Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Nicolas Roche

Nicolas Roche has a famous surname to all fans of cycling. The son of legendary Irish and World Champion Stephen Roche, Nicolas had to fight to make it as a professional and even harder to make his mark as his own man in this toughest of competitive sports. 
 
His rise up the ranks has been meteoric, with top 15 finishes in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but his attitude to his chosen profession has remained undimmed. Honest, eloquent and passionate about the cycling world, Nicolas gained acclaim and a devoted fan following for his Tour diaries serialised in the Irish Independent. 
 
Now a major contender for a podium finish in a grand tour, in the award-winning Inside the Peloton Nicolas tells in full the story of life as a professional cyclist and of the remarkable events that have brought him this far. From furious spats with teammates and exhilarating races against the world's best, this is a gripping cycling adventure and tale of a fiercely competitive sportsman.

Inside The Peloton

My Life as a Professional Cyclist

Gerry Thornley

Front Up, Rise Up is the story of Connacht’s remarkable journey to becoming the 2016 Pro12 champions. The story goes inside the dressing-room, takes in their unscheduled, week-long, bonding trek to Siberia and back for a European Challenge Cup game, and all the key twists and turns along the way. 
 
It brings us the characters in this Band of Brothers, from the locals such as captain John Muldoon from Portumna to their iconic fans’ favourite Bundee Aki – who like their talismanic coach Pat Lam is a Kiwi from Auckland of Samoan descent – and their Nigerian-born and Dublin-raised match-winner Niyi Adeolokun. 
 
The story takes in the province’s troubled professional history, which had them on the brink of extinction as a professional entity in 2003 and led to Connacht and their supporters marching to the IRFU offices in a successful bid to keep them afloat. 
 
It covers their dethroning of the champions Glasgow in the Sportsground in Galway and their stunning performance in the final against Leinster in Edinburgh. In more than two decades of professional rugby, there has been no story quite like it.

Front Up, Rise Up

The Official Story of Connacht Rugby

Donncha O'Callaghan

Donncha O'Callaghan is one of Ireland's leading international rugby players, and a stalwart of the Munster side. He was a key figure in the Irish team which won the IRB 6 Nations Grand Slam in 2009, and has won two Heineken Cup medals and two Magners League titles with Munster. 
 
But that success did not come easy. For such a well known player with a larger-than-life reputation, his long battle to make a breakthrough at the highest level is largely unknown. In this honest and revealing autobiography, Donncha talks in detail about the personal setbacks and disappointments at Munster and the unconventional ways he dealt with the frustration of not making the team for four of five years in his early 20s. 
 
He had a parallel experience with Ireland where it took him nearly six years to get from fringe squad member to established first choice player. Here he talks candidly about how he brought discipline to his game, and about his relationships with the coaches who had overlooked him and the second row rivals who had kept him on the bench. 
 
Donncha talks also with great warmth about a hectic childhood that was shaped by the death of his father when he was only six years old. One of the heroes of his story is his mother Marie who showed incredible strength and resourcefulness to rear a family of five on her own. 
 
Often deservedly regarded as 'the joker in the pack', what is often less well known is the serious attitude and intensely professional approach Donncha brings to his rugby. Joking Apart gives the full picture, showing sides of the man that will be unfamiliar to followers of Irish rugby and will surprise the reader.

Joking Apart

My Autobiography

Keith Duggan

Surfing in Ireland was once considered little more than a fringe and slightly lunatic pursuit. The treacherous coastline and ice waters of the Atlantic did not sit comfortably with the stereotype of surfing as the favoured pastime of the bronzed and privileged. But with the discovery in the past few years of the gargantuan Aileen’s wave at the Cliffs of Moher and other heavy waves, the Irish coast has become one of the worst kept secrets in world surfing. 
 
In Cliffs of Insanity, the Irish Times sportswriter Keith Duggan tells the story of a dedicated group of surfers in County Clare whose lives revolve around the pursuit of Ireland’s wildest waves. The book traces the evolution of Fergal Smith, the young Mayo man whose intuition for big waves has earned him a serious reputation and explores the world of Mickey Smith, the roving Cornish man who discovered Aileen’s and whose breathtaking surf photography has caught the Irish landscape in an entirely new and original light. 
 
Bitter cold days, broken bones, busted boards, scars, near drownings and countless hours in the freezing water trying to read the ocean is the price they pay for those few transcendent seconds when they master a wave. 
 
Cliffs of Insanity is about the importance of pursuing what matters in life but it is also about community and friendship, and the passionate pursuit of a way of life that flies in the face of everything championed in Ireland over the last decade.

Cliffs Of Insanity

A Winter On Ireland’s Big Waves

Liam Hayes

Kevin Heffernan was a giant amongst GAA men. 
 
A giant with a brilliant mind who repeatedly warned everybody that he would not let his own mother get in the way of him winning one more game of football. 
 
Heffo was deeply admired and absolutely feared like no other. And like no other manager in the history of the GAA, his strength of mind and brutal toughness as a leader raised an army that was called his own – Heffo’s Army. 
 
Heffo: A Brilliant Mind tells the Kevin Heffernan story for the first time. It’s the story of a boy with the biggest dreams, and a man who lived with triumphs and the greatest regrets. It’s the story of a club, and how Heffo and St Vincent’s GAA club revolutionized the game of Gaelic football and changed the face of Dublin football forever. 
 
It’s the story, too, of a great war. Heffo: A Brilliant Mind dramatically re-enacts the battles that Kevin Heffernan fought over four decades as a footballer and a manager in a long and punishing war with Kerry. A war waged by one man with the courage and fearlessness of a true giant.

Heffo - A Brilliant Mind

A Biography of Kevin Heffernan

Dermot Gilleece

Tales of golfing stars and memorable moments from Ireland's best-loved golf correspondent. 
 
In almost thirty years as Ireland's leading golf journalist, Dermot Gilleece has met and interviewed numerous heroes of the game. 
 
Join Dermot on the course as he looks back over many wonderful years of golf with the greats - from Jack Nicklaus' first game on Irish soil, to sympathetic accounts of the declining skills of iconic golfers such as Seve Ballesteros. Packed with stories and insights about legends from Gene Sarazen, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods to, of course, 'Himself', Christy O'Connor Snr, Touching Greatness offers highlights from Dermot's much-loved column in the Irish Times, as well as more recent observations on the game. There are unmissable insights into illustrious characters from the amateur game, women's golf, Irish involvement in major team competitions like the Ryder Cup, and the history of Irish golfers in the Open, including the double Open and PGA Champion, Padraig Harrington. 
 
At turns moving and funny, and always beautifully written, Dermot's tales bring you right onto the fairway as you soak up the very best stories from inside the world of competitive golf.

Touching Greatness

Memorable Encounters with Golfing Legends

George Kimball

From the legendary Irish Times columnist and award-winning veteran American sports journalist George Kimball, author of the bestselling Four Kings, comes this compilation of boxing-related commentary, criticism, reportage and analysis, representing the best of his work over the last decade. This is a hard-hitting look at the current state of boxing, drawing on columns and articles from a wide variety of sources including the Irish Times, TheSweetScience.com and BoxingTalk.com. Kimball pulls no punches as he dissects the triumphs, defeats and mistakes of the major figures in boxing from yesterday and today including Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and dozens more. 
 
Sadly, George Kimball passed away in July 2011. This hugely entertaining and informative collection is a fitting tribute to his long association with the sport of boxing and displays just why Kimball is so warmly regarded. This is boxing writing at its best from a master of the craft.

Manly Art

Dispatches From Ringside

Stephen Ferris

SHORTLISTED FOR RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 
 
'When I came into the Ulster team,' Stephen Ferris says with typical candour, 'we were crap'. It was, however, preferable to his day job of paving driveways, and that day in 2005 saw the start of an incredible journey for Ferris, Ulster and Ireland rugby. A Celtic League title in his very first senior season with Ulster. A Grand Slam in 2009, followed by a sensational Lions breakthrough. A starring role in Ireland's greatest World Cup win, over Australia in 2011, when Ferris famously picked up Will Genia and carried him ten yards. And leading Ulster from nowhere to the Heineken Cup final. 
 
Stephen Ferris had an incredible rugby career, tragically ended by ankle injuries so severe they will never properly heal. He is an inspiration to the population of Ulster, an emblem of the sport that serves as such a positive expression of its culture and identity, and earned the respect and admiration of fans across Ireland for his strength, pace, skill and courage. Fearless, funny and full of an incredible array of stories from behind the scenes of Ulster, Ireland and the Lions, this is the must-have rugby book of the year.

Man and Ball

Ronan O'Gara

Ronan O'Gara is one of the greatest sportsmen Ireland has ever produced. A brilliant kicker both from the hand and at penalty goals, a sublime orchestrator of play from the out-half position he has made his own, and a cool head in the pressure-cooker of club and international rugby, the list of the Cork man's achievements goes on and on. The leading points scorer in Irish rugby history, the Six Nations and the Heineken Cup. The architect of two amazing Munster triumphs in Europe. The man whose last minute drop-goal sensationally won the Grand Slam in 2009, Ireland's first for 61 years. 
 
In his candid, illuminating autobiography, O'Gara tells the story of those many on-field successes and, with brutal honesty, the darker days as well, most notably at the 2007 World Cup. He tells the inside story of Ireland's disappointments in France, and responds to the allegations about his personal life that made front-page news that autumn. Ronan O'Gara: My Autobiography is the unforgettable story of a rugby player at the top of his game, of a life lived to the full, and of a passionate and proud representative of the people of Cork and Ireland.

Brendan Cummins

Brendan Cummins has made more senior hurling championship appearances than any other player in the history of the game. In an era that produced such brilliant goalkeeping talents as Davy Fitzgerald, Donal Óg Cusack and Damien Fitzhenry, many would argue that Cummins has earned the right to be considered the greatest of them all. 
 
Following his League debut for Tipperary in November 1993, Cummins went on to play at the top of the intercounty game for 19 consecutive seasons. He won two senior All Ireland medals, five Munster championships, four League titles and five All Star awards. 
 
From fearless shot-stopping to pinpoint accuracy on his puck-outs, Cummins was unrivalled in the consistency of his performances, a consistency underpinned by a sometimes punishing physical commitment, mental discipline and great attention to detail. He was the rock upon which Tipperary built their team under many managers and changes of personnel. 
 
Brendan Cummins' story is the story of Tipperary hurling over the last two decades. The ups and downs. The dramas. The characters. From his senior championship debut in 1995 under Fr. Tom Fogarty to his final games under Eamon O’Shea, Cummins has seen it all. Standing My Ground is a remarkable account of an extraordinary career.

Standing My Ground

The Autobiography

Cora Staunton

Cora Staunton is an iconic figure in the world of modern GAA. In this ground-breaking autobiography, she reveals her extraordinary journey from teenage rookie to the highest-scoring forward in the history of Ladies Gaelic Football. Since making her senior inter-county debut for Mayo at just thirteen years of age, Cora has become a feared and respected opponent on any pitch. 
 
Now, for the first time, she recounts the triumphs of her career and the personal struggles that have plagued it. In this refreshingly candid book, Cora recalls finding refuge in the game after the death of her mother, but also speaks openly about the challenges and conflicts she and her teammates have experienced in the under-resourced world of female sport. She gives a fascinating insight into her move to a professional team in Sydney and how she coped with going from a veteran to a newcomer overnight. 
 
In the first-ever autobiography of a female GAA star, Game Changer will take its place as one of the most influential and powerful sports books in recent years.

Game Changer

Ronan O'Gara has been at the heart of Munster and Irish rugby for the past fifteen years. Now, as he comes to the end of a glittering playing career, it is time for him to reflect on those many successes and occasional failures with the straight-talking attitude that has become his trademark. Never one to shy away from the truth, the result is Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded. 
 
Packed full of anecdotes and analysis of the teammates O'Gara has been proud to share the shirt with, and of the coaches he has played under - often in controversial circumstances - this is the definitive record of an era when Munster rose to triumph in Europe, and Ireland to win the Grand Slam, before crashing down to earth again. It is simply the must-have rugby book of the year.

Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded

Donal Lenihan

As player, manager, and pundit, Donal Lenihan has seen it all in the world of rugby - and done much of it too. A victorious captain of Munster Junior and Senior Schools, he went on to skipper the Ireland team at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 1987 and was a fixture in the second row for over a decade, winning two Triple Crowns and three Five Nations championships. Selected for three British &amp; Irish Lions tours, he was famous for skippering the unbeaten side nicknamed 'Donal's Doughnuts', before taking charge of both Ireland and the Lions as manager. 
 
From such a stellar position at the heart of the rugby world, Donal Lenihan has a wealth of stories to tell from both on and off the pitch, from raucous antics on tour to the sometimes difficult fellowship of players in a time of Troubles. He delves deeply into Cork and Munster culture and the influence on his career of his family. And as a much-respected analyst, Donal is also not short on voicing his opinion on the rights and wrongs of the modern game, and how the transition from the amateur to the professional era has affected the heart and soul of rugby. 
 
Full of wit, insight and emotional sincerity, this is a rugby book for the ages by a sporting great.

My Life in Rugby

Paul Galvin

One of the greatest GAA footballers of the modern era, Paul Galvin has enjoyed a brilliant and at times controversial career. Winning four senior All Ireland medals with Kerry and eight Munster championships, he was also a three-time All Star and 2009 Footballer of the Year. His inter-county career took off in the late 1990s, when he picked up a Munster minor championship medal in 1997 and another at under-21 level in 1999. But it was in the senior team throughout the 2000s that Paul came into his own. In a period defined by great rivalry with Tyrone, he became a key playmaker for Kerry, never failing to give his all in pursuit of victory. 
 
 Over the course of a career marked by courage, physicality and an intense passion for the Green and Gold, there were many glorious days. There were other days too, with controversial incidents that led to a number of suspensions, most notably in 2008, the year in which Paul also had the honour of being the Kerry captain. 2009 brought redemption. But 2010 presented new challenges. 
 
 In this fiercely honest autobiography, Paul offers – in his own words – a compelling, unflinching account of a career that has fascinated football fans for over a decade.

In My Own Words

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