This is the Life

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now €{{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 cent: 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.

©2023 Ciarán Murphy (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • Terrific . . . one of the most enjoyable sports books I’ve come across in a long time

    The Last Word With Matt Cooper, Today FM

  • Brilliantly written . . . an absolute joy to read

    The Irish Sun

  • What makes this book so different to the plethora of GAA tomes is that they they tend to focus on the greats. This chronicles life for the rest of us. The famed grassroots. The rural club trying to survive. The city clubs endeavouring to ensure game time for hundreds of children. The player who travels home every weekend to play. The ageing footballer not ready to let go.

    Irish Independent

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.