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‘A BOOK THAT ENTERS THE GAA CANON’ THE 42
‘A MAGICAL-MYSTERY TOUR OF A GAA SEASON’ IRISH INDEPENDENT
‘A cracking read … a championship season as redemption song.’ MICHAEL CLIFFORD
“All the tension of a tight knockout encounter … one of the books of the year.” MIKE McCORMACK
Twenty‑one years on from his bestselling The Road to Croker, sportswriter Eamonn Sweeney set out to follow the All‑Ireland championships around the country once again. But there was one problem. To make the journey, he would have to confront a secret fear that had quietly shaped his life.
On the pitch, The Last Ditch captures the drama of a hurling season for the ages and a football championship that tested even the most loyal supporters – a landscape of unlikely triumphs, renaissances, shocks, cliffhangers and heartbreak.
Off the field, it becomes something deeper: one man’s reckoning with middle age, masculinity and a crippling travel phobia that for two decades had dictated the span of his quiet, rural existence. As he moves through towns, terraces and conversations, Sweeney discovers not just the unifying spirit of the GAA, but the possibility of reclaiming a life he thought he’d lost.
Both an unforgettable sporting odyssey and a profoundly human memoir, The Last Ditch is a testament to how in Ireland, when all else fails, the GAA brings us home again.
‘A MAGICAL-MYSTERY TOUR OF A GAA SEASON’ IRISH INDEPENDENT
‘A cracking read … a championship season as redemption song.’ MICHAEL CLIFFORD
“All the tension of a tight knockout encounter … one of the books of the year.” MIKE McCORMACK
Twenty‑one years on from his bestselling The Road to Croker, sportswriter Eamonn Sweeney set out to follow the All‑Ireland championships around the country once again. But there was one problem. To make the journey, he would have to confront a secret fear that had quietly shaped his life.
On the pitch, The Last Ditch captures the drama of a hurling season for the ages and a football championship that tested even the most loyal supporters – a landscape of unlikely triumphs, renaissances, shocks, cliffhangers and heartbreak.
Off the field, it becomes something deeper: one man’s reckoning with middle age, masculinity and a crippling travel phobia that for two decades had dictated the span of his quiet, rural existence. As he moves through towns, terraces and conversations, Sweeney discovers not just the unifying spirit of the GAA, but the possibility of reclaiming a life he thought he’d lost.
Both an unforgettable sporting odyssey and a profoundly human memoir, The Last Ditch is a testament to how in Ireland, when all else fails, the GAA brings us home again.
Reviews
The Last Ditch [is] penned with Sweeney's trademark wit and innate understanding of the game and the culture
The Last Ditch becomes so much more than a book about following a championship season. It's that, surely, but it's crammed with layers, poignancy, love, hatred, certainty, vulnerability ... It has the potential to become an instant classic. After reading it, we had to speak to him, even after he threw that shade several years back ... brings us through modern Ireland's struggles in sport, machismo, racial tensions and culture ... A book that enters the GAA canon
Eamonn Sweeney reveals how he got back on track after a travel phobia made it difficult to watch the sport he loves ... A magical-mystery tour of the 2024 GAA season
One of the most compelling sports books of 2025 ... The gradual, quiet process of Sweeney reclaiming his life for himself