A provocative look at how grassroots GAA interacts with life in Ireland, from the wittiest Gaelic games pundit at work today

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%: 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. He writes about working as an assistant in the clothing shop owned by the family of Jarlath Fallon - both Ciarán's sporting hero and the local postman. And he looks a 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.

'There is a deep understanding of the way the GAA works at every level … a brilliant read from start to finish’ Paul Rouse, The Irish Examiner

Terrific . . . one of the most enjoyable sports books I've come across in a long time -- Matt Cooper * 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 [how] this chronicles life for the rest of us . . . Murphy makes you realise that everyday GAA experiences are unique * Irish Independent *
A revelation . . . This is the Life indeed * Irish Examiner *
Captures the history of the GAA, the heights it can propel regular people to, and what makes a local club so important * Sunday World *
There is a deep understanding of the way the GAA works at every level … a brilliant read from start to finish -- Paul Rouse * Irish Examiner *

Ciarán Murphy is a podcaster with Second Captains and a GAA columnist with the Irish Times. His first book, This is the Life: Days and Nights in the GAA, was shortlisted for Eason Sports Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.