Goalkeepers walk a tightrope between triumph and disaster...' The hurling goalkeeper must surely occupy the most precarious position on the pitch glorified as a saviour if their team succeeds and damned if they fail. For this book Christy O'Connor has had unique and continuous access to twelve goalkeepers over one season and tracked their experiences through the highs and lows, the celebrations and rejections, the saves and the misses, resulting in an inside story never told before. The players talk frankly about the pressures, the passion, the trauma, the disappointments and glories, the utter despair at being dropped from the team and the long road back to re-selection. The brotherhood of goalies forms a kind of inner club within the hurling community-here we are taken into its heart and spirit as never before. Includes: Donal Óg Cusack (Cork); James McGarry (Kilkenny); Liam O'Donoghue (Galway); Brendan Cummins (Tipperary); Stevie Brenner (Waterford); Brian Mullins (Offaly); Timmy Houlihan (Limerick); Brendan McLoughlin (Dublin); Davy Fitzgerald (Clare); Graham Clarke (Down); DD Quinn (Antrim); Damien Fitzhenry (Wexford), as well as a wealth of stories and anecdotes about famous past teams and players.
"'O'Connor offers the reader unrivalled insight into the lives of people such as Fitzgerald, Donal Óg Cusack, Damien Fitzhenry and James McGarry. Carries some fascinating accounts about what it takes to become the best in your field and what it's like to win and lose in the Championship.'"
Irish News
"'It doesn't come as a huge surprise to learn that [Seán Óg Ó hAilpín] is close to Donal Óg Cusack, a highly-motivated figure like himself. Insights in to Cusack's obsessive nature are contained in Christy O'Connor's excellent book, Last Man Standing, revealing long and lonely hours spent preparing for the hurling season.'"
The Sunday Independent
"'Pick up Christy O'Connor's book Last Man Standing. You won't regret it.'"
