{"product_id":"9780241971659","title":"9780241971659","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDub Sub Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e by John Leonard: a GAA memoir like no other.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE SETANTA SPORTS IRISH SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Leonard was a gifted Gaelic football goalkeeper who had the misfortune to reach his prime at the same time, and in the same county, as one of the all-time greats: Stephen Cluxton. Unless something happened to Clucko, Leonard was always going to be number 2. Of course, it didn't help that he had a problem with drink and drugs ...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDub Sub Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e is John Leonard's vivid, witty and searingly honest account of his life in and out of sport. He was both a committed Dub and a sceptical observer of the goings on in the dressing-room and on the training pitch. He writes about the players and the mentors, and about the oddity of being part of the GAA's biggest circus while never expecting to get on the pitch. And he writes brilliantly about the demons that led him to addiction, his efforts for many years to party hard and train hard, and his eventual breakthrough to sobriety.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDub Sub Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e is a GAA memoir like no other yet published - a book about how Gaelic games collide with real life. It is also a brilliant read from a remarkable personality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Four decades after Eamon Dunphy published \u003ci\u003eOnly a Game?\u003c\/i\u003e, his seminal book on football, \u003cb\u003eJohn Leonard has produced the Gaelic football equivalent - only it's better\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Sports Books of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003eReads like \u003ci\u003eFear and Loathing in Las Vegas\u003c\/i\u003e ... \u003cb\u003ea great read' \u003c\/b\u003eRay D'Arcy, RTE Radio 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'As \u003cb\u003efascinating\u003c\/b\u003e as its insights into the Dublin dressing room and the big matchdays are, to reduce \u003ci\u003eDub Sub Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e to being just a sports or GAA book is to do it an injustice; it is an \u003cb\u003eastonishing, exceptional, visceral \u003c\/b\u003eaccount of a confused young man' \u003ci\u003eIrish Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Engaging, honest, sad and frightening in places - ultimately raw and real. \u003cb\u003eCouldn't put it down'\u003c\/b\u003e Ryle Nugent, RTÉ\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The overall feeling of Leonard's sporting life is of a high-wire act. He somehow managed to have a part-time romance with Dublin football while full-bloodedly chasing whatever and whoever was on offer in Dublin after dark ... There is an antic and often jubilant energy to Leonard's writing' Keith Duggan, \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eRemarkable\u003c\/b\u003e ... a stark and searingly honest memoir' \u003ci\u003ethe42.ie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Students of Gaelic football will be intrigued by his account of the rivalry with Cluxton, arguably the most important player of modern times' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47111788396784,"sku":"9780241971659","price":10.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780241971659_p0.jpg?v=1763680797","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780241971659","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}