SPORTS BOOKS: NOT SO long ago, the publication of a GAA book was a rare occurrence. This year, though, has reflected the strong interest in the stories and people involved in the native games, with a number of the most famous names in the contemporary GAA world putting pen to paper.

The GAA market has become so saturated in recent years this year’s productions were notable for approaching familiar subjects from a different perspective.

Yet it was a traditional biography that lit up the year for the simple reason that it was unflinchingly honest and introspective from the beginning.

In the fourth paragraph of Come What May(Penguin, €15.99), Donal Óg Cusack has this to say of the world he lives in: "We have the usual trials and tribulations. We lose our jobs. Our marriages bust up. Our friendships break. Alcohol ruins some of us. Depression follows others like a black dog. We fight. We love. We scar. We heal. We die.'

And this is just the acknowledgements! The point is that Cusack’s book is about as far removed from the sepia days of GAA – the uncomplicated and irreducibly glorious GAA tradition as captured by the voice of Micheál O’Hehir – as can be imagined.

Central to Cusack’s book is the revelation that he is gay, a fact that, while widely rumoured, seemed electrifying simply because Cusack confirmed it.

But the issue of Cusack’s sexuality is not at the heart of the book. What makes the book so compelling is Cusack’s clear and sometimes painful account of his relationship with the GAA, from his club in Cloyne through Cork’s All-Ireland-winning seasons and the famous stand-off with the Cork County Board.

Given that Cusack’s role in the GPA and as spokesperson during the Cork strike seasons often made him appear solemn and confrontational, Come What May presents a truer understanding of Cusack as a person.

Given the sensational story at the heart of Cusack’s book, all other biographies were up against it.

However, it was notable that the two most successful managers of the past decade published autobiographies this year. Mickey Harte's Presence is the Only Thing(with Michael Foley, Poolbeg, €16.99) is a detailed account of the Tyrone man's ascent to his current position as one of the most respected and original coaches in Gaelic football.

Harte is a wonderfully fluent speaker and, although he comes across as a mild-mannered man on camera, he holds a number of strong and unorthodox opinions on the game.

His patient progress through the coaching ranks of Tyrone football and his intriguing account of the tragedies and triumphs that have visited a generation of Red Hand footballers makes for fascinating reading.

Brian Cody's The Autobiography(with Martin Breheny, Irish Sports Publishing, €19.99) marks the enigmatic Kilkenny man's first foray into the world of publishing.

Guarded by nature, Cody was never going to open the door to Kilkenny dressingrooms past and present. But he does set down his views as a coach – and this biography is concerned with Cody the coach rather than with his distinguished playing career in black and amber.

There is a relentless fascination with what makes Cody tick and this book offers a detailed chronological account of Cody’s thoughts and moods as the most recent All-Ireland hurling season progressed.

Billy Morgan, the iconic Cork football man, also presents his story in the aptly titled Rebel, Rebel: The Billy Morgan Story(with Billy Keane, Ballpoint €16.99). The fingerprints of the Nemo Rangers man can be found on almost all good things that have happened in Cork football in the past four decades.

Refreshingly, Morgan overlooks neither the pros nor the cons of his emotional and sometimes fiery personality and he has a fine recall for detail. An eventful and sometimes tough examination of his own life, Morgan’s book sheds light on one of the GAA’s most strong-minded individuals.

One of the most admirable books of the year concerns the unheralded football team of Waterford. Working On A Dream(Mentor, €13.99) was written by Damian Lawlor, who spent a full season shadowing John Keily's team through the unglamorous walkways of Division Four football.

It was what Lawlor’s termed the “boundless enthusiasm for what seemed like a lost cause” that attracted him to their dressingroom – as well as a growing disillusionment with the direction the elite end of Gaelic games was taking.

The squad welcomed the intrusion and Lawlor was given unparalleled access for the season.

The result is an admirable and fascinating insight into what keeps a sports team going in the face of insurmountable and almost hopeless odds.

Limerick hurling teams have had spectacular rises and downfalls in the last 20 years and Henry Martin's Unlimited Heartbreak(Collins Press, €19.95) purports to give the inside story on the causes and reactions to all of those lows and highs.

Martin interviewed over 100 people for his opus and records their observations first hand for a book that will make riveting and often painful reading for those who care about the game in the Treaty County.

The most handsome GAA book of the year is, without doubt, The GAA: A People's History(Collins Press, €29.99) by Mike Cronin, Mark Duncan and Paul Rouse.

The archive photographs that accompany a multi-faceted work that is part examination and part tribute are beautifully reproduced and this is a book that will effortlessly capture the interest of anyone with an interest in Irish sport.

The venerable Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh has added his name to this year's trove with Micheál's GAA Odyssey(Mainstream, with Conor McKeon and Seán Potts, €13.99), an enjoyable romp through the historical high points of the association.

Lest We Forget(Collins Press, €19.95) by Brendan Fulham is an absorbing portrait of the many curiosities that mark GAA culture, from the Kerry hurlers (of 1891) who played barefoot to the origins of GAA nicknames such as The Tall Sweeping Menace.

Fulham selects his dream hurling and football teams of the decade and profiles iconic figures such as Tommy Murphy in this lively, affectionate compilation of GAA folklore.

Around the World in GAA Days(Mainstream, €15.99) by Aaron Dunne takes a broad look at the global influence of the Irish games, from budding hurling teams in Singapore to the state of the games in the traditional Irish-American enclaves.

Staying closer to home, John Scally sets down the transcripts of his interviews with many GAA people.

His conversations with everyone from John O'Mahony to DJ Carey in The GAA: An Oral History(Mainstream, €15.99) completes a collection of GAA books that offers endless variety for GAA fans through the close season.