Given the dearth of modern day hurling material available in book form for the Christmas market in 2011, ‘Life, Death and Hurling’ by Michael Duignan was eagerly awaited.

A legal problem delayed the book for a few weeks and only served to whet the appetite. Originally serialised on the 25th and 26th of October, it promised to be something special, and it has not disappointed and it’s a credit to Pat Nolan in his maiden voyage as an author. If it was to be best described in three words. ‘Compelling’, ‘Riveting’ and ‘Harrowing’ spring to mind

Writing a GAA book is not a money-spinner, barring an extraordinary non-GAAesque sales volume, nor does it necessarily lend itself to Tax Free status on the earnings. Therefore without any excessive tangible reward Duignan has gone behind the scenes and uncovered a no-holds-barred account of his life - the good, the bad and the ugly. The book is broken up into three parts, the first section deals with the final days of his wife Edel, a victim of cancer. The second section deals with his hurling career, and the third deals with life after hurling, his business dealings, his domestic life, and coping with his wife’s illness.

Part One:
Perhaps it’s fair to say that unless someone has experienced the premature and expected death of their spouse, they cannot truly identify with Michael Duignan in this case. The final days cannot be described as anything other than harrowing, and unfortunately modern day life has taken us to a place where so many are departing from this earth in this manner. From reading this section of the book it seems as if there was a sense of inevitability about the final family holiday taken by the Duignans in 2009 where they toured the West of Ireland. Perhaps it’s a retrospective viewpoint, given that only days later Edel Duignan picked up pneumonia. It signalled the end for her and she passed away a little over a week later. The preparation for her death including breaking the news to their sons and the funeral are covered in intimate detail, along with Duignan’s own difficulties in coping with his loss.

Part Two:
From such a sombre beginning, the hurling section of the story makes for an interesting an insightful read, particularly the Offaly pre-1994 days that wouldn’t have been covered in book form elsewhere.

Offaly won three Leinster titles in a row from 1988 to 1990 without ever really looking like winning an All Ireland. In essence, it was an Offaly team that had the players from the 81-85 teams going off, and the 94-98 teams coming on. Neither were at their peak, yet they managed to win three Leinster titles and in fact a League title in 1991 meant that they won major silverware in four successive seasons, despite numerous managerial changes and through a period of Offaly hurling that isn’t widely acknowledged as being a glorious period for them.

Perhaps the one defeat that hurts the most is the All Ireland Under 21 final defeat to Tipperary in 1989, and the after match comments of Declan Ryan clearly rankle with Duignan to this day. All of the talked about incidents involving Duignan and Offaly are covered in detail including the David Forde incident in 1998 where Duignan believes that Jimmy Cooney ‘the hurler’ rather than Jimmy Cooney the referee made the call not to send him off.

Part Three:
This section of the book deals with life after hurling, the progression into coaching, but it is essentially the story of his wife’s illness and his personal life and financial dealings.

From the initial diagnosis of cancer, to seeming to have shaken it off, to the relapse, it makes for compelling reading. During the period when his wife’s recovery looked guaranteed, Duignan began to live the life, and developed what he terms ‘selfish habits’ attending golf classics and not returning for a few days, exhausting himself on the social circuit without needing any excuses, and not showing any apparent willingness to mend his ways. From a financial perspective, he outlines leaving secure and pensionable employment to become a self-made opportunist, and capitalise on some of the bubble before it burst. He is not specific in terms of his current financial circumstances but one gets the impression that he isn’t without burden.

Overall it’s an excellent read though some may argue that there was scope for more depth to the hurling side of the book. There is merit in that debate. At 227 pages, it’s not oversized and a ‘hurling only’ book would have commanded that page count. Given that this is a dual book of sorts, it could have been bigger but that’s only a minor crib. What does matter is that the material between the covers is well worth reading, and indeed some of it is solid gold.

This writer can categorically state that moving books in a recession aint easy, and publishers in recessions make decisions on page count, not Michael Duignan or Pat Nolan. It would have been nice if all names were put to the Garbally College and the St Rynaghs team photos but again that’s a minor crib.

In general it’s an outstanding book, and the only thing militating against it becoming the William Hill Sports Book of the year is that they are unlikely to opt for a GAA book for the third year in a row. Without having yet read the other books on the shortlist, it’s difficult to know, but Duignan has written a story to win. Hopefully the judges will view it like that.

A must for any hurling supporter.