Little Acorns to host 'Derry: Game of My Life' book signing tomorrow

Local GAA fans are invited to Little Acorns tomorrow between 11am-1pm for a special book signing event to celebrate the launch of Derry: Game of my Life, written by sports journalist Michael McMullan.

The book, which charts some of the greatest moments in Derry’s footballing history, is the perfect Christmas gift for GAA fans of any generation, offering unique insights from some of the best to ever wear the Oakleaf shirt.

Michael McMullan, former Sports Editor with the County Derry Post and currently with the Gaelic Life, has spent the past year collecting stories and memories from some key events in the county’s sporting history, speaking with 25 Derry footballing greats, who have each recalled the ‘one game’ they will never forget.

Published by Hero Books, ‘Derry: Game of my Life’, is now available to buy and he will be in the city this weekend himself to sign copies of the book at Little Acorns on Great James’ Street.

The author admits that deciding which players to approach and which stories to include as the most challenging part of the whole process.

“I did find picking the players was the most difficult task of the lot,” he admitted. “Trying to get 25 players across Derry’s history, I felt it was important to get stories from the different eras.

“In the 1970s, Derry had a team that was well capable of winning the All-Ireland and I often wonder how much it would’ve changed the county’s fortunes had they managed to get a title.

“The players of that era commented how far Dublin and Kerry were ahead in terms of fitness. 

It wasn’t intentional on my part for the book to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Derry winning the All-Ireland in 1993 but I suppose that fell well.

“There was always going to be a theme from that era and I found it interesting how some of the players on that team picked games before that.

“Brian McGilligan stepped back an All-Ireland semi-final Derry lost in 1987 as it elevated him on the national stage. Damian Cassidy pointed to the importance beating Down in 1992 made to their belief.

“From a different angle, Gary Coleman, as the manager’s son, needed to prove himself and keeping tabs on Tyrone’s Adrian Cush ensured fans would accept him on his own performances.

While many of the players opted for a Derry game, others picked a day when their club came home with the silverware.

“Paddy Bradley has managed Glenullin to recent intermediate successes but he tells the tale of 2007 and kicking the winning point as they saw off Bellaghy. 

“There was the story of Kevin McGuckin who had the worry their 2010 defeat to Coleraine and wondered it was end of the line only for the Shamrocks to bounce back to win three in a row and lift the Ulster title in 2013.”

Passionate and enthusiastic about the game himself, Michael does have a favourite theme from the many stories told.

“Of all the stories in the book, there are so many but I like the mention Eamonn Coleman gets across the chapters,” he admitted.

“It came all the way from Mickey Niblock playing alongside him, to Damian Cassidy hailing his man management skills to get the best out of players. There was the way Eamonn gave late bolter Kevin McCloy at shot at inter-county level despite never playing minor football. Eamonn has since gone to his eternal rest and I often wondered what game he would’ve picked.”

Important

Michael has already been asked on several occasions what game he would pick from Derry’s past, but he still can’t settle on an answer.

“There is only one way to describe this question – impossible,” he said. “I think every time I have been asked this since the book has launched, I have given a different answer.

“Beating 1992 All-Ireland champions Donegal in the 1993 Ulster final was hugely significant after beating ’91 champions Down earlier in the championship. It was the year that saw Derry beat two of the big guns. There were also the wins over Dublin and Cork to bring Sam Maguire to Derry.

“For me, the most important game for the county was the 2022 Ulster final win over Donegal. Why? For two reasons - the underage success had a tangible long-term success at senior level. 

Secondly, the younger fans who heard us talking about Derry’s magical 1990s realised what we were actually talking about.

“It is a result I feel can catapult the county to greater heights and it nearly did that last summer.”

The release of the book comes at a time when Derry are enjoying their best success in decades, with successive Ulster titles and All-Ireland semi-finals capturing the imagination of fans of all ages across the county.

“There is a huge interest and the sheer pandemonium on the pitch after the 2022 Ulster final win over Donegal encapsulated the hunger for success,” Michael acknowledged.

“In 2008, Derry, as a county, were in a great place but instead of pushing on we had a decade of decline. Everything changed when the 2015 minor team - led by current All-Stars Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan - sunk All-Ireland contenders Donegal on the way to ending a 13-year wait for Ulster minor success.

“Since that, we have played in seven of the last nine Ulster minor finals and won two All-Irelands.

It has all fed into the senior successes and to see the hordes of young fans posing for photos with the players after games, it’s fair to say the boom is back.

“Going into last year’s All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry, I fully believed we were going to beat the Kingdom and that’s why the defeat was such a sore one. For the young fans, to see Derry dancing with Ireland’s elite can only help boost the level of interest.”

‘Derry: Game of my life’, will help preserve some of the most fascinating events from some of the key figures of the county’s recent gaelic past and that in itself is an important aspect of Michael’s efforts over the past year.

 “I know from having books around the house how important they are to chart history,” he stated.

“In the long-term, the chapters are a history the important games in Derry’s march to their first and only All-Ireland. Along the way, there is a consistent footprint of the gut-wrenching defeats along the way.

“It will be the same for people from the clubs featured in the book as their story is told through the eyes of one of their stars.

“In the short term, I feel there is an inspiration to be taken for the current Derry team. Even if every player were to read the chapter on Damian Cassidy, they’d see how important it would be to take out one of the bigger guns, a Galway, Mayo, Kerry or a Dublin in the 2024 championship. For me, that’s Derry’s next step in progression.”

A journalist for over a decade, Michael has recorded some of the most memorable moments at club level and beyond, but even he admits, writing a book is on a different level entirely.

“Even though it is busy, reporting on games and interviewing players invokes that old statement, love your job and you’ll never work a day for the rest of your life,” he said.

“This book is different. To be asked to write a piece of Derry’s history was and is an absolute privilege, there is no other way of saying it. To go and meet some the players I grew up idolising was something I will never, ever, forget.”

Michael will be signing copies of Derry: Game of my Life on Saturday, November 25 (11am to 1pm) in Little Acorns Bookstore in Derry. The book is on sale in various outlets across the county. Any queries email malmcmullan@hotmail.com