{"product_id":"the-last-ditch","title":"The Last Ditch","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Sweeney's prose is on fire. A blistering book that readers will relish enormously.\" MICHAEL HARDING\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A cracking read ... a championship season as redemption song.\" MICHAEL CLIFFORD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"All the tension of a tight knockout encounter ... one of the books of the year.\" MIKE McCORMACK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the summer of 2024, sports columnist Eamonn Sweeney set out to follow the All-Ireland championships around the country, retracing footsteps he'd first laid down in his 2004 bestseller\u003ci\u003e The Road to Croker\u003c\/i\u003e. But there was one big problem. For many years, he had struggled with a crippling travel phobia that left him largely confined to his hometown in West Cork. To fulfil his publishing contract, he had to face his deepest fears.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last Ditch\u003c\/i\u003e is a story about mental health, hidden shame and a life-changing moment in a remote train station. It's about a hurling championship which may have been the greatest ever played and a football championship which definitely was not. It's about unlikely triumphs, remarkable renaissances, shocks, cliff-hangers and heartbreaks on the pitch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Off the field, it is the story of one man's embrace of a changing Ireland as he takes back his life. Both an unforgettable sports odyssey and a revelatory personal account, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Ditch\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration of resilience, the healing power of connection and the unifying spirit of the GAA.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  ","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483508154741,"sku":"9781399734714","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399734714.jpg?v=1786178679","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/the-last-ditch","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}