The Last Ditch

GAA, the Fear, and One Man’s Long Road to Croker
The 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.

'A BOOK THAT ENTERS THE GAA CANON' THE 42

'A MAGICAL-MYSTERY TOUR OF A GAA SEASON' IRISH INDEPENDENT

'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

Twenty‑one years on from his bestselling The Road to Croker, sportswriter Eamonn Sweeney set out to follow the All‑Ireland championships around the country once again. But there was one problem. To make the journey, he would have to confront a secret fear that had quietly shaped his life.

On the pitch, The Last Ditch captures the drama of a hurling season for the ages and a football championship that tested even the most loyal supporters - a landscape of unlikely triumphs, renaissances, shocks, cliffhangers and heartbreak.

Off the field, it becomes something deeper: one man's reckoning with middle age, masculinity and a crippling travel phobia that for two decades had dictated the span of his quiet, rural existence. As he moves through towns, terraces and conversations, Sweeney discovers not just the unifying spirit of the GAA, but the possibility of reclaiming a life he thought he'd lost.

Both an unforgettable sporting odyssey and a profoundly human memoir, The Last Ditch is a testament to how in Ireland, when all else fails, the GAA brings us home again.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.