literally could not get to grips with reading the whole thing through to the end without nodding off or getting distracted in some way and only ending up reading a couple of pages at a time, then losing the momentum of the story and finally abandoning it.
The only books during that time that kept me interested enough to finish them were “The Gingerman” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude“. Those days are long gone and I’ve no trouble flying through books these days, but the length of the book is an important factor in measuring how much you enjoy it.
Yawn! Getting through too much detail has its toll
All credit to the likes of War and Peace, but I’m firmly on the side of keeping it brief. If a book sticks to the essence of the story without deviating too much, staying humorous as much as possible, then it will entertain and grab you and you won’t want to put it down. Moreover, if it hasn’t waffled on, then you’ll want to read more by the same author.
There is a problem with a lot of GAA books, hurling books and other sports books in that they are overloaded with waffle. There’s a dilemma, for sure, to be faced by the authors of such books: If they are being written primarily for the benefit of the fans of the subject, then the assumption is that the fan/buyer will want to know as much as possible about their beloved subject. The tendency, therefore, is to make sure to cram as many facts, figures, scores and results as possible into the thing.
The trouble with that is that it makes it boring and that has been a problem that has plagued such books. They become reference books.
In setting out to write this book, ( about former Waterford hurler and skills coach Ned Power) I wanted it to be not so much a reference book but entertaining in the first place, and devoid of the boring overload of technical detail that drags down similar books. Hopefully, that’s been achieved – we’ll see what people have to say…
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
Before delving into the latest GAA Book this year, it’s worth noting that our national broadcaster is looking after its citizens in the area of transmitting what remaining important matches there are left to play this season.
The national club championships are a strange sort of end to the year, I have always thought. I’ve wondered about how motivation can be kept going at this late hour of the year, when so many people have deserted the trail of adventure that the summer brought and when the weather is even more awful than it is in summer.
Ballygunner - Waterford's representatives take on Cratloe next Sunday
From the comfort of your home, you can follow most of the action live by tuning in to one of the most worthwhile uses of tax euros – TG4: as creative and energetic a channel as you’re likely to find anywhere. So many people in this country of ours pay out a subscription to a nasty half-wit megalomaniac to watch overpaid clowns cheat and feign injury on the circus that is the English professional soccer league.
See some real people playing real sport for real reasons on TG4 every weekend with the All-Ireland hurling and football championships. Once they’re over, then get back to your GAA books.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
Over at An Fear Rua, a vote has been gathering as to what is the best GAA book of 2009.
So far, Henry Martin’s “Unlimited Heartbreak” seems to be well in front with Cody’s biography scoring a low count just at the moment. Also, Donal Og Cusack‘s biography/autobiography is not really on the radar just yet.
A view of approximately one tenth of the GAA Books of 2009
The poll should be more interesting once the reading public has had a chance to get their teeth into the books that will be put out over the coming month. So far, the size of the votes seem to be reflective of how long the book is out, so before the end of the year, we may get a more representative picture emerging.
One that isn’t out yet (although it will shortly be in print – this week, in fact) is the biography of Ned Power – due to be launched in Dungarvan on the 26th of November.
Part hurling book and part memoir, it will have a broader appeal than most so-called GAA books and it will therefore be interesting to see how it fares.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
There was time when hurling books and GAA books were all about snippets of reminiscences of the good old glory days of one team or another or some player or group of players.
There’s nothing wrong with that. There are still books like that coming out. Even the one about Ned Power is a little bit like that in many ways. The GAA itself brought out a coffee table book of many images recently too.
But nowadays, the tendency is for the “tell-all” book; the one that reveals something spectacular, something sensational, something controversial that will have the head honchos in Croke Park bristling and the ladies in every parish blessing themselves while the gentlemen hang their heads and tut them over and back in disbelief and disgrace.
But are these books saying anything worthwhile? Yes, and no, I suppose. It’s all down to how sincerely and entertainingly the thing is written. The novelty wears off and you soon see what you’re left with. Just don’t judge a book by its cover.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
Concerns of safety seem to be dominating a lot of the decision-making by the GAA national council. The attempted halting of the pitch invasion at the Hurling All-Ireland final and the new rule requiring the wearing of protective head gear by all players (even goalkeepers) were decisions that were taken in the name of improving safety for players.
The debate is going to continue on both issues for a time to come. From my own slightly cynical point of view, when I hear organisations talking about safety issues, I feel the pervasive presence of an insurance company whispering in the ears of decision-makers. It’s also linked, perhaps, to the growing presence of the GPA and it represents, perhaps, a marking of lines – a defensive ploy, a laying down of a few sandbags if you like – in anticipation of the bitter battles to come between the GPA and the GAA.
Kilkenny Helmet Police arresting Dan Shanahan for the non-wearing of his helmet during this years AI SF.
But being bright and positive about it, although the measure of forcing senior goalkeepers to wear the sight-restrictive clobber seems quite daft, the whole exercise has already proven itself at lower levels in reducing the rate of serious accidents. So that’s a good thing to be welcomed. It remains to be seen what effect it will have on defenders and goalkeepers, however. I’m betting that next year’s championship could see an even higher aggregate score amongst teams. Fifty years ago, Waterford were knocking in an average of about six goals per game on their way to their last All-Ireland win. If they could get ahead of the posse and invent some class of helmet that would allow the goalie to see through it, then the advantage would be with them and we’ll see how many goals they’ll knock in against the likes of Kilkenny then!
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.
Santa with yet another GAA book in his hand
In the business of hurling books coming up to Christmas, it’s always a feast or a famine: either there are almost no hurling books or GAA books at all, or there are a lot of them.
Last year, there were not many. The big sports book for Christmas was Ronan O’Gara’s autobiography, which was written with help from Denis Walsh of the Irish subsidiary of British newspaper Sunday Times.
This year, there are many, many GAA books: Unlimited Heartbreak, which tells the story of Limerick’s frustrating struggles to reach All-Ireland glory through numerous outspoken characters; The l.iam MacCarthy Cup is a colourful reference tome by veteran Sean Og O Ceallachain and Owen McCann; Come What May has generated more column inches than the rest put together, not least for the fact that it’s written by an openly gay GAA star; Cody is a straight-up account that gives some idea as to what makes this highly successful manager function – the achievements of the team are truly spectacular and historic, although I personally still have reservations about referees’ propensity in the past for allowing Kilkenny get away with the tactic of surrounding the opposing player with the ball and lightly beating him up until he coughs up.
Cream of the crop, however, in my humble opinion, would have to be “My Father; a hurling revolutionary“. In the first place, there has been no biography written about a Waterford GAA star up to now. Secondly, the life of Ned Power was a very interesting one – a man who embodied all the best principles and characteristics of the GAA and of sportsmanship in general and whose unyielding efforts were carried out in a spirit of good humour and generosity. Thirdly, it’s written from the perspective of his son – something which gives it all a truthful and fascinating viewpoint that makes it, I think, a book that will be appreciated equally by hurling and non-hurling people.
“My Father: A Hurling Revolutionary, the life and times of Ned Power” is out on paperback at the end of November 2009. Click here for further information, pre-order and excerpt.