Life, Death & Hurling, The Michael Duignan Story

[Abercrombie Fitch]

Looks like it'll be a great read from what the indo printed. Should sell well due to his high profile. I'll be buying it, and will be there Thursday night.

F**k the begrudgers, and there's plenty on here.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I want to pick up on a point Duignan made relating to Babs Keating. Duignan wrote “He (Keating) was forever harking back to the ‘60s, which had no relevance to us.”

Now 1968 is as relevant to 1998 as 1981 is to 2011, i.e. not at all (do the maths!). For those who think Offaly need to revert to hurling methods that worked thirty years ago – that won't work.

Sorry to hijack the thread.

When is the book on sale? I had a look in Easons in O'Connell Street, Dublin, this morning and it wasn't there.

[Bord na Mona man]

When is the book on sale? I had a look in Easons in O'Connell Street, Dublin, this morning and it wasn't there.

Tomorrow night at 8pm!

[Plain of the Herbs]

Feckin' typical. A book on hurling being launched in . . . Tullamore!!

There'll be no atmosphere in Tullamore at all. Making us travel all the way across the bog like that. Shure the first All-Ireland was in Birr. All hurling matters should be in Birr. This is an outrage. An outrage, I say. Is it any wonder Offaly hurling is gone the way it is?

Tomorrow night at 8pm!

[TheManFromFerbane]

Feckin' typical. A book on hurling being launched in . . . Tullamore!!...

Give me that spoon please.

[turk]

As for Cody’s book, Brian Cody’s was an atrocious read mainly because Martin Breheny is so dreary he could only get one faintly humorous story out of Cody, the one about sweeping the dressing-room floor with the broom.

As soon as I heard that the story about Cody in the chipper in Ferbane wasn't in his sanitised biography then I knew it was a whitewash.

[Bord na Mona man]

Feckin' typical. A book on hurling being launched in . . . Tullamore!!

There'll be no atmosphere in Tullamore at all. Making us travel all the way across the bog like that. Shure the first All-Ireland was in Birr. All hurling matters should be in Birr. This is an outrage. An outrage, I say. Is it any wonder Offaly hurling is gone the way it is?

Tomorrow night at 8pm!

Aye, there'll be chaos in Tullamore tonight. People will probably be asked to move their cars.

And picture the scenes as people from North Offaly start trying to read the book.
They won't understand it. They just won't get it. That's just the way it is. No use trying to explain to them.

[Bord na Mona man]

As for Cody’s book, Brian Cody’s was an atrocious read mainly because Martin Breheny is so dreary he could only get one faintly humorous story out of Cody, the one about sweeping the dressing-room floor with the broom.

As soon as I heard that the story about Cody in the chipper in Ferbane wasn't in his sanitised biography then I knew it was a whitewash.

You can't leave us hanging.
There could be scope for an explosive unauthorised biography here.

[Bord na Mona man]

The ball is thrown in.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-s ... 20608.html

[old yellar]

have to say i always found him to be a gentleman to deal with. he spoke at a county board function down here a few years back and it was witty but relevant. no pie in the sky or rubbish. hope his book goes well for him and it promotes good mental health amongst men.. we might be singing at simmys counter again!

[manfromdelmonte]

I read 'The Club' and wasn't that impressed tbh
It had been built up by so many people

[Heshs Umpire]

I read 'The Club' and wasn't that impressed tbh
It had been built up by so many people

Thanks be to God, i wasn't the only one!
It was good but hardly the work of art it had been built up to by some.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I just speed-read most it yesterday. On preliminary reading this is much much more than a sports book. Alot of profound stuff on MD’s wife’s illness and subsequent passing as well as his own struggle to adjust to retirement from playing. Was also approached by “a leading political party” (unnamed) to run in the General Election earlier this year. This book has a much broader appeal than merely Offaly hurling. Or hurling for that matter.

[townman]

Feckin' typical. A book on hurling being launched in . . . Tullamore!!

There'll be no atmosphere in Tullamore at all. Making us travel all the way across the bog like that. Shure the first All-Ireland was in Birr. All hurling matters should be in Birr. This is an outrage. An outrage, I say. Is it any wonder Offaly hurling is gone the way it is?

Tomorrow night at 8pm!

Agree we should have had it in the home of hurling thats Lusmagh

[Bord na Mona man]

A few thoughts on the book.
Its an excellent read and obviously a must for any Offaly fan.

The start and end of it deal with the loss of Michael's wife Edel. The build up and the aftermath.
There is definitely no yerra in the book. It is extremely honest, frank with plenty of emotion.

The middle deals with the hurling and sporting aspects of Duignan's life. Some of the yarns will be familiar, but lose nothing in the re-telling.

A few noteworthy things on the Offaly hurling chapters.

He gives great credit to Pat Joe Whelahan for how he revolutionised the minor set-up. It is remarkable (but not surprising) to read how ramshackle the 'preparations' were for the 1985 minor team and how much things subsequently improved things under Whelahan. Also how Whelahan successfully married the Birr and Rynaghs groups who made up 12 of the 15 starters for the '86 minor All Ireland winning team.

Clearly the narrow loss to Tipperary in 1989 U21 All Ireland and the perception of Tipp (well Declan Ryan) were arrogant in victory. Evidently there were digs in the aftermath about how Offaly bowed and crumbled to the might of a traditional hurling power.

On the Babs Keating thing. He was unaware of any growing resentment towards Keating's method that year being based outside of the county, but felt Keating's heart wasn't fully in the role. He felt that Keating's jibes at how Offaly's revolt wouldn't have happened in a traditional hurling power were proved false when Keating's second rein in Tipperary tanked in similar fashion.

McIntyre's tendency toward long oration didn't always go down well and he felt that the team was flat going into 1997.

He is somewhat scathing of the Offaly squad he had under him in 2004 when he was drafted in to assist Mike McNamara. Felt they didn't follow instructions in the 2004 Leinster final. That they showed little fight in the subsequent qualifier against Clare and felt this mindset fed into the 31 point massacre by Kilkenny the year after.

The book is accurate in its recall of matches and events. Duignan comes across as a sharp hurling analyst. For example, he gives a very accurate assessment of the style of sweeping defending that Brian Whelahan employed, as opposed to traditional man-marking.

From what is written, you would gather that Duignan enjoys a busy social life. He is again honest in recounting how he did well during the boom, but has gotten burned in more recent times with the property crash.

He is optimistic about Offaly's prospect at underage - hoping for a Leinster minor title within 5 years. However there have been a few predictions like that in the last decades, so we'll see.

Anyway, get out and buy the book instead of reading 2nd hand commentaries on it!