There I Long to Be: Life through a GAA lens
Oct 2026 · Bonnier Books UK
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288
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About this ebook
A fundamental tenet of the GAA is under threat in a manner that has not happened in its 140-year history.
For generations, the GAA club has been the beating heart of Irish communities - rooted in the parish, sustained by volunteers and inseparable from identity. But today, that foundation is under threat.
In this deeply personal and sharply observed memoir, journalist Mick Clifford traces the seismic shifts that have brought the GAA to a crossroads. From his childhood in football-mad Iveragh to three decades in Dublin - where he mentored his son's team and witnessed the sport's urban transformation - Clifford explores the widening gap between tradition and modernity.
Blending reportage, interviews and historical insight with a lightness of touch, he examines the forces reshaping the club system and asks: what must be done to preserve the soul of the GAA?
This is a story of memory, belonging and the future of a movement that has always been more than just sport.
For generations, the GAA club has been the beating heart of Irish communities - rooted in the parish, sustained by volunteers and inseparable from identity. But today, that foundation is under threat.
In this deeply personal and sharply observed memoir, journalist Mick Clifford traces the seismic shifts that have brought the GAA to a crossroads. From his childhood in football-mad Iveragh to three decades in Dublin - where he mentored his son's team and witnessed the sport's urban transformation - Clifford explores the widening gap between tradition and modernity.
Blending reportage, interviews and historical insight with a lightness of touch, he examines the forces reshaping the club system and asks: what must be done to preserve the soul of the GAA?
This is a story of memory, belonging and the future of a movement that has always been more than just sport.
A fundamental tenet of the GAA is under threat in a manner that has not happened in its 140-year history.
For generations, the GAA club has been the beating heart of Irish communities - rooted in the parish, sustained by volunteers and inseparable from identity. But today, that foundation is un...
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About the author
Mick Clifford is an award-winning Irish journalist and author, currently serving as Special Correspondent for the Irish Examiner. With over three decades in print and broadcast journalism, Clifford has earned acclaim for his investigative reporting, notably on the Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, which won him Journalist of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. His non-fiction works include A Force for Justice: The Maurice McCabe Story, Bertie Ahern and the Drumcondra Mafia (co-authored with Shane Coleman), and Who Killed Una Lynskey?. He has also written two crime novels, including Ghost Town. Clifford lives in Dublin and is a regular contributor to Irish media and current affairs programming.
Mick Clifford is an award-winning Irish journalist and author, currently serving as Special Correspondent for the Irish Examiner. With over three decades in print and broadcast journalism, Clifford has earned acclaim for his investigative reporting, notably on the Garda whistleblower Maurice McCa...
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