In 1996 the Cork senior hurlers suffered a record loss to Limerick in the first round of the Munster hurling championship; three years later they were All-Ireland champions. Three years after that title they were the first GAA team to go on strike; three years after that they had won two All-Ireland titles in a row.

The most fascinating GAA team of the last twenty years

Along the way they blazed a trail for GAA players by standing up for their rights; they revolutionised tactics in the game of hurling and they have given Irish sport some of its most unforgettable characters and moments. Through strikes and stand-offs, controversies and collisions, departures and disappointments, they have been the most fascinating GAA team of the last twenty years.
This is their story. Players, managers, selectors and backroom staff involved with Cork for the last decade have co-operated with journalist Michael Moynihan to give their side of events, with some speaking out for the first time in a series of interviews conducted specifically for this book.

In December 1956 Ronnie Delany sprinted home to win the gold medal in the 1500m Olympic final in Melbourne, setting a new Olympic record in the process. In the depressed Ireland of the fifties, Delany's win — an outsider storming ahead to beat the favourites — caught the imagination of a nation, and made him a sporting icon.

In Staying the Distance, Delany tells the story of his childhood in Arklow and Sandymount, his early triumphs on the Irish athletics circuit and his realisation that he had it in him to become a great runner.

In 1954 Delany won an athletics scholarship to Villanova University in Pennsylvania where he trained under legendary coach Jumbo Elliot. To a naïve Irish boy in the 1950s, American campus life was glamorous and exciting, and as well as athletics training, there were dances and study sessions, girlfriends and theatrical productions, all brought to life in his own words. Delany's speed was increasing all the time; in 1954, he reached the final of the 800m at the European Championships, and in 1956 became only the seventh runner to join the exclusive club of four-minute milers. Then came his phenomenal win in Melbourne, and a new Irish hero was born.

Are you a golf fanatic? Whether or not you've had the good fortune to play a round in Ireland, on some of the most spectacular links golf course in the world, you can enjoy their beauty in your own home with Ireland's Finest Golf Courses.

Gill & Macmillan's beautiful hardback, Ireland's Finest Golf Courses by John Redmond is a must-have for golf lovers everywhere. With its stunning photography, and detailed looks at some of the most famous courses in Ireland, Ireland's Finest Golf Courses is not only visually striking, but also provides layouts and difficulty levels which true golfers will cherish.