Judging panel for the award also confirmed
eir Sport today announced details of the longlist of entries for what is the third year of the eir Sport Sports Book of the Year. 22 books in total are in the running to follow in the footsteps of the 2016 winner, ‘What Do You Think of That’ from Kerry footballer, Kieran Donaghy and the 2015 winner, ‘Dub Sub Confidential’ from former Dublin footballer John Leonard.
eir Sport also today confirmed the judging panel for this years’ award which is comprised of renowned sports editors and journalists from the Irish sporting media. The judging panel will be independently chaired by Mark Duncan.
Glen Killane MD of eir TV and Sport commented; ‘Once again, the eir Sport Book of the Year has delivered a remarkably high standard of books competing for this years’ award. This year sees the highest number of autobiographies we have had over the three years of the award, offering sports fans tremendous insight into some of our most revered Irish sporting heroes.
‘Overall, the range of entries features a host of fascinating topics and subject matter with an outstanding level of writing evident across the board which make it a difficult task for our judging panel to select their shortlist and winner’
‘Finally, I would like to thank our partners at Publishing Ireland and the publishing houses throughout the country without whom this award would not be a success.’
The President of Publishing Ireland Ronan Colgan added; ‘Publishing Ireland is delighted to partner with eir Sport once again this year and together we’re looking for the best sports book to win this award which will hopefully go on to be one of the bestselling books of 2017. We would like to wish all involved the very best of luck!’
The winning author of the eir Sport Sports Book of the Year will receive a €1,500 cash prize, a specially commissioned trophy and €10,000 worth of TV advertising on eir Sport.
The final shortlist that the judges will decide on will be announced at the end of November with an awards event taking place in Dublin in early December where this year’s winner will be revealed.
Full longlist:
| Entry: | Author: | Publisher: |
| A bit of Shemozzle: GAA Quips and Quotes | Martin O’ Duffy | The O'Brien Press |
| Great Moments in Hurling | Sportsfile | The O'Brien Press |
| Festival Fever: The Irish at Cheltenham | Anne Holland | The O'Brien Press |
| Soccer Migrants: A Social and Cultural History | Conor Curran | Cork University Press |
| Any Given Saturday | Shay Given | Trinity Mirror Sports Media |
| The Warriors Code | Jackie Tyrell with Christy O’Connor | Trinity Mirror Sports Media |
| The GAA Immortals | John Scally | Black-and-White Publishing |
| Jayo: My autobiography | Jason Sherlock with Damien Lawlor | Simon & Schuster |
| Form: My autobiography | Kieran Fallon with Oliver Holt | Simon & Schuster |
| First Hand: My Life and Irish Football | Eoin Hand with Jared Browne | Collins Press |
| The Pursuit of Perfection: The Life, Death and Legacy of Cormac McAnallen | Dónal McAnallen | Penguin Ireland |
| Gooch: The Autobiography | Vincent Hogan | Transworld Ireland |
| When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971 | Tom English and Peter Burns | Polaris Publishing |
| The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish cycling’s golden generation | Barry Ryan | Gill Books |
| Boy Wonder: Tales from the Sidelines of an Irish Childhood | Dave Hannigan | Gill Books |
| The Choice | Philly McMahon with Niall Kelly | Gill Books |
| The Rory's Stories Guide to the GAA | Rory O’Connor | Gill Books |
| Behind the Lines: Great Irish Sport Stories | The42.ie | Journal Media |
| The Art of Hurling: Insights into Success from the Managers | Daire Whelan | Mercier Press |
| Where Have All the Irish Gone?: The Sad Demise of Irelands Once Relevant Footballers | Kevin O'Neill | Pitch Publishing |
| New York Fight Nights: Stateside scraps, scrapes and scuffles | Thomas Myler | Pitch Publishing |
| At the End of the Day | Paul Byrnes | Lettertec |
Judging Panel:
| Name: | Media Outlet: |
| Jack White | Irish Daily Mail |
| Evanne Ní Chuilinn | RTÉ |
| Sinead Kissane | TV3 |
| Adrian Barry | Newstalk 106-108fm |
| Cathal Dervan | The Irish Sun |
| Malachy Clerkin | Irish Times |
| Seán McGoldrick | Sunday World |
| John Greene | Sunday Independent |
Judging Panel Chair: Mark Duncan
