{"title":"Books by Ciarán Murphy","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780241997697","title":"This is the Life","description":"\u003cb\u003eA provocative look at how grassroots GAA interacts with life in Ireland, from the wittiest Gaelic games pundit at work today \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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. \u003ci\u003eThis is the Life \u003c\/i\u003eis a book about the 99%: a witty and provocative look at grassroots GAA from the most intelligent and interesting Gaelic games pundit at work today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCiarán Murphy - of Second Captains and the \u003ci\u003eIrish Times \u003c\/i\u003e- 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. He writes about working as an assistant in the clothing shop owned by the family of Jarlath Fallon - both Ciarán's sporting hero \u003ci\u003eand \u003c\/i\u003ethe local postman. And he looks a things we usually prefer not to talk about, like the role of social class in the GAA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is the Life \u003c\/i\u003eis 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'There is a deep understanding of the way the GAA works at every level … a brilliant read from start to finish’ Paul Rouse, \u003ci\u003eThe Irish Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56232260141429,"sku":"9780241997697","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241997697_ca990a17-a103-4eb6-95ef-dad0a805068c.jpg?v=1786012395"},{"product_id":"9781844886890","title":"Old Parish","description":"Shortlisted for The Last Word Listeners' Choice Award, Irish Book Awards 2025'No matter if you're a die-hard hurling fanatic or you've never seen a match, Old Parish is well worth a read.’ Hot Press'Entertaining and thoughtful' Irish Independent‘There aren’t enough of these books … The whole thing is a delight’ Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times---Hurling is Ireland’s national game – a source of fascination and pride, even to people who have never played it. Ciarán Murphy, a lifelong club footballer, used to be one of those people. Then he spent a summer trying to play hurling with a tiny club in the West Waterford Gaeltacht. Along the way he embarked on a quest to understand the history, geography and mystique of this extraordinary sport.   Old Parish is the club of Ciarán’s father, a club where relatives of his are still deeply involved, and possibly the only place brave (or stupid) enough to take on a forty-one-year-old newcomer to the game. Predictably (and at times hilariously), Ciarán finds out just how difficult a sport hurling is to pick up when you’re in your sporting dotage, up against men who’ve played it since childhood.   Ciarán also explores why hurling is played in only half the country; he investigates the origins of hurling clubs’ antipathy to football and the difficulties of establishing hurling in new areas; he looks into the mysteries of hurley-making; and he seeks to understand why, when a hurling legend refers to the sport as ‘the greatest game ever played by any man’, he has to be taken seriously.   Anyone who has ever watched hurling knows that it is something unique and extraordinary. Old Parish explains why.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307743916405,"sku":"9781844886890","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781844886890_4ea25765-df50-4101-9f86-081ddf006056.jpg?v=1786028489"},{"product_id":"9781405973526","title":"Old Parish","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for The Last Word Listeners' Choice Award, Irish Book Awards 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'No matter if you're a die-hard hurling fanatic or you've never seen a match,\u003ci\u003e Old Parish\u003c\/i\u003e is well worth a read.’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHot Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Entertaining and thoughtful'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e Irish Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘There aren’t enough of these books … The whole thing is a delight’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMalachy Clerkin, Irish Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHurling is Ireland’s national game – a source of fascination and pride, even to people who have never played it. Ciarán Murphy, a lifelong club footballer, used to be one of those people. Then he spent a summer trying to play hurling with a tiny club in the West Waterford Gaeltacht. Along the way he embarked on a quest to understand the history, geography and mystique of this extraordinary sport.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOld Parish is the club of Ciarán’s father, a club where relatives of his are still deeply involved, and possibly the only place brave (or stupid) enough to take on a forty-one-year-old newcomer to the game. Predictably (and at times hilariously), Ciarán finds out just how difficult a sport hurling is to pick up when you’re in your sporting dotage, up against men who’ve played it since childhood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCiarán also explores why hurling is played in only half the country; he investigates the origins of hurling clubs’ antipathy to football and the difficulties of establishing hurling in new areas; he looks into the mysteries of hurley-making; and he seeks to understand why, when a hurling legend refers to the sport as ‘the greatest game ever played by any man’, he has to be taken seriously.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnyone who has ever watched hurling knows that it is something unique and extraordinary. \u003ci\u003eOld Parish \u003c\/i\u003eexplains why.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368822813045,"sku":"9781405973526","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781405973526_f5b41365-ec89-4f47-9721-4c0af00d1433.jpg?v=1786019612"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-ciaran-murphy.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}