Three Slaneysiders make the cut in list of 100 ‘immortals’

OPINIONS WILL likely be divided on the format used for John Scally’s latest book, ‘The GAA Immortals - 100 Gaelic Games Legends’. Given that it runs to less than 400 pages, it means the subjects chosen are dealt with in fleeting snapshots of their careers.

On the one hand, this is a good thing, as it’s possible to dip in and out of the profiles without having to read them in one sitting from cover to cover.

Then again, if you’re the kind of reader who likes plenty of detail on the topic in question, this offering would be better left on the shelf.

Perhaps Scally extended the net too wide by opting for one hundred subjects. Maybe 50 would have been a better number, but there’s no point arguing on that particular matter at this stage.

There is a completely random approach to the order of the book too, with players from various eras popping up without any inclination to provide a chronological order.

The description of all of the subjects as ‘immortals’ is also highly debatable, although Scally does acknowledge that fact in his introduction.

‘I knew that I would upset many people not for those I chose to include but for the many greats of the GAA who I reluctantly had to exclude,’ he writes.

‘I did not wish to compound the problem by arranging the book in terms of the greatness of the players.

‘That is why I deliberately chose to have a random structure so as not to take on the additional burden of designing the list in terms of greatness or by seeming to imply that one code is superior to the other.’

Now that we know the author’s intentions, who did he choose from Wexford as part of his exalted one hundred?

Just three figures make the grade, two hurling heroes and our last All-Ireland winning manager, Liam Griffin.

It always annoys me to see Nickey Rackard’s Christian name spelled incorrectly, and it happens all too often, once again in this book although nobody could quibble with his right to be included.

The third Wexford man featured is another star full-forward from a more recent vintage, Buffers Alley great Tony Doran who will be launching a book on his own life and times in the very near future I am reliably informed.

Our current hurling manager, Davy Fitzgerald, also figures in one of the short chapters.

A lot of the source material for Scally’s work was selected from interviews he has conducted with some of the chosen personnel down through the years.

In other cases, he relates an anecdote about the player or personality in question as told through someone else’s words.

He ensures that all codes are covered, and there’s also at least one individual featured from all of the 32 counties.

There’s not enough depth to each profile for my liking though, and the brevity doesn’t appeal to me.

I’d prefer to have something a little meatier to read, but the book will still hold a certain appeal in some sections of the market.

I imagine those set to enjoy it most would be G.A.A. followers with a clear recollection of games from the 1950s and 1960s, as they will be able to directly relate to the deeds of roughly three-quarters of the subjects.

It would make a handy Christmas present for a supporter of that vintage alright, but it won’t hold much appeal for the younger generation apart perhaps from someone working on a project on the personalities of the G.A.A.

ALAN AHERNE

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