{"product_id":"9781399734639-the-last-ditch","title":"The Last Ditch","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGAA, the Fear, and One Man’s Long Road to Croker\u003cbr\u003eThe ball is in the air as a sports writer confronts his deepest fears on a GAA championship trail. The question is where it will land.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Sweeney's prose is on fire. A blistering book that readers will relish enormously.\" MICHAEL HARDIN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eG\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A cracking read . \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea championship season \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eas redemption song.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMICHAEL CLIFFORD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"All the tension of a tight \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eknockout encounter . one \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eof the books of the year.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMIKE McCORMACK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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\u003ci\u003e The \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eRoad to Croker\u003c\/i\u003e. 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last Ditch\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOff 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Last Ditch\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration of resilience, the healing power of connection and the unifying spirit of the GAA.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55221762785654,"sku":"9781399734639","price":13.23,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_33662960.jpg?v=1744317699","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781399734639-the-last-ditch","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}