New book charting Derry's footballing history to hit shelves

There will be a new book on the shelves this Christmas charting Derry’s footballing history with the release of Derry: A Game of my Life.

Written by former County Derry Post Sports Editor Michael McMullan, the book walks back in time with 25 Derry footballing greats as they recall a game they will never forget.

Many are days in the red and white of Derry, but some chapters have a club theme and there are moments from both a MacRory Cup final and an International Rules series in Australia.

Every game is special for a different reason. A day when a breakthrough was made, when silver was won or what it meant to a community.

“I got an email out of the blue one day from Liam Hayes, the publisher of Hero Books,” McMullan said of the initial idea to write the book.

“Liam played at midfield on the Meath team that beat Derry in the 1987 All-Ireland semi-final which was my first time ever at Croke Park, so that in itself was ironic.

“I have read countless books over the years and often thought of writing one. I am proud to say that 54 weeks after the first interview took place for Game of my Life, it’s now ready for release.”

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Derry’s first and only All-Ireland title in 1993.

Four of the games from that campaign are told in detail, from the moment.

Anthony Tohill caught the throw-in against Down in Páirc Esler all the way to Enda Gormley’s story of why the All-Ireland final was significant.

Not able to make the minor panel, Gormley thought he’d never play for Derry never mind be part of the county’s most successful team.

“It’s hard to pick out a particular chapter,” McMullan said. “There are so many different stories all the way through.

“Gary Coleman talks about the 1992 National League final. He knew he had to close down Adrian Cush to make a name for himself. As the manager’s son, he always felt people questioned his place on the team – until that day.

“Damian Cassidy recalls the Ulster semi-final win over Down later that summer and its significance.

“Down were All-Ireland champions at the time and had beaten them after a replay the year before.

“Damian spoke with so much passion and put the case of why it was such a huge game.

“When I went to meet him that day and listened to the messages he was preaching, I thought it would be a chapter the current Derry team should read over and over.

“After winning back-to-back Ulster titles, the likes of Conor Glass, Paudi McGrogan and Shane McGuigan can relate to how Eamonn Coleman helped translate minor success into senior glory.”

From the moment he sat down to interview Chrissy McKaigue, in October last year, the process was a series of one-to-one chats with every chapter written in the players’ own words.

There was a Facetime call to Mickey Niblock in Cork and a chat with Gerry McElhinney over the phone from England.

The walk back through the 1970s tells the stories of a replay win over Cavan to retain the Anglo Celt Cup in ‘76.

There is also the story of Kevin McCloy’s display through the pain barrier against the Dubs that cemented his All-Star in 2007.

“It was such a privilege to be able to let some of the county’s greatest players sit and chat freely about their greatest memories,” McMullan said.

“It was difficult to finalise a list of 25 across the last four or five decades of our county’s history. In some cases, the players found it tough to pick out a game.

“Kieran McKeever was torn between Derry’s 1992 National League semi-final win over Meath and Dungiven’s ‘97 Ulster final story, choosing the latter and lifting the lid on what it was like to mark Peter Canavan.

“I just hope the readers can enjoy the stories as much as I have enjoyed putting them together.”

It wasn’t intentional to launch the book to mark the anniversary of the ‘93 All-Ireland win, but it’s timely with the county’s fortunes on the climb.

There was All-Ireland glory this year for the county’s senior camogs, minor footballers and U20 hurlers.

Derry senior footballers, under Mickey Harte, will mark their Division One return with a trip to Kerry in the new year.

“It is a great time to be a Derry fan and it’s great to see all the fans, young and old, having teams they can get behind,” McMullan concluded.

“Hopefully some of the stories told by the stars of yesteryear will inspire others to get involved in sport and want to wear that Oakleaf jersey.”

Derry: Game of my Life is now available to pre-order on Amazon. It will be available in shops across the county. Check @malmcmullan and @HerobooksD on Twitter for more details.