Shows
The Football FamilyFAI Cup semis, squeaky bum time in the title race, and the importance of rugby in getting over the line…In Gavin Cooney’s absence, The42's David Sneyd is joined by Cobh Ramblers manager Shane Keegan and two debutants for the Football Family pod.Our own Enda Coll joins the discussion along with League of Ireland and FAI Cup winner Graham Gartland.Damien Duff’s ‘little old Shelbourne’ will meet Derry City in the FAI Cup final after winning their respective semis at the weekend.Graham discusses the impact the Ireland legend has made – and the rivalries – as well as reflecting on his memories at both Longford Town and Drogheda United that helped deliv...
2022-10-181h 06The Football FamilyWNT on cusp of glory, and is Euro 2024 already a write-off?Gavin Cooney is joined by the42's David Sneyd and Cobh Ramblers manager Shane Keegan to relive the horror of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying group. Should the campaign just be written off? And is it now wrong to judge Kenny against the campaign?Emma Duffy is in Glasgow for the WNT’s defining World Cup play-off against Scotland tomorrow night: we catch up with her to build up to a huge game.At home, Shamrock Rovers’ dramatic victory against Shelbourne has allowed them to put one hand on the league title. Does this justify Stephen Bradle...
2022-10-101h 13
Behind The LinesBTL Extra: Behind the Scenes at Taylor/SerranoA bonus episode of sorts this week: Gavan Casey of The42 spent last week in New York, covering Katie Taylor's barnburner with Amanda Serrano. It was one of the great nights in Irish sport and one of the biggest in the history of women's professional sport, so we decided to review it through the prism of its media coverage with Gav. We discuss the scale of the media coverage, and how the fight attracted such attention in the first place. Gavan also takes us ringside and behind the scenes at Madison Square Garden, and gain insights into...
2022-05-0558 minBehind The Lines93. Best Sportswriting of 2021To round out 2021, Gavan Casey and Emma Duffy of The42 join us to look back at some of the year’s best sportswriting. Here are their picks. Gavan “Roy Keane: ‘I’m way down the pecking order in my own home. Even the dog tells me what to do’” by David Walsh for the Sunday Times “'Once an Olympian, always an Olympian' - A farewell to a friend Jerry Kiernan” by Peter Collins for RTE “After Covid-19 took his father, son fights to keep iconic dive bar in Times Square alive” by Kevin Armstrong for The Washington Post “...
2021-12-2159 min
GAA WeeklyTyrone v Mayo // the joy, the heartbreak, the debrief.''If mayo were playing Mayo tomorrow they'd lose'' (Marc O'Se)The42’s football crew – Maurice Brosnan, Kevin O’Brien and Kerry great Marc Ó Sé look back on the All-Ireland Football Final of 2021 while the42's Sinead Farrell also joins Maurice to look back at a tightly fought Camogie decider.
2021-09-131h 22GAA WeeklyAll-Ireland Men's Football Final Preview & Women's Football Final review.The All Ireland Football Final(s) show. The42’s football crew – Maurice Brosnan, Kevin O’Brien and Kerry great Marc Ó Sé look ahead to All-Ireland Football Final of 2021 while the42's Emma Duffy also joins Maurice to look back at Meath's remarkable win over Dublin.
2021-09-081h 05GAA WeeklyMunster revenge, buying frees and attacking cornerback nirvanaUnder a burning sky the Football Championship has left us all thirsty for a mouth watering climax in the provinces. Retirement comes to James O'Donoghue while from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through, but were ultimately unable to de-throne Dessie's Dubs. As usual to make sense of it all Kerry great Marc Ó Sé joins host Maurice Brosnan and The42's Kevin O'Brien.Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-07-2253 minGAA WeeklyThe42 GAA Weekly: The McNamee red, Kerry and Donegal progress and were Derry over-coached?Kerry great Marc Ó Sé joins host Maurice Brosnan and The42's Kevin O'Brien.Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-07-1558 minGAA WeeklyGalway back on track, McGeeney's management and how to play with 14 players (and Cluxton, of course)Kerry great Marc Ó Sé joins host Maurice Brosnan and The42's Kevin O'Brien as the lads look at an in form Galway, dark horses from Armagh, the importance of physicality and the great defensive debate.Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-07-0750 minGAA WeeklyThe full-court press, Cluxton mystery weekend and the best player without an All-Star still playingKerry great Marc Ó Sé joins host Maurice Brosnan and The42's Kevin O'Brien as the lads look back at another lackluster opening Championship weekend. They also look at the continuing mystery surrounding Parnells' outfield player Stephen Cluxton, the fashion trends of full-court press and who has been over looked for an All-Star but still on the field of play.Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-07-0150 minGAA WeeklyThe 2021 Championship preview podKerry great Marc Ó Sé joins host Maurice Brosnan and The42 GAA Editor Fintan O'Toole as the lads look ahead to the start of the championship.How tough is the knockout format for the weaker counties? How will Mayo cope without Cillian O'Connor in attack? What can we expect from Kerry on opening weekend? Can Donegal step up with pressure on after last year's Ulster disappointment?Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-06-2453 minGAA WeeklyGAA domestiques, Pádraic Joyce's quagmire, Cillian O'Connor & the injury epidemicMarc Ó Sé is back on this week's pod with host Maurice Brosnan and The42 GAA Editor Fintan O'Toole.With the Championship coming into view the lads look at the injury epidemic which has plagued the end of the league season.Maurice asks who are football's Domestique's and Marc outlines Dublin's strength in depth. Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-06-1753 minGAA WeeklyThe rush to retire players, ancient fratricide in Kerry, Donie Buckley's legacy & is this the most important weekend of the year?On this week's pod Maurice Brosnan and Marc O'Se are joined by The42's Kevin O'Brien. They look ahead to what is possibly the most important football weekend of the year, discuss the growing longevity of playing careers, knowing when it is the beginning of the end and coaching tree clustersGet involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-06-1053 minGAA WeeklyUnicorns, the Big Apple, spanning decades with David Tubridy and how not to end a LeagueKerry great Marc Ó Sé is back on this week's pod with host Maurice Brosnan and The42 GAA Editor Fintan O'Toole.The lads look at the messy way this year's football league is ending, pick the best unicorn Gaelic footballers and discuss versatility on a team, while paying tribute to the progress of Clare and their star forward David Tubridy.Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie
2021-06-031h 02GAA WeeklyReasons to be cheerful, marking Clifford, permutationsMarc Ó Sé returns to talk football with The42 GAA editor Fintan O'Toole and host Maurice Brosnan. We hear the lads' 10 favourite things about the league so far, talk Dublin v Kerry and the tactical trend towards a more progressive game, discuss challengers and pretenders and take your questions. Get involved in the members' GAA WhatsApp group or drop us a line with feedback at membership@the42.ie.
2021-05-2743 minBehind The Lines69. Johnny WardThis week’s guest is freelance broadcaster and writer Johnny Ward. We chat about each of Johnny’s two main passions: Racing and League of Ireland football. How can racing make itself appeal to a more general audience and break from its reliance on the gambling industry? Has the sport got an image problem? And was Gordon Elliott harshly dealt with? Johnny also tells a couple of stories about the horses he has owned. We also get into the appeal of the League of Ireland, and whether it is now mainstream. There’s much more...
2021-04-0256 minBehind The LinesMarch 2021 international window: Ireland's report cardFollowing defeats to Serbia and Luxembourg, and a draw against Qatar, The Football Family sifts through the wreckage of another difficult international window for the Boys in Green.Paul Dollery is joined by Gavin Cooney and David Sneyd to assess the current state of affairs for the Irish team, its manager and what lies ahead.Email membership@the42.ie with any feedback. To get involved in the WhatsApp groups, add our number 0833930229 on WhatsApp and send us a message to let us know which one you'd like to join. Please include your email address so th...
2021-03-3143 minBehind The LinesFootball Family special: Serbia v Ireland previewWith your host preoccupied with international football, Behind The Lines takes a break this week. But Gavin joined Paul Dollery and David Sneyd to look ahead to this week's World Cup qualification opener away to Serbia on a special episode of the Football Family. The lads discuss our hopes of coming second to Portugal in the group, the prospect of getting amongst goals at last and the selection decisions facing the manager.Email membership@the42.ie with any feedback and to get involved in the WhatsApp groups, add our number 0833930229 on WhatsApp and...
2021-03-2344 minBehind The Lines67. Marcela Mora y AraujoThis week’s guest is Argentinian writer and broadcaster Marcela Mora y Araujo. Marcela has been writing about Argentina through the prism of football for decades, and so we talk about how important the game is to shaping both the national story and the national character. We also discuss the three great players in Argentina’s history: Alfredo di Stefano, Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi. We talk about why Maradona was so important to his country, which brought a level of fame and reverence to which he became addicted - for better and, largely, for worse. Marcel...
2021-03-091h 09Behind The Lines66. Stephen JonesThis week's guest is Sunday Times rugby correspondent Stephen Jones.We discuss how Stephen started out in rugby journalism, and cover a range of topics from the modern game: Why is Warren Gatland a better coach of the Lions than Joe Schmidt would be? Why has professionalism not worked out for Welsh rugby? And why does he think Eddie Jones is occasionally a prat?Stephen also elicited more listener questions than any of our previous guests (by a mile). There was a unifying theme behind most of the questions: Is he really anti-Irish?...
2021-03-0258 minBehind The Lines65. Tim WigmoreThis week's guest is Daily Telegraph journalist Tim Wigmore, co-author of The Best: How Elite Athletes are Made.We discuss some of the findings of his book: why are younger siblings more likely to make it at the top? Why does growing up in a mid-size town help your chances of making it big? And what kind of impact does the month of your birth have on your prospects? We also discuss why England have been so bad at penalty shootouts and how Gareth Southgate changed it, get into the thorny debate around early specialisation...
2021-02-2352 minBehind The Lines64. John LeonardThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is author and retired footballer John Leonard. John is the author of Dub Dub Confidential, which was the 2015 Irish Sports Book of the Year and has been acclaimed as one of the best GAA books of all time. We catch up with John on how his life has been since the book, and talk about the book’s reception. We also chat about the process of writing it, and his plans for the future.There’s also talk about the Dubs: what makes Stephen Cluxton tick? What was it li...
2021-02-1648 minBehind The Lines63. Bill BufordThis week’s guest is author and editor Bill Buford. In 1979, as a postgraduate student at Cambridge, he revived the famous literary magazine Granta, which he then edited until 1995, at which point he returned to the United States to become the fiction editor at The New Yorker. He has also written a number of books, including Among the Thugs. Published in 1992, the book tells of Buford’s experience of spending six years embedded with English football hooligans, with whom he ran across the country and the continent. He shares his wildest memories from those days...
2021-02-091h 06
How To Win At Dominoes20. Paul KinnerkOne of the most highly-rated coaches on the inter-county circuit joins Shane Keegan on the latest instalment of How To Win At Dominoes.Paul Kinnerk, who helped mastermind Limerick’s 2018 and 2020 All-Ireland victories and was on the sideline for Clare’s Liam MacCarthy triumph in 2013, is our latest guest.Paul started out as a footballer with Limerick before embarking on a coaching career in hurling that saw the Monaleen clubman work under Davy Fitzgerald and John Kiely with great success - we hope you get as much as we did out this rare interview.Send...
2021-02-0348 minBehind The Lines62. Anna KrienThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Anna Krien. Anna is an Australian writer, poet, essayist, and journalist. In 2014 she became only the second-ever female winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award for her book, Night Games: Sex, Power, and a Journey to the Dark Heart of Sport. The book centres on a rape trial involving a young woman and a minor league Australian rules footballer, but also exposes a history of sexual violence against women and a culture of misogyny in Australian Rules football and National Rugby League.
2021-02-021h 00How To Win At Dominoes19. Clíodhna O’ConnorThis week, Shane Keegan is joined by a two-time All-Star on the latest instalment of How To Win At Dominoes.Clíodhna O’Connor was Dublin’s goalkeeper during their 2010 All-Ireland Senior Ladies’ Football Championship triumph.Since hanging up her gloves, O’Connor has honed her coaching expertise through various roles across club and inter-county GAA.Having been involved with Cuala for their back-to-back All-Ireland victories of 2017 and ’18, the Naomh Mearnóg woman has been working under Mattie Kenny again by serving as athletic performance coach for the Dublin senior hurlers.She’s also c...
2021-01-2744 minBehind The Lines61. Dion FanningThis week’s guest is Dion Fanning, now the Associate Editor at The Currency having covered football with the Sunday Independent before joining Joe.ie, where he covered politics and sport along with presenting the award-winning Ireland Unfiltered podcast. We chat about his early days in journalism, his decision to move to London, and, of course, his experience of covering Roy Keane. He also argues back against the notion (pedalled largely by me) that Jack Charlton’s Ireland team has been freighted with too much meaning over the years. We also talk about John Delaney and the...
2021-01-261h 07How To Win At Dominoes18. Keith RickenThis week's guest is Cork U-20 football boss Keith Ricken. We had some issues with the audio in the first five minutes but stick with it. As well as that, there's strong language from the start. Please send any feedback or suggestions for guests to membership@the42.ie. Thanks for the support.
2021-01-201h 01Behind The Lines60. Simon KuperThis week’s guest is author and Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper. Simon has a weekly column in the FT that goes beyond just sport, but he has authored several outstanding books on football including _Football Against the Enemy, The Football Men, _and _Soccernomics. _Simon shares a couple of the stories behind Football Against the Enemy with us, and explains why he railed against the “stupid” environment of the football beat. We also talk about footballers, how they are portrayed and discussed differently by the media in different countries, why players are necessarily detached from supporters...and why it’s suppo...
2021-01-1955 minHow To Win At Dominoes*SEASON TWO* 17. Eamon O'SheaFresh from his Europa League excursions with Dundalk, Shane Keegan returns for season two of How To Win At Dominoes, the coaching podcast exclusive to The42 members.Former Tipperary hurling manager Eamon O'Shea kicks off the new season as he tells Shane about the power of imagination and visualisation as well as his work with the Premier as both manager and coach.To contact the pod or put your questions to Shane and his guests, tweet us @WinAtDominoes.
2021-01-1346 minBehind The Lines59. Philippe AuclairThis week’s guest on _Behind the Lines _is French writer Philippe Auclair. Perhaps most recognisable as a regular voice on the Guardian’s Football Weekly, Philippe has been the UK football correspondent for France Football magazine since 1999 and has written acclaimed biographies of Thierry Henry and Eric Cantona. He also has a successful music career, as an artist and producer known as Louis Philippe. We talk about his music - including the song he wrote and played for George Best - along with lots about football.Who was the real Eric Cantona, and how was he...
2021-01-1259 minBehind The Lines58. Editor's PicksThis week on Behind the Lines we go fully meta as we pick our favourite of our guests’ writing picks from the series so far. Listen to Paul Howard discuss Gary Smith’s stunning evocation of Muhammad Ali’s entourage and Paul Kimmage’s affecting piece on the life and death of his one-time friend and team-mate, Thierry Claveyrolat.David Walsh doffs his cap to Damien Ressiot, another journalist crucial in the chase of Lance Armstrong; Malachy Clerkin recounts Paul Howard’s meeting with Daniel Timofte, the man who helped to make a legend of Packie Bonn...
2020-12-2942 minBehind The Lines57. Rick ReillyThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is US Sportswriter Rick Reilly. A long-time Sports Illustrated columnist, USA Today once said Rick is the closest thing sportswriting has ever had to a rock star: he’s an 11-time National Sportswriter of the Year and has been inducted to the sportswriting and sportscasting hall of fame. We talk of The Reilly Rules for Writing, his fame at Sports Illustrated, why he loved it and then why he left, before retiring early as the industry changed in an online age. We also talk about his rec...
2020-12-2243 minBehind The Lines56. Tommy MartinThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Tommy Martin of Virgin Media. We speak about how he left his job in bank to break into television, and how Virgin Media put together a soccer panel to rival RTE’s. We also discuss the influence of the likes of Bill O’Herlihy and Des Lynam, and Tommy assembles his fantasy panel of football pundits. He also recalls what has become a definitive story about John Delaney.Tommy’s picks were: “Hero worshipped by his people”, Hugh McIlvanney’s obituary of Jock Stein for the Observer...
2020-12-151h 00Behind The Lines55. Anthony QuinnThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is critic and novelist Anthony Quinn. Anthony was the film critic for the UK Independent from 1998 to 2013, and has written six novels. The first, The Rescue Man, won the 2009 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. His latest book is of relevance to this show: Jurgen Klopp: My Liverpool Romance. We talk about Klopp and about Liverpool; how a city that suffered ruinously during World War II have found their modern-day figurehead to be from Germany. Anthony also has a host of terrific tips on writing, and he...
2020-12-0854 minBehind The Lines54. Paul FitzpatrickThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Paul Fitzpatrick, sports editor of Cavan newspaper Anglo-Celt. Paul is also the author of two GAA books, including the acclaimed The Fairytale in New York: The Story Behind Cavan's Finest Hour. We talk about the magic behind Cavan’s Ulster Championship success, what it means and how it came about. Paul’s picks were:“Ulster Final Day: A Big Wedding...A Grand Funeral” by Tom McIntyre for the Anglo-Celt, July 1995 Tom McIntyre writing on the death of Tony Tighe for the Anglo-Celt, 2005Declan Bogue’s interview with...
2020-12-0157 minBehind The Lines53. Andy MittenThis week’s guest is Andy Mitten. You’ll likely know Andy best as an authoritative voice on Manchester United, having founded the very successful United We Stand fanzine as a 15-year-old. He also writes for a range of outlets including the Athletic, the Sunday Times, the BBC and is editor-at-large of FourFourTwo magazine.We talk about how and why he founded United We Stand while he was still in school, and how it has changed over the decades. It was one of many fanzines to give supporters a voice in the 1980s and 1990s, and w...
2020-11-241h 10Behind The Lines52. Paul HowardThis week’s guest is Paul Howard, now the man behind Ross O’Carroll Kelly and previously a sportswriter of great renown with the Sunday Tribune. Paul chats first about why he got out of sportswriting and then of his most memorable days within it, including the day he confronted referee Raul Nazare with Eoin Hand’s tape of the World Cup qualifier against Belgium, a game in which Nazare effectively shafted us. We also hear how Ross O’Carroll Kelly was partly inspired by the time Paul was sued over getting a tryscorer’s name wrong in a schools...
2020-11-171h 23Behind The Lines51. Damian LawlorThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is RTÉ GAA broadcaster Damian Lawlor. Damian is also the author of seven books, and his most recent, When the World Stops Watching, charts the retirements and afterlives of a range of Irish sports stars. We talk about the extraordinary story of former footballer Paul McGee, whose life was sent into a spiral by a horror injury sustained on the eve of a multi-million pound move and an international call-up by Jack Charlton. We also hear stories from Niall Quinn and Tommy Bowe, and explore the common themes and chal...
2020-11-1059 minBehind The Lines50. Roland LazenbyThis week’s guest is US Sportswriter Roland Lazenby. Roland is a prolific author and biographer with more than 50 books to his name including acclaimed biographies of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. We talk about what truly drove Jordan, and what it was like to cover his iconic career as a reporter. Roland is also a teacher, and was teaching a media class in Virginia Tech on the day a student opened fire and killed 32 people in the deadliest school shooting in the history of the United States. Roland and his students’ reaction was remarkable: they...
2020-11-031h 01
The42 PodcastsThe42 GAA Weekly with Shane Dowling & Marc Ó Sé - (The) Winter (Championship) is Coming***FREE PREVIEW EPISODE***
Welcome to The42 GAA Weekly with Shane Dowling and Marc Ó Sé, a brand-new podcast exclusive to The42 Members.
To listen to the rest of the series, sign up now at members.the42.ie. Use the codes SHANETHE42 or MARCTHE42 to get €5 off the first year of your annual membership.
On this week's launch episode, Shane and Marc get stuck into the weekend's biggest games as Limerick and Tipperary square off in the Munster hurling semi-finals and Donegal and Tyrone go toe-to-toe in a knockout Ulster championship clash, and plenty more.
2020-10-301h 00GAA Weekly(The) Winter (Championship) Is ComingWelcome to The42 GAA Weekly with Shane Dowling and Marc Ó Sé, a brand-new podcast exclusive to The42 Members. On this week's launch episode, Shane and Marc get stuck into the weekend's biggest games as Limerick and Tipperary square off in the Munster hurling semi-finals and Donegal and Tyrone go toe-to-toe in a knockout Ulster championship clash, and plenty more.
2020-10-301h 00Behind The Lines49. Now That's What I Call Behind The Lines, Vol 4As Gavin takes a well-earned break for a week, we reflect on some recent guests on Behind The Lines.Get in touch with us - email behindthelines@the42.ie, tweet @gcooney93. To submit questions to future guests or swap reading recommendations with other listeners, you can join the WhatsApp group. To get involved in the group, add our number 0833930229 on WhatsApp and send us a message to let us know that you'd like to join the group.Please include your email address so that we can confirm your membership.
2020-10-2748 min
WarriorsLen GaynorTipperary legend Len Gaynor joins Fintan O'Toole on this week's episode to reflect on a stellar hurling career which included three All-Irelands, four Munster titles and two National Leagues as a player, before going on to plenty of managerial success with his club Kilruane-MacDonaghs and leading them to All-Ireland club glory.Len also had memorable stints in charge of both the Tipperary and Clare senior hurlers, all of which is chronicled in his new autobiography Chiselled From Ash, written with Shane Brophy and published by Hero Books.As always you can get in touch with...
2020-10-2353 minBehind The Lines48. Melissa ReddyThis week’s guest is Melissa Reddy, Senior Football Writer with the UK Independent. She tells her fascinating story, of how she came to work at Europe’s biggest games having grown up in early post-apartheid South Africa. There’s also a lot of Liverpool talk, as she has just released a new book delving into how Jurgen Klopp masterminded that long wait for a league title. What is it that makes him special? How does he motivate his players? And does he really have a Brendan Rodgers-style self-portrait? We also talk about how this season...
2020-10-201h 00WarriorsLimerick's Donal O'Sullivan on the Covid frontlineIt's the weekend of the Big Return on the inter-county front in the GAA. Donal O'Sullivan will be in the middle of the action as Limerick senior football goalkeeper and joint captain, they're at home to Wexford in the league on Sunday.He's also in the middle of the topic off the pitch that is dominating life for everyone in Ireland with his work as a doctor in the University Hospital in Limerick city. We spoke to Donal back in March on The42 as Ireland was going into lockdown while he and his colleagues were...
2020-10-1545 minBehind The Lines47. Caitlin ThompsonThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Caitlin Thompson, co-founder and publisher of Racquet Magazine, a quarterly tennis publication. Racquet has a more literary quality than most sport magazines, and that’s the thrust of our conversation, as we talk through work by David-Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith and film director Werner Herzog. We also talk tennis, and Maria Sharapova: what legacy does she leave? What came first: Sharapova the player, or Sharapova the brand? And, ultimately, is she happy? Also - why does nobody like Djokovic? And who really is the GOAT...
2020-10-131h 12Behind The Lines46. Daniel TaylorThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Daniel Taylor, now senior writer at the Athletic, whom he joined after a long stint as the Chief Football Writer with the Guardian and Observer. Daniel has had a stellar career: he’s written books on Brian Clough and Alex Ferguson and won a series of awards for his reporting of the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked British football. We chat about how Daniel got his break in football reporting, and about the characters of Clough and Ferguson. Daniel covered Ferguson’s United extensively and so is...
2020-09-291h 08Behind The Lines45. Mark Tighe & Paul RowanThis week’s guests on Behind the Lines are Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan. Mark and Paul have built on their award-winning series of stories for the Sunday Times by writing a book, titled Champagne Football: John Delaney and the betrayal of Irish Football. This week they join us for a chat to explain how their initial stories came to light - which included a dramatic late-night sitting at the Four Courts - and they reflect on those extraordinary weeks in 2019, from Delaney’s becoming Executive Vice-President in Gibraltar, and the tennis ball protests at the...
2020-09-2244 minBehind The Lines44. Wright ThompsonThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Wright Thompson, senior writer at ESPN. You’ll probably know Wright from his famed longform pieces for ESPN, which includes famed profiles of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. You’ll definitely know Wright from the almighty controversy he kicked off with his description of Dublin in a 2017 profile of Conor McGregor. We address that at length in this chat, and also discuss how he ended up judging a baby contest in Dublin city. We talk about the heartland of the American South where Wright grew u...
2020-09-151h 06WarriorsZach TuohyZach Tuohy is on the verge of making his 200th AFL appearance and he is the second-most capped Irishman in Australia, behind only the legendary Jim Stynes on the appearances list.The Laois man is our guest on this week’s episode of Warriors GAA podcast for The42 members. He is interviewed by ex-Cavan footballer and former GWS Giants coach Nicholas Walsh.Tuohy discusses the difficulty in moving to the far side of the world as a teenager and the challenge of missing out on some big games for his club Portlaoise over the years....
2020-09-1045 minBehind The Lines43. Ciarán MurphyThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Ciarán Murphy, of Second Captains. We talk of how he found his way into broadcasting, the drama of his and colleagues’ exit from Newstalk and the huge success they have made of Second Captains, their latest project being an investigative series made with BBC Sounds, Where is George Gibney. Although the true reason you should listen to this is to hear Murph go fully Larry David around Domhnall Gleeson.His picks were: “The Silence”, by Roger Angell for the New Yorker; “Steven Gerrard and the 'to...
2020-09-081h 09WarriorsJohn DoyleBorn in February 1930, John Doyle passed away in December 2010 and in his 80 years he became an icon of Tipperary and national hurling.He's the subject for our latest episode of Warriors, the GAA podcast for you The42 members, as we take a closer look at his sporting life.John Harrington is the chief writer for GAA.ie, and Doyle's biographer, having written in 2011 ‘Doyle - The Greatest Hurling Story Ever Told’. He guided us this week through the career of the Holycross-Ballycahill man.Starting out in 1949 and finishing up in 1967, Doyle set a reco...
2020-09-0239 minBehind The Lines42. Jeff BenedictThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Jeff Benedict, who you’ll likely know best from his outstanding 2018 biography of Tiger Woods, which he co-wrote with Armen Keteyian. Jeff is special features writer with Sports Illustrated and the Woods book is one of 16 he’s written. His most recent is out today - The Dynasty, the inside story of the New England Patriots. We chat about the Patriots and what made them so successful, we dig into the relationship between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and Jeff also explains the integral role played in the...
2020-09-0146 minWarriorsJohnny MageeIt's the first Dublin football figure of the series as our guest this week on the Warriors GAA podcast for The42 members.Johnny Magee soldiered in the Dublin defence for a decade, starting out in the 90s and playing into the 2000s. He picked up a couple of Leinster senior medals and was central to a different time of football in the province.He talks about what it was like then in an ultra-competitive Leinster championship, how it saddens him what's become of the province and the day in 2002 when he tore his cruciate but...
2020-08-2751 minBehind The Lines41. Now That's What I Call Behind The Lines, Vol 3Behind the Lines is taking a breather this week but normal service will resume next week! In the meantime, we are looking back at a few highlights from our third run of episodes. Last Dance contributor Sam Smith talks of how and why he wrote The Jordan Rules, the insider account that revealed hitherto secrets of Michael Jordan’s true nature, and Howard Bryant reflects on sports' role in laundering the image of a militarised police force that is now facing calls to be defunded. Separately, David Walsh reflects on his much-criticised coverage of Team Sk...
2020-08-2543 minBehind The Lines40. Tadhg CoakleyThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is novelist and former All-Ireland minor winning hurler Tadhg Coakley. Nicky English gave Tadhg some bohemian mystique when he described him as “ a skinhead with a donkey jacket who adopted a very nonchalant attitude to life” but Tadhg was in his fifties before he became a published author, finally finding the confidence to make good on a decades-long desire to be a writer. We discuss how that came about, and how aspiring writers can overcome their fears and misgivings to go and become the real thing. We also t...
2020-08-1853 minBehind The Lines39. Diane K ShahThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Diane. K Shah, trailblazing American journalist. In school she was told to get real when she said she wanted to be a sportswriter...and then became the first female sports columnist in an American daily newspaper. To get there she battled absurd sexism, and in the early days she was excluded from games and press events, to the point that a staff member at the Boston Red Sox told her she would be responsible for the “death of the American family.” She talks here of some of tho...
2020-08-1154 minBehind The Lines38. David Walsh (part II)This week we play out the concluding part of our interview with David Walsh, Chief Sportswriter with the Sunday Times. In this part, we chat a little more about Lance and a lot about Team Sky. David did a 2013 book called Inside Team Sky and his coverage of the team has been heavily criticised, which David reflects on in this episode. The most high-profile of that criticism came from his friend Paul Kimmage, who said on radio four years ago that their relationship was finished. David discusses where that relationship is now, along with plenty of other...
2020-08-0455 minHow To Win At Dominoes16. Niall CorcoranThis week's guest is, Niall Corcoran, the Laois hurlers' head coach and a Games Development Officer in Dublin. This is the last show in the current series, we'll be back in a few weeks - let us know if you'd like to make suggestions by emailing sport@the42.ie.
2020-07-301h 19Behind The Lines36. Kieran McCarthyThis week’s guest is Kieran McCarthy, sports editor of the Southern Star and author of the acclaimed Something in the Water, which lifts the lid on the O’Donovan brothers and Skibereen’s rowing miracle. We chat about the importance of local and provincial news, the ways in which it differs from and trumps national reporting, and the threat posed to it as Covid-19 exacerbates an already fragile industry. There’s plenty of chat about the O’Donovan brothers, of course, and we also dig into a couple of great GAA stories: the sometimes-too-fierce rivalry be...
2020-07-2157 minBehind The Lines35. Jack Charlton specialWe are interrupting our regular programming to bring a special episode remembering the late Jack Charlton. We’ve spoken with two journalists who covered the Charlton Years extensively - RTÉ commentator George Hamilton and Phillip Quinn, Chief Football Writer at the Irish Daily Mail. The Irish management team mixed a lot more closely with the media in Charlton’s time, so George and Phillip have a treasure trove of memories and stories to excavate. (Jack once told Pavarotti to pipe down ahead of the quarter-final!) We also discuss what made him successful, his mista...
2020-07-1449 min
Rise of Kenny1. Longford TownStruggling Longford Town finished bottom of the League of Ireland First Division in 1997/1998. That summer, they appointed an unknown manager in a bid to improve their fortunes. That man was only 26 years old. His name was Stephen Kenny.Broadcaster, producer and Longford Town fan Eamonn Donohoe joins presenter Kevin Brannigan for the first episode of this brand-new series, exclusive to The42 Members.To contact the show, email sport@the42.ieYoutube links Soccer Show (RTÉ/SKY) Stephen Kenny Feature 1998 - https://youtu.be/ORpTg0CnP2ELocals only - R...
2020-07-1045 minWarriorsLiam McHaleThe 1989 Connacht final replay was no ordinary success with Mayo for Liam McHale. On the night of the drawn game his father passed away and yet after a week of high emotions with the funeral, Liam played the following Sunday in the replay and kicked 0-3 in Mayo's extra-time win over Roscommon.That's one of the games he selects as our guest this week on Warriors, the GAA podcast for The42 members, and chats through what that experience was like.We also delve into the 1996 All-Ireland final saga where he was man-of-the-match in...
2020-07-0753 minBehind The Lines34. Garry DoyleThis week, our colleague at The42, Garry Doyle joins Gavin Cooney to discuss his long and brilliant career. Garry's picks were, Tony Cascarino's autobiography Full Time, Brendan Fanning's From Here to There and Denis Walsh's Hurling: The Revolution Years. Reminder to get in touch with us - email behindthelines@the42.ie, or tweet @gcooney93.To submit questions to future guests or swap reading recommendations with other listeners, you can join the WhatsApp group. To get involved in the group, add our number 0833930229 on WhatsApp and send us a message to let us know...
2020-06-3050 minBehind The Lines33. Robert LipsyteThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is legendary American writer and broadcaster, Robert Lipsyte. Robert has spent decades as a highly-regarded reporter and columnist and has written tens of fiction and nonfiction books. He has won awards in fields other than just sportswriting: he was a Pulitzer Prize runner-up in 1992, an Emmy winner for his current affairs work on television with PBS, and in 2001 was recognised for making a lasting contribution to Young Adult Literature. He began his career at the New York Times in 1957, where he quickly rose to become a reporter at...
2020-06-231h 28Behind The Lines32. Marie CroweThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Marie Crowe, now the host of Game On on RTÉ 2FM. Prior to joining RTÉ, Marie was a staff writer at the Sunday Independent. Here she talks us through how she got her break in the industry, how to build up contacts, and the best advice she’s received. We also talk about the transition from writing to broadcasting, and how, exactly, you go about putting together a nightly sports radio during a once-in-a-century pandemic that has forced the cancellation of sport across the world. Ther...
2020-06-1655 minWarriorsSean McMahonIt's a Clare hurling icon that is our guest this week on Warriors as their 90s defensive star Sean McMahon joins us.We chatted through Sean's selections for the three favourite games from his career: the 1995 Munster hurling final; the 1999 Clare county semi-final; and the 2002 All-Ireland quarter-final.As always you can get in touch with us for suggestions for future episodes by tweeting @Warriors_GAA or emailing sport@the42.ie
2020-06-1151 minBehind The Lines31. Howard BryantThis week’s guest is Howard Bryant, senior writer at ESPN. Howard was the editor of the Best American Sportswriting anthology in 2017, and has written nine books, including The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America and the Politics of Patriotism and, most recently, Full Dissidence: Notes From an Uneven Playing Field. He is an outstanding writer on racial issues in America, and we explore the problems and the divides that have led the country to the point at which it stands today and how they have played themselves out in sport and in sportswriting. Howard ta...
2020-06-0959 minWarriorsThe Tyrone-Armagh 2005 football classicWe're going back to September 2005 this week and putting Ulster football in the spotlight.It was a memorable summer for clashes between Armagh and Tyrone with the third one the focus for Fintan O'Toole and Kevin O'Brien as they watch back that classic All-Ireland semi-final tie which Mickey Harte's men won by 1-13 to 1-12.As always you can get in touch with us for suggestions for future episodes by tweeting @Warriors_GAA or emailing sport@the42.ie.
2020-06-0440 minBehind The Lines30. The genius of Hugh McIlvanneyThis week’s Behind The Lines is a special episode as part of The42’s Genius Week, in which we celebrate the genius of the late Hugh McIlvanney. We’re delighted to be joined by Gary Lineker to do so, who became a friend of McIlvanney’s, and delivered a eulogy at his funeral. Gary also shares his memories of McIlvanney, and his opinions on what made him the best sportswriter of them all. (We also learn a bit about Lineker’s fledgling sportswriting career before he got on with the business of being one of the greatest g...
2020-06-0245 minWarriorsBriege Corkery18-time All-Ireland winner Briege Corkery joins Fintan O'Toole on today's show to talk about her three favourite games. The Cork star recalled the 2014 and 2013 senior ladies football finals and the 2008 All-Ireland camogie decider.As always you can get in touch with us for suggestions for future episodes by tweeting @Warriors_GAA or emailing sport@the42.ie.To add podcast feeds to your podcast app click the 'Library' tab > click the 'Edit' button on the top right of the screen > select 'Add a Podcast by URL'. For any of the other apps, the process...
2020-05-2838 minBehind The Lines29. Anna KesselThis week's guest is Anna Kessel, women’s sport editor with the Telegraph and author of Eat, Sweat, Play: How Sport Can Change Your Life. She also founded the organisation Women in Football, for which she was awarded an MBE. We talk about a couple of the hideous experiences she had when starting out as a journalist, how the attitude to female sports reporters have changed in the subsequent 15 years...and how they haven’t. We also talk about the progress made by women’s sport in the last few years - and her fear that t...
2020-05-261h 01WarriorsAlan Kerins on crossing the Galway football/hurling divide and club glory.We're putting one of the great Galway dual GAA careers in the spotlight this week as Alan Kerins is our guest on Warriors, the GAA podcast for you The42 members.Alan's playing days were certainly interesting. He had a long spell in Galway hurling colours as they chased the Liam MacCarthy breakthrough, enjoyed a memorable experience as Galway lifted Sam Maguire in 2001 while he has the unique feat of All-Ireland club wins in different codes with Clarinbridge and Salthill-Knocknacarra.So we asked him to pick out his three favourite GAA matches and he talked through...
2020-05-2152 minBehind The Lines28. Sam SmithThis week as we’re joined by basketball writer Sam Smith, contributor to The Last Dance and author of notorious book The Jordan Rules. The book caused a sensation by lifting the curtain and showing the world a very different version of Michael Jordan than had been marketed to that point: not the the wholesome, all-American character he had been marketed as to that point, but a guy as flawed as the rest of us, who was often nasty to team-mates. The book’s headlines caused a sensation, with Smith receiving threats and told to take a week...
2020-05-191h 11WarriorsDocumentary: Leitrim '94Kevin Brannigan tells the story of Leitrim's amazing run to Croke Park and an All-Ireland semi-final in the summer of 1994 using new interviews with key characters and brilliant archive material. As always you can get in touch with us for suggestions for future episodes by tweeting @Warriors_GAA or emailing sport@the42.ie.To add podcast feeds to your podcast app click the 'Library' tab > click the 'Edit' button on the top right of the screen > select 'Add a Podcast by URL'. For any of the other apps, the process should be roughly similar. Check...
2020-05-141h 09Behind The Lines27. Keith DugganThis week’s guest is Chief Sports Writer with the Irish Times, Keith Duggan. This became a kind of masterclass in writing, with Keith picking pieces covering three main genres of sportswriting - features, columns and live, on-the-whistle reporting - and talked us through how he approaches each. There’s the usual mix of stories in there too, along with a bit of a chat on The Last Dance and Michael Jordan as, hey, I couldn’t resist. Keith’s picks were: Feature writing: “Team Spirit: Memories of being a Freshman Cheerleader by Donna Tartt; “Ireland’s Calling: A Jou...
2020-05-121h 00WarriorsKen McGrathIt's the turn of one of the most iconic teams in modern hurling and one of their best-loved players in the spotlight this week as Waterford hurling great Ken McGrath is our guest on Warriors, the GAA podcast for The42 members.We asked him to pick his three favourite GAA matches, be it lining out for club or county, or one he was at as a supporter.He picked out the 2007 All-Ireland quarter-final draw between Waterford and Cork, the 2002 Munster club final success for Mount Sion over Sixmilebridge and the 1991 Munster final replay between Tipperary...
2020-05-0844 minBehind The Lines26. Liam HayesThis week’s guest is two-time All-Ireland winner Liam Hayes. Liam’s career is unique: he became Chief Sports Writer with the Sunday Press while he was playing inter-county football with Meath, meaning he had to write about games in which he played, along with profiling and interviewing opponents, team-mates and, at one point, his own manager. We also talk about his iconic autobiography, Out of Our Skins, which has been remembered as the book that changed the genre in Ireland. He explains why he felt he could have done a better job on the book...
2020-05-0559 minWarriorsA breakthrough for Tipperary footballWe asked Tipperary football great Declan Browne to select his three favourite GAA matches, be it playing for club or county, or one he was a supporter at. After a couple days of deliberation, Browne arrived at his final selection and he discussed them with Fintan O'Toole.Let us know your suggestions for future episodes on Twitter at @Warriors_GAA or email sport@the42.ie.
2020-04-3043 minBehind The Lines25. Now That's What I Call Behind The Lines, Vol. 2We’re playing some of the Greatest Hits from our second batch of a dozen Behind the Lines episodes this week. Joanne O’Riordan reveals her curious meeting with Man City’s uber-powerful chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak; Graham Hunter explains how Alex Ferguson’s wife helped to kit him out while supporting Scotland at the ‘82 World Cup; Jeff Pearlman explains what he learned from the great names at Sports Illustrated; Jonathan Wilson explains how Roy Keane once changed the weather; and Danny Kelly recalls his friendship with Hugh McIlvanney. There’s plenty more in there, too. We will...
2020-04-281h 01WarriorsThe overlooked Dublin-Kerry clashIs there an underappreciated Dublin-Kerry football clash, one that flies under the radar?On this week's episode of Warriors we went back 13 years to an All-Ireland senior football semi-final and wondered is it a game that does not get the acclaim it deserves?Maurice's sideline in 2001, the startled earwigs of 2009, Cluxton's free in 2011, Kevin McManamon's goal in 2013 and a couple of classics from 2016 and 2019 ensure there has been a rich catalogue of games built up between the counties over the last two decades.But we make the case for the merits of the 2007...
2020-04-2348 minBehind The Lines24. Danny KellyThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Danny Kelly. Ahead of our chat Danny wished us luck getting his CV straight...so here goes. He is a former editor of New Musical Express (NME) and then earned further acclaim as editor of Q. He moved into sport as editor of the monthly Total Sport and then founded the 365 Corporation, the kernel of which was Football365, which remains extremely popular to this day. He has also written a range of books with his long-time radio collaborator Danny Baker, and he can now be heard on...
2020-04-2159 minWarriorsHurling's Revolution YearsThis week, Paul Dollery and Fintan O'Toole dial up Denis Walsh, the Sunday Times sportswriter and author of the brilliant Hurling: The Revolution Years. After last week's episode -- Kevin Brannigan's Wexford '96 documentary -- kicked off the series we try to put that win in the context of an amazing decade for the sport in a really enjoyable chat. Thanks for all the feedback and patience as we try to produce these remotely. If you have any suggestions for future episodes find us on Twitter at @Warriors_GAA or email sport@the42.ie.
2020-04-1641 minBehind The Lines23. Miguel DelaneyThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is Miguel Delaney, once of the Sunday Tribune and now the chief football writer with the London Independent.We talk about how he got his break to become the most notable Irish-Spanish name in this country since Eamon De Valera, what it’s like to work at the biggest events in sport, the characteristics of the English press pack, and his use of Twitter. He also reveals himself as the nation’s foremost academic on Saipan (he wrote a thesis on it) so we naturally chat quite a bit...
2020-04-141h 06WarriorsDocumentary: Wexford '96Episode 1 of Warriors, The42's new GAA podcast series, tells the story of one of our favourite teams.The boys of Wexford ‘96 were one of the beloved underdog teams that helped define hurling’s ‘Revolution Years’.Producer Kevin Brannigan spends time in the not-so-sunny south-east with Liam Griffin, the charismatic manager who catalysed the Yellowbellies’ amazing run, key players like Martin Storey and Tom Dempsey, and kitman/fixer Pat Murphy. It's a story of a group that learned to trust each other and that bought into Griffin’s innovative techniques, and how their appreciation...
2020-04-091h 00Behind The Lines22. Dara Ó CinnéideThis week’s guest is Kerry GAA great Dara Ó Cinnéide. Dara writes a column with the Irish Examiner and works with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, but you’ll know him best as Kerry’s All-Ireland winning captain from 2004. We figured it would be interesting to get another perspective on writing: what is it like to write columns having been the subject of others’ for years? We also figured Dara might be able to dispel a few myths: has he ever actually seen newspaper headlines and articles pinned to the dressing room wall? And do players real...
2020-04-0759 minBehind The Lines21. Jonathan WilsonThis week’s guest on Behind the Lines is author, journalist and editor Jonathan Wilson.Jonathan writes for a host of outlets including the Guardian and Sports Illustrated, is the editor of quarterly football magazine the Blizzard and has written 11 books, including the acclaimed Inverting the Pyramid. You may also recognise him from his regular appearances on Second Captains and the Guardian’s Football Weekly (apparently there are other podcasts?In a remarkably wide-ranging chat, we talk about how he came to football writing in the wake of a thwarted academic career, the proc...
2020-03-311h 09Behind The Lines20. Kieran CunninghamThis week’s guest is Kieran Cunningham, chief sports writer with the Irish Daily Star. We talk about how he got his start in the game and the stand-out nights he has covered - from Sonia winning silver in Sydney to Liverpool’s miracle in Istanbul - and take a wider look at the industry as a whole. Kieran talks of the transformative effect Magill magazine and the Sunday Tribune had on Irish sportswriting, and whether we speak with too much reverence of the American tradition of longform writing. (Guilty.)He deliberately picked four Irish piec...
2020-03-241h 08Behind The Lines19. Graham HunterBehind the Lines is moving to become a weekly show for the foreseeable, so this week’s guest is Graham Hunter, who you may recognise from Sky Sports’ coverage of La Liga. He has written acclaimed books on Barcelona and the Spanish national team, and is host of The Big Interview podcast. He’s had quite a life: from playing rugby against Brian O’Driscoll to ending up in the Spanish dressing room after the 2010 World Cup final, via the amazing tale of how Jean-Marc Bosman helped to make his career and of how Alex Ferguson’s wife kitte...
2020-03-191h 13Behind The Lines18. Jeff PearlmanThis week’s guest is American sportswriter Jeff Pearlman. Jeff is an alum of Sports Illustrated - where he worked with many of the heavyweights whose work has been discussed on this show previously - and has since written a range of bestselling sports books, including The Bad Guys Won, on the 1986 New York Mets. He chats to us about his brash arrogance as a young writer and the mistakes he made as a result, what he learned from working with the likes of Gary Smith and Rick Reilly as SI and how he ended up in th...
2020-03-1049 minBehind The Lines17. Bryan CurtisThis week’s guest on Behind The Lines is Bryan Curtis, who is Editor-at-Large of The Ringer and is host of The Press Box on the Ringer Podcast Network. Bryan is also a Grantland alum, so he talks about what life was like at the old site, how The Ringer became a $200 millionr success story, and what it’s like to work with Bill Simmons. We also talk of how media coverage of politics has become like sport, and whether that’s a good thing, how he once scandalised a swathe of Her Majesty’s Press with a piece...
2020-02-2554 minBehind The Lines16. Joanne O'RiordanOur latest guest is Joanne O’Riordan, who we are pretty sure is the first of our guests to have once addressed the United Nations.For those unaware, Joanne was born without limbs, and became a high-profile activist in Ireland when publicly challenging then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny over a cut to disability services. She is also a sportswriter, and has a weekly column with the Irish Times. We cover a pretty wide range of topics: of how interviewing Rena Buckley left Joanne far more nervous than addressing the United Nations; her experience on the To...
2020-02-111h 08Behind The Lines15. Dave HanniganDave Hannigan is this week’s guest, who you may know best from his weekly column on American sport in the Irish Times. Dave is also the author of a series of books, including the acclaimed book on Irish soccer The Garrison Game, and Drama in the Bahamas, the story of Muhammad Ali’s final fight. Listen for the story of how Dave grew up playing football against Roy Keane but only felt his fury once he was working as a journalist, of being befriended by Ossie Ardiles in Zagreb, and an electrifying experience with a one-time pian...
2020-01-281h 06Behind The Lines14. Paddy AgnewThis week’s guest is Paddy Agnew, an Irish journalist based in Rome who covers Italian football for World Soccer magazine along with Vatican affairs for the Sunday Independent. Paddy has been living in Italy since 1985, and in that time has covered some of football’s greatest names. We discuss his experience of following a few of them, including Diego Maradona, Liam Brady and, eh, Sven. We also chat about what it’s like to jet around the world with the Pope, his experience of writing about the Troubles for Magill magazine, and of growing up as...
2020-01-1448 minBehind The Lines13. Now That's What I Call Behind The Lines 2019While we let the world's top sports journalists take a break over Christmas, here's some of our favourite bits from this year's run. It's another chance to hear Alan English talk Lance, get sartorial advice from one of the all-time greats, learn a valuable lesson through Malachy Clerkin... and much more. Thanks for your support of Behind The Lines this year. Send any feedback to @behindthelines@the42.ie.
2019-12-3130 minBehind The Lines12. Ewan MacKennaThis week’s guest is Ewan MacKenna, a freelance journalist based in Portugal who was once an Irish sports Journalist of the Year. We cover a lot of ground in an entertaining chat, including the startling tale which caused him to leave Brazil, one of his most infamous interview experiences, the effects of sportswashing and his own infamous use of Twitter. Plus, there’s a fairly wild tale in there about Jimmy White drinking with his dead brother. His picks are: Paul Howard’s piece with Nicolae Linca for the Sunday Tribune; Wright Thomps...
2019-12-1757 minBehind The Lines11. Kieran ShannonAuthor and Irish Examiner columnist Kieran Shannon is this week's guest, with Paul Howard's famous piece with referee Raul Nazare among his picks.Hope you enjoy the show - and get in touch with us by emailing behindthelines@the42.ie or tweeting @gcooney93.
2019-12-0357 minBehind The Lines10. David GoldblattThis week’s guest is renowned author, broadcaster and academic David Goldblatt. David has written one of the most authoritative books on football, The Ball is Round, and has this year published a follow-up called The Age of Football. We talk about what it is like to write a book of such enormous heft and research - its endnotes fill more pages than most football books do by themselves - and also recount some of his favourite encounters with football’s terrible men, which include an hours-long meeting with Victor Orban and delivering a speech abou...
2019-11-1956 minBehind The Lines9. Donald McRaeThis week’s guest is one of the names synonymous with great sportswriting in the UK: Donald McRae. Don has twice won the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, and his latest book - In Sunshine or in Shadow: How Boxing Brought Hope in the Troubles - is shortlisted for this year’s award. He has written 12 books in all, and has also conducted more than 2,500 interviews for the Guardian. Don talks to us about his atypical route to sports journalism: born in apartheid South Africa, he moved to London in e...
2019-11-0548 min