Cusack 'honoured' to claim top award

SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD:DÓNAL ÓG Cusack's autobiography Come What May, written with Tom Humphries of The Irish Times, has won the Williamhill.com Irish sports book of the year.

The veteran Cork hurling goalkeeper became the first high-profile Irish sportsperson to admit he was a homosexual. The book deals with the impact this has had on his life and charts a hugely successful sporting career.

There are several other revealing passages, dealing with the inner workings of Cork GAA, including the recent conflict with county officers and a no-holds-barred perspective of hurling rivals, particularly Kilkenny.

“Taking the decision to write this book was a difficult one but once I decided, I knew it had to be an honest account of my life,” said Cusack.

“An essential part of this process was Tom Humphries’ skill and dedication to the project and his outrageous sense of humour which made the process less onerous, I would like to thank him sincerely. Since publication, I have been overwhelmed with the response the book has received both here and abroad.

“Winning this award is a great honour for me and I would like to thank the judges and the general public for choosing my book from such a strong shortlist. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my family, friends, teammates and work colleagues for their unwavering support in the last number of years.”

Tom Humphries added: “To have been named in such a shortlist was a thrill and any prize for Come What May is a bonus and an honour in that company. For me though, the enduring rewards are the privilege I feel at having been asked to walk a few steps of Dónal Óg’s journey with him, the welcome and the kindness of his family and gaining the friendship of an extraordinary man.”

Life on the lower end of the intercounty ladder, a season with the Waterford footballers, entitled Working on a Dream by Damien Lawlor, GAA correspondent for the Sunday Independent, came second with the Sunday Tribune writer Kieran Shannon’s account of the golden age of Irish basketball in the 1980s, Hanging from the Rafters, placed third.

The 10-person judging panel was Kieran Holden (TV3 sports editor), Deric Henderson (Press Association Ireland editor), Jerry O’Sullivan (Newstalk sports editor), Declan McBennett (RTÉ TV news sports editor), Paul Dempsey (Setanta Sports), Jacqui Hurley (RTÉ radio sport), Paul Collins (Today FM), Eamon Dunphy, George Hook and Matt Cooper.

Considering the revealing and ground-breaking content, it was a big step for Cusack to publish his autobiography while still a top-level hurler.

“I always thought that I would write a book and I felt that I wanted to write it before my career was over so I was delighted to see that thought come into reality,” said Cusack yesterday.

“I have been surprised at the amount of interest in the story. Most of that has been overwhelmingly positive and it is something I appreciate very much and I am delighted it turned out that way.”

A key member of the Gaelic Players Association that recently negotiated full recognition terms with the GAA, the task now for the players’ body is to see this achievement ratified by the entire association.

“Obviously, I was involved in (negotiations) for a number of months. We actually reached the agreement the week before I left (for Africa to do charity work with the Alan Kerins African projects).

“I would like to think that it will get through. I am very positive about the actual agreement that was reached. People are always going to be in disagreement on issues and that is what democracy is about. The important thing is that people look at the facts of the agreement and we know that a lot of stuff has happened over the last number of years.

“There have been problems on either side but the important thing is the future of the association. I would like for people to let bygones be bygones and judge this agreement on its merit.”

Come What Mayis published by Penguin Ireland.