My first book, Mud, Sweat & Jeers is back on shop shelves 24 years after it was published in 1999.
The book that takes an inquisitive and at times anecdotal look inside a local club is a journey through the years with Emfa and then Kilkenny City Football Club, a trip that was brilliant and sometimes brutal, an excursion of good, bad and ugly that teased, tantalized and excited lovers of the beautiful game in schoolboys, junior and professional senior soccer.
The main act is sport but there are whirlwind peripherals as the 211 pages delve into the lives of the courageous men and women who undertook a crusade into the unknown and so often dug into their own pockets to keep afloat the Good Ship that was born in Kilkenny CBS and nurtured in Fatima Place and Emmett Street.
Mud is an opportunity to relive the glorious years, to recall the trials and tribulations and to enjoy the memories of the wonderful people, some great colleagues sadly now deceased and who bravely took on a challenge in the top tier of the Irish game, a battle that seldom slept.
The dive into a sea of uncertainty that was senior football was never done before and it remains to be seen if it will ever be attempted again.
The book is on sale at Khan’s Bookshop, James’s Street, a brother of my latest publication, Treasure Lost, Treasure Found that is also available at Khan Kiely’s excellent emporium of literature, lore and action.
It chronicles the myriad challenges posed by a leap into shark-filled waters but while there were times of real pressure there were also many fantastic experiences that brought laughter and fun, days to remember and cherish.
The book may be an exercise in passion, pride and experience perhaps for those who may have been too young or may not have been born during the crazy and curious life of a club that for years gripped the hearts and minds of thousands of Kilkenny people who just may relish revisiting the glory era.
Both books are now on sale at Khan’s Bookshop, James’s Street.
