Anthology of 17 tales that explore ‘Behind The Lines’

QUALITY LONG-FORM sports journalism is normally the preserve of American writers, and it’s rare to find an anthology worth reading on these shores. However, the team at the42.ie have set about correcting that omission, and the latest edition of ‘Behind The Lines’ is well worth the very generous cover charge of a tenner.

I must confess to having missed the boat here, because this is their third book and I didn’t come across the first two editions.

Hopefully that will change shortly, though, because after reading this work I’m keen to complete the full set.

One of the stated aims of the42.ie in its ten-year existence has been to provide a showcase for promising newcomers to the sports journalism field, and this work of 17 interesting pieces features several names I wasn’t familiar with beforehand.

There’s an eclectic mix of sports and personalities covered, and the desire to look beyond what happens on the field and get a better understanding of the individuals involved is certainly achieved.

I was particularly taken by the story of Leanne Kiernan, the Irish soccer international from a rural area in Cavan who has joined the professional ranks with West Ham United.

I was aware of her on-field prowess, but I didn’t know that she had lost a

23-year-old brother she idolised in a car accident.

The story of how her exploits have brought so much joy to a grieving family is outlined with sensitivity and care by Emma Duffy in ‘Looking down on Leanne’.

I was also engrossed by the stark picture painted by former St. Patrick’s Athletic soccer player Christy McElligott.

A lorry driver by profession, he was travelling to Wexford in the early hours of the morning when a head-on collision near Tullow left him crawling along the road away from a burning cab with the lower half of one of his legs severed.

He is now a key player and organiser with the Irish amputee football team, and his strength of character shines through in a chapter entitled ‘The rocky road’, by Aaron Gallagher.

There’s only one piece that has aged poorly in my opinion, and that’s ‘About Schmidt’, by Murray Kinsella, written in late August before the World Cup debacle.

I can’t think of another sports trainer, manager or coach who got an easier ride in the national press than the New Zealander, and the fawning and adulation always left me cold.

Recent history, and the comments of Rory Best last week, have now suggested to us that Schmidt’s approach left the players bereft of on-field leadership when it was needed most.

That was the only piece in this anthology that I didn’t enjoy, but it would be asking too much for a reader to be a fan of all 17 stories.

Others covered are the late Anne O’Brien, Ireland’s first continental women’s football star; broadcaster Eamon Dunphy; Aussie Rules newcomer Ailish Considine; golfer Shane Lowry; departed Dublin manager Jim Gavin; retired rugby player Michael Allen; race walker Kate Veale; Dr. Crokes G.A.A. legend Donie Sheahan; cricketer Eoin Morgan; boxer Katie Taylor; Gaelic football goalkeeper John Kerins Jnr.; former soccer international Alan Moore; racing duo Ted Walsh and Patrick Mullins; and one of the Offaly football heroes of 1982, Seán Lowry.

It’s a nice mix of sports and personalites, and the book is well worth a few hours of your leisure time over Christmas.

ALAN AHERNE

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