{"product_id":"9781399734639-the-last-ditch-gaa-the-fear-and-one-mans-long-road-to-croker","title":"The Last Ditch: GAA, the Fear, and One Man's Long Road to Croker","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Sweeney's prose is on fire. A blistering book that readers will relish enormously.\" MICHAEL HARDIN G \"A cracking read ...  a championship season  as redemption song.\"  MICHAEL CLIFFORD \"All the tension of a tight  knockout encounter ... one  of the books of the year.\"  MIKE McCORMACK In the summer of 2024, sports columnist Eamonn Sweeney set out to follow the All-Ireland championships around the country, retracing footsteps he'd first laid down in his 2004 bestseller  The  Road to Croker . But there was one big problem. For many years, he had struggled with a crippling travel phobia that left him largely confined to his hometown in West Cork. To fulfil his publishing contract, he had to face his deepest fears. The Last Ditch  is a story about mental health, hidden shame and a life-changing moment in a remote train station. It's about a hurling championship which may have been the greatest ever played and a football championship which definitely was not. It's about unlikely triumphs, remarkable renaissances, shocks, cliff-hangers and heartbreaks on the pitch.  Off the field, it is the story of one man's embrace of a changing Ireland as he takes back his life. Both an unforgettable sports odyssey and a revelatory personal account,  The Last Ditch  is a celebration of resilience, the healing power of connection and the unifying spirit of the GAA.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Grocer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48910415200475,"sku":"9781399734639","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/4f9cf8fb-0a36-4caa-8bd8-813d4a00fed0.jpg?v=1782468819","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/9781399734639-the-last-ditch-gaa-the-fear-and-one-mans-long-road-to-croker","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}