Historic Mayo All-Ireland inspires host of authors to record success to print

Mayo manager Andy Moran during the All-Ireland final between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Helen of Troy’s face may have launched a thousand ships but Mayo’s All-Ireland SFC success will have spooled many more printed pages by the time this year is out.

Their supporters will be spoiled for choice with at least five books published to commemorate their historic win over Kerry in July.

Forever More: The Team of ’26 is the official story of Mayo’s historic success. Penned by widely regarded author, Irish Examiner columnist Kieran Shannon, manager Andy Moran and players provide the team’s former performance coach with the inside track on how they turned the dream into a reality.

“Have fun. Go out and enjoy slaying the dragon” were the words Moran uttered to his players and with his typical poise Shannon is set to deliver the definitive tale of their glory.

The book is published by Reach and will be available from November 21, priced at €21.99.

Anthony Hennigan and Ed McGreal’s Never Stop Dreaming — Mayo’s Story of All-Ireland Glory is produced by Mayo Books and features the work of Michael McLaughlin and Inpho sports photography agency.

Western People deputy editor/sports editor Hennigan, and journalist, author and editor McGreal have combined to chronicle the steps the Mayo team took this year to ending the county’s 75-year wait for All-Ireland glory.

Priced at €26.95, the book, which is published on October 8, supports the Mayo-Roscommon Hospice Foundation’s Sunflower Children’s hospice project in Castlebar.

This past weekend, Liam Horan revealed the front cover of his book, I Can See It Still.

Having worked twice as communications manager with the Mayo senior footballers during Stephen Rochford and Kevin McStay’s spells in charge, Horan is well versed in what makes an inter-county set-up tick.

But as a journalist, author, Ballinrobe club official and the man who oversaw a prescient strategic plan for the county in 2011, Horan’s knowledge of GAA in the county is far-reaching.

He vividly reflects on his lifetime supporting Mayo, all those dog days before July 26 this year. Published by Mayo Books, I Can See It Still will be launched on October 16 and priced at €26.

John Gunnigan, of MayoGAABlog renown, dives deep into his years of dedication to the green and red with his tome Keeping The Faith.

He tells of how he developed the website into becoming the one-stop shop for all things Mayo football.

It is a personal tale of just how much devotion to a county and a team has meant but demanded and will resonate with the support base who finally had their day in the sun two months ago.

Another Mayo Books publication, the Aghamore man’s work, which features a foreword by team captain Jack Coyne, was published last Friday, is officially launched on October 6 and costs €20.

Seamus Murphy has also brought out his take on how the Sam Maguire Cup returned west: Mayo 2026 — The Year the Curse Was Broken: The Road to All-Ireland Glory. Available on Amazon, it is priced at €11.99.

The front cover for Sportsfile’s annual A Season of Sundays has also been confirmed as a Mayo one and their season is set to be the abiding theme of the agency’s always excellent capturing of the GAA year.

Priced at €29.99, it is expected to be launched as usual in late November or early December.

Never has an All-Ireland victory inspired such written celebration — only Dublin’s 2011 and Limerick’s ’18 successes come close.

That yawning wait for the ultimate triumph has been matched by the weight of tributes on offer.