Death threats, fan spats and more as Eoin tells all in bio

‘EOIN is brave and resilient, both on and off the pitch. That is the real story behind all the years of controversy and derring-do’ – Billy Keane in the foreword to Eoin Hand’s new biography First Hand: My Life and Irish Football FIRST Hand tells the story of a remarkable career and life, a life that started in March 1946 in Dublin and continues today in Moyvane where Eoin and his beloved Pauline call home.

The book reveals with honesty the ups and downs of life in professional football during an era when TV and media coverage was less pervasive, but the stress and strains the same.

The agony of missing out on World Cup qualification in 1982 on goal difference; Hand’s ‘nearly life’ as a trainee cameraman with RTE before Portsmouth FC called; being arrested for wearing shorts in Saudi Arabia; death threats, fan spats - it’s all there. Moreover, the book is an important bridge between Eoin’s spell as manager and the relentless excitement of the Jack Charlton years that followed. Kerry writer Jared Browne is the ghost writer and he interviewed Eoin over 12 months describing him as extremely ‘forthright and honest’. Hand almost died in 1997 from acute pancreatitis and Jared said the book has strong personal, political and cultural elements to it as Hand spent time in apartheid South Africa in 1976, as well as managing in Saudi Arabia. “He told a tremendous amount of stories on Irish soccer. The strength of the book is the access to managing the greatest generation of Irish players during two World Cup campaigns,” Jared said. Eoin also talks openly about his 13-year role working as the FAI’s Career Guidance Officer, advising young players leaving Ireland for the challenges of football life in England.

“Eoin’s contribution to the game in Ireland has been immense. He also loves north Kerry and refers to it as his ‘paradise on earth’. His connection to Kerry started when he was a child and he has always had a love for the county. It was also Eoin’s long-term plan to retire here,” Jared said.

Photo by Domnick Walsh Eoin at home in Moyvane this week.