This is the Life: Days and Nights in the GAA

by Ciarán Murphy

The GAA is Ireland's largest civil society organisation, woven into the fabric of families and communities - and yet most books about Gaelic games focus on the greatest players and inter-county teams. This is the Life is a book about the 99 per a witty and provocative look at grassroots GAA from the most intelligent and interesting Gaelic games pundit at work today.

Ciarán Murphy - of Second Captains and the Irish Times - has an unmatched feel for the timeless elements of this world and a finger on the pulse of change. He looks at the plight of rural clubs that are losing their players to the cities - and he does so not only as a journalist but as a footballer who made the same move himself (and who once, flying home to play a club match, found himself alone on the plane with Jedward). He writes about working as an assistant in the clothing shop owned by the family of Jarlath Fallon - who was both Ciaran's all-time sporting hero and the local postman. And he looks at things we usually prefer not to talk about, like the role of social class in the GAA.

This is the Life is a book about the places the GAA comes from, the places it can take a person, and the things that make a local club worth fighting for.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Sports, Irish Literature

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2023

Reviews

[Peter Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you grow up in Ireland, you have an opinion on Gaelic games, whether you like it or not. Most children play either Gaelic football, hurling or camogie at school, and the All-Ireland Finals, contested every year by the best teams in the country, are impossible to ignore. For the record, Ciarán Murphy adores the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) unconditionally and unreservedly, and this book is his love letter to the sport.

Murphy is a well-known journalist on the Emerald Isle: a regular contributor to the Irish Times and a host of the popular Second Captains podcast. Hailing from the village Milltown in North-East Galway (close to my own neck of the woods - hon Clonberne!), he has been steeped in the GAA from an early age. With his father coaching several Milltown teams over the years and uncle Jim Carney a renowned GAA reporter in his own right, avoiding Gaelic games was never an option. Just as well he loves it so much.

It is quite a niche book, this one. There is a lot of precise detail about Galway football - county team, club championship etc, so some prior knowledge of the sport certainly helps. Remembering his schooldays, Murphy talks about his time in St Jarlath's of Tuam, a institution famous for producing the finest Galway footballers. A talented player himself by the sounds of it, he was never quite good enough to make the Galway senior squad, but a valuable member of his local team in Milltown. He lined out there for several years before transferring to Templeogue Synge Street in Dublin.

So what makes the GAA so special? Murphy clearly admires the amateur ethos of the sport - your footballing hero on a Sunday could be delivering your post on Monday morning, as in the case of Galway legend Ja Fallon. But it's also the sense of community that grassroots GAA brings: you are born into a parish, you play alongside your friends and neighbours and support that club for the rest of your days. It fosters a bond that can never be broken - the joy of victory and heartache of loss is shared with the people you love most.

The book finishes on a strong note. Murphy gives us a diary of his season as a member of a Templeogue Synge Street team and it really gets inside the mindset of a typical GAA player - the ambition, the addiction and the commitment it all takes, no matter what level you are operating at. And then there is a wonderful coda about the life of Sean Brennan, a Milltown player who lost everything but found himself again through Gaelic football. It's a beautiful, life-affirming piece and truly sums up what the GAA is all about. This memoir made me reassess and reappreciate my relationship with Gaelic games. When somebody writes so passionately and eloquently about a subject they love, you can't help but sit up and take notice.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt more like a series of articles than a book. It's mostly a collection of anecdotes and personal experiences, but I don't feel there's enough here to justify a book. I thought this would be an analysis of a local GAA club, but it's mostly the memoirs of a local club player, with accounts of various games he played in and people he played with, which isn't the most interesting.

The book goes into great detail discussing Galway football, particularly that of the 90s and 00s. I'm from Galway so I recognised a lot of the names and remembered watching some of the matches. But I worry that anyone not from Galway may get very bored, very quickly.

[Luke Hosford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this as an attempt to get back into audiobooks. It was very strong in parts, especially when he was talking fondly about people that he met throughout his life in the game. The opening chapter about his father, old stories he heard from his town in Milltown, and his own experiences intersecting with Galway inter-county players stand out. It did the job of showing the experience of the GAA from the perspective of a decent club player. Even though the last chapter, a diary of one of his seasons in Tempelogue, worked well as a finisher, some of the chapters just read too much like autobiography. Since I listen to his podcast every day, some of these I had heard before so that was a little disappointing. Additionally, the book was at its strongest when he supplemented his own experiences with some research he had done or when he talked to people from other counties with similar experiences. So these chapters just felt lazier. As well, he touched on quite a few of the topics that GAA people tend to avoid talking explicitly about - emotional blackmail, over-burdening of players, small-time corruption, even paying the managers (:o) - but didn't talk about the role alcohol plays in it all. This despite the fact that many of his most memorable reflections took place over this lubricant. Will still probably give the next one a listen though. Original enough I think.

[Eoghan O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Tom Mortimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone from outside Ireland with no GAA knowledge, this was a great insight into the culture of the sport. Names, places, teams went a little over the head, but that didn’t bother me. The book was excellently structured, the personal stories were fascinating, and the themes were really interesting.

Kind of wish I got more depth from the author though. At times it felt incongruent and like he was holding himself back, which was a shame. But to anyone who wants to learn more about a sport that few people outside Ireland know, I couldn’t recommend this enough.

[Brian Marren · Rating 2 out of 5]

“What if Feverpitch was written about the GAA?”

Maybe that’s a little bit unfair, but Murphy does use his own experiences with the Association as a launchpad to discuss all smattering of different aspects of Gaelic life, (and his own life for that matter) Maybe I’m too entrenched in the community to appreciate it, but I don’t feel like I really learned a whole lot from this. Still, its a quick, enjoyable read, and a nice change of pace from the countless autobiographies that litter the irish bookshop’s sport section. Would *softly* recommend.

[Patrick Cormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book, I was given this as a gift and loved it from the start. Ciaran Murphy is a very funny broadcaster and if you re familiar with his work on Newstalk or Second Captains you can hear his voice as you read this book which is an added benefit. Some of the stories are hilarious and as a GAA fan and someone who recently got more involved with the local club I loved hearing about Ciarans relationship with his various GAA connections. It’s full of facts and anecdotes but some the best stories are of when Ciaran was playing. I can’t wait to read his book on hurling.

[Francesco Cipriani · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid listener to the Second Captains podcast, I was looking forward to reading this book. It was a disappointment, however. The book is described as "a witty and provocative look at grassroots GAA", but it is neither witty nor provocative. In fairness though, the book is well written and edited.

[Shaun Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings GAA alive

This book is at its best when it tells of the pain and the pleasure of GAA, A couple times the author tries to deal with some id the sports issues and then it isn't quiet so interesting for the general sporting reader

[Cian Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has a similar relationship with the GAA as the author and a lot of the same feelings towards the way your own club and sport can make you feel, i really enjoyed this book. Will definitely read the author's recent book.

[Michael Coyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Couldn't put it down.

[Niall O'Malley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great insight to the dedication it takes to play GAA and what a great community it is across the country. I've only a passing interest in GAA usually but I still found this a nice read.

[Rob Melich · Rating 3 out of 5]

GAA and Irish life through the sports lense.

[Declan Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic insight into all sides of the GAA community, bringing colour and emotion to each scenario.

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captures the essence of it all well but a bit rambling in places

[Brian McNally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only took to the first chapter for a drive by on Peter Canavan’s bald head, disappointed, but not surprised

[Anders Frisk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moves along at a decent pace and is a contemporary piece on Gaelic Football, the most popular sport in Ireland. Well written and edited but the content is light. I feel Ciaran’s writing is strong and he could produce a great book on a detailed topic.
He is in a unique position of not being part of the old GAA establishment, not being a single-minded country Gael nor a new age Dub. This position may give him insight into helping the GAA modernise. Underage clubs and senior inter county are doing fine. It’s everything in between is the issue.