The GAA is Ireland's largest civil society organisation, woven into the fabric of families and communities - and yet most books about Gaelic games focus on the greatest players and inter-county teams.

Ciaran Murphy - of Second Captains and the Irish Times - has an unmatched feel for the timeless elements of this world and a finger on the pulse of change. He looks at the plight of rural clubs that are losing their players to the cities - and he does so not only as a journalist but as a footballer who made the same move himself (and who once, flying home to play a club match, found himself alone on the plane with Jedward).

He writes about working as an assistant in the clothing shop owned by the family of Jarlath Fallon - who was both Ciaran's all-time sporting hero and the local postman. And he looks at things we usually prefer not to talk about, like the role of social class in the GAA. This is the Life is a book about the places the GAA comes from, the places it can take a person, and the things that make a local club worth fighting for.

'Terrific ... one of the most enjoyable sports books I've come across in a long time' Matt Cooper, The Last Word with Matt Cooper, Today FM

'Brilliantly written ... an absolute joy to read' The Irish Sun