Lads Just bought two books recently and I must say they were brilliant.
"There is an F in hurling" was the first one i finished and it was funny and really thought provoking in regards to the setting up of hurling in football only areas and the need for more clubs to appreciate both sports.
The second is "The Club" by Christy O' Connor which I haven't read fully yet but is a master class and alomost make the reader feel uneasy as he shows the ins and outs of his GAA club with unnerving honesty.
I would suggest ye read these if ye have an interest in GAA

DO ye have any suggestions for me in regards to old gems ye have read and maybe bogger profile books which I have not read.
The one book I cant read is Unlimited heart brake by henry Martin. Its too close to home and hurts too much.
Any suggestions appreciated

Fishermantom (Limerick) - Posts: 569 - 09/08/2013 17:16:09    1457758

The old Raymond Smith 'Clash of the Ash' books were very good back in the day, football wise Liam Hayes auto is very good!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8678 - 09/08/2013 17:59:28    1457786

Yeah, the Club is great. Martin Codd's book on the great Wexford team of yore is brilliant & so is Michael Duignan's. My Da says "The Greatest Hurling Story Ever Told" about Tipp legend John Doyle book is fantastic.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 09/08/2013 18:03:00    1457792

""Snufalufagus: My road to becoming a Laochra Gael""
It basically charts my journey through my playing career from the first time I ever pulled on the Green & White of Lucan to the lucrative AFL deal I turned down with Wollongong to the lows of the women in Coppers who would kiss & tell to the media!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 09/08/2013 18:35:08    1457820

The Road to '51 was a great read I thought, probably only if you're a Mayo fan though. In the process of reading House of Pain now

MayoMark (Mayo) - Posts: 332 - 09/08/2013 18:45:42    1457834

Jack O'Connor's Keys to the kingdom. VERY honest, none of this impression management that politicians tend to use, good Craic, some cracking anecdotes and very passionate with a hint of anti-Tyrone features. Most definitely the best football book I've read.

MissDownFanatic (Down) - Posts: 411 - 09/08/2013 19:08:07    1457853

Kings of September is a brilliant read even though it's about '82

Superglue (Kerry) - Posts: 1283 - 09/08/2013 19:10:20    1457855

The club is the best gaa book I read. Can relate to every member in every parish in the country. Should be sent to all gaa clubs and be read by their members. It will make them a better club. Ger loughnanes book was also quality.

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 747 - 09/08/2013 19:38:00    1457865

Havend red a book in a whyle but I mind Micky Harts one was a good one. Cant mind name tho so I cant but it was a good one.

Dee (Laois) - Posts: 312 - 09/08/2013 19:55:32    1457882

The Gambler is excellent and House of Pain is very good.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8157 - 09/08/2013 19:56:57    1457883

Beyond the tunnel Nick English
Davy fitzgerald these were really enjoyable autobiographies
Brendan Fullams, Legends of the Ash Giants of the Ash were really good books, golddust now hard to get.

preddan (Kildare) - Posts: 761 - 09/08/2013 20:16:41    1457888

Raising the Banner Tom, the most recent hurling one I read, a good read too.

Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 520 - 09/08/2013 20:18:50    1457889

yup the Gambler is a good one - Oisin McOnville's autobiography.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5194 - 09/08/2013 20:23:41    1457893

Yeah House of Pain and The Club would definitely be my favourites. Keys to the Kingdom was great but probably not as relevant now. Have never read The Gambler but as GAA autobiographies go I think Donal Og Cusack's is the best I came across.

They're all a couple of years old now, wasn't much before Christmas last year from a GAA point of view.

If you're looking for non-GAA sports books these are my favourites:
The Dirtiest Race in History by Richard Moore
Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh
Dream Team by Jack McCallum
Open by Andre Agassi
King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero by David Remnick

doublehop (Kildare) - Posts: 4172 - 09/08/2013 20:35:52    1457899

The famous Dublin blue book,sure not even the Dubs believed it!

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 09/08/2013 20:36:35    1457901

Donegal 1 in a row good quick read

RAHKILL (Westmeath) - Posts: 395 - 09/08/2013 20:41:56    1457908

Con Houlihan's The Back Page is brilliant, if you can still get a copy.

beal (Mayo) - Posts: 1388 - 10/08/2013 13:31:16    1458074

Of the 3 I have; Liked The Gambler. There is another one called Final Whistle by Paddy Russell. It is from a ref's point of view.
My favorite is Princes of Pigskin: A Century of Kerry Footballers. There are 3 - 6 page bios of dozens of guys from Austin Stack to Maurice Fitzgerald.

mikeyjoe (USA) - Posts: 415 - 10/08/2013 13:36:19    1458079

Joe Joe Conwell's Hearts of Oak. As a bonus there's one really handsome looking fella peering back out of the pages at you. Modesty forbids me revealing who is :)

Maroonatic (Galway) - Posts: 1062 - 10/08/2013 13:54:28    1458090

"The Agony and The Ecstasy"

The best GAA book I've read I reckon. Absolutely brilliant.

Its all about Waterford hurling, and their triumphs and failures in the last 20 years. Great stuff, and its the little things in it that make you realise why they never went all the way to an AI. Well worth any money.

dblackandamber (Kilkenny) - Posts: 92 - 10/08/2013 14:07:43    1458100