Ballpoint Press

06/12/2021

Did we forget one province people? 🤔🤫Sure, no event in Croke Park would be complete without the men and women of Munster! 😆

06/12/2021

There was no All Ireland for them this year! But the Dubs arrived in force to Croke Park for a certain book launch!
👊

05/12/2021

"By some distance the most entertaining GAA book of the year is Grassroots: Stories from the Heart of the GAA" - We'll take that Mr Malachy Clerkin 🤗👊 The Irish Times GAA

03/12/2021

Who's that with GAA President Larry McCarthy? 🧐 It wouldn't be All Ireland winning Offaly footballer and Ballpoint Press author Seamus Darby would it? ... Looking great Seamus 😉'About That Goal', biography of Seamus, published by Ballpoint, is well worth a 📖 this 🎄

02/12/2021

You can't have a book launch in Croke Park without the Kings & Queens of Leinster in attendance 👑 A very royal party indeed 😉

02/12/2021

There's plenty of art, culture and song in the real ones too 🤣 😌 ... Recreation of Irish bar wins prestigious Turner Prize

An art installation of an Irish pub has earned its Belfast creators the UK’s prestigious Turner Prize for art.

01/12/2021

Well said Martin 😉 Like all good ideas, you're thinking 'why didn't someone think of this before'? Luckily, 'Grassroots: Stories from the Heart of the GAA' is here and available to buy now! It's a profound insight into what the GAA means to so many people, up and down the country

30/11/2021

Up the west

30/11/2021

Next up, the men and women of the mighty 'Whest' 😉

30/11/2021

Good coverage of Grassroots launch in the Westmeath Independent 🥳God bless our local newspapers people, they do fantastic work 👏🙏

Westmeath GAA fans have been told a new publication on life within the association highlights the ‘madness’ that joins them together.

29/11/2021

In the fourth of our Grassroots extracts, Mick Byrne (in a lovely story) describes his maiden journey to Croker; the Leinster semi-final between Wexford and Killkenny of 1954 ... He experienced the pulse and excitement of Croke Park for the first time, and saw first-hand the genius of Wexford hurler Nicky Rackard ...

"We approached the turnstile and my father asked the steward: 'How much for the chap?' The kindly man, winking and nodding uttered with a smile: 'I can't hear ya.'"

29/11/2021

A truly amazing story involving David’s grandfather

Lovely extract from David Carroll's Grassroots story on his grandfather Chris 'Yarra' Duffy in Ireland's Own's bumper Christmas edition🎄 Find out how the legend survived getting shot in Bloody Sunday, and how he got the nickname 'Yarra'! 🤔

29/11/2021

Lovely extract from David Carroll's Grassroots story on his grandfather Chris 'Yarra' Duffy in Ireland's Own's bumper Christmas edition🎄 Find out how the legend survived getting shot in Bloody Sunday, and how he got the nickname 'Yarra'! 🤔

27/11/2021

PJ having a great chat with Marty Morrissey on Country Wide, RTÉ Radio 1 this morning, on Grassroots-. They are as thick as thieves those two!😂 Really worth listening to it all, and PJ's chat starts at 30 mins

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11361515/

People, events and happenings around the country, presented by Marty Morrissey.

27/11/2021

What are in those boxes PJ? 😉🤗They wouldn't be the latest batch of Grassroots: Stories From the Heart of the GAA, for delivery to Eason Ireland & other bookstores? Would they?🤫🤗

26/11/2021

Very few people know what it's like to lead a team to All Ireland success. One of the few who do, is Joe Kernan, whose mighty Armagh footballers won All Ireland glory in 03. The third of our 'Grassroots Excerpts' is a taster of Joe's insightful, philosophical piece on management, coaching and life: 🤔

"I don't know what GAA club he (philosopher Lao Tzu) was a member of, but he could have been overlooking my work down in Cross or later with Armagh ..."

26/11/2021

Perfect way to start a Friday? 🤔Some beautiful words of wisdom from Ballpoint author Declan Coyle 🤗🙏

25/11/2021

D'ya hear that sound? 🤫It's the sound of the sons and daughters of proud Ulster marching into Croke Park 😉😁 GAA

25/11/2021

Blessed with an exceptional ability to capture the magic of Gaelic Games in words, he is Ireland's most iconic commentator 🤗 But few people know what happened when Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh visited Mayo in 2004. In the second of our excerpts from Grassroots, Art Ó Súilleabháin tells the story ...

'He launched the project, stood patiently for photographs with the various classes and then engaged with the children about their interest in sport .... Then the true spirit and generosity of Micheál emerged. The children could not believe their ears when he suggested that he might go ...'😉🤫 From 'GAA Grassroots: Stories From the Heart of the GAA'.

25/11/2021

She's beautiful, isn't she? 😁Yes, we mean Croke Park, but we also mean our latest publication, Grassroots: Stories from the Heart of the GAA 😉 kudos to & Ryan McGuinness designer.

24/11/2021

Lovely story from old Enniscorthy 😌

24/11/2021

We'll be going through our Croke Park launch photographs county by county guys 😁😉First up, the Royal County representative. If you recognise anyone, feel free to tag 🧐 ... All credit to the wonderful for these photographs

23/11/2021

When Ollie McMahon rang PJ to say he had a story about Michael Hogan, PJ thought he had heard them all already. But he hadn't heard this one. This one was personal; it was a human story behind the myth. The first of our 'Grassroots Excerpts' is by Oliver McMahon:

"You know Ollie, I was there on Bloody Sunday," she said quietly out of the blue.
I am the youngest of 12 children and I'd not heard her mention this incident before. I told her this was part of history and it should be recorded, but she explained that it was seldom something she ever spoke of without actually telling me why. ... Instead of embellishing one of the most iconic historical moments in Irish history, she told me instead the story of her involvement in a handful of sentences.
"Mick (Hogan) was my ...."

22/11/2021

🙏

Today we remember the victims of Bloody Sunday, 21st November 1920, who went to a GAA match at Croke Park and never came home

19/11/2021

Big surprise for you today guys! Lovely piece on Grassroots book launch in yesterday's Dublin Gazette Do you recognise anyone 😁🧐 .... Big thanks for Dublin Gazette team for the coverage and interest in Ballpoint's books

18/11/2021

We like the cover of the new edition Billy! You never got permission from your publisher however 😂 We'll get going with the printing😉 Whatever the cover, Billy's collection is full of stories, insights and jokes; great book!

Today’s recreation is a first of it’s kind – an author's book cover recreation - of his very own book! Thank you to Billy Keane, local legend and stalwart member of Writers Week, for this fabulous recreation!

If, like Billy, you would like to participate in this year’s Writers Week art challenge, we would love to help! Email Louise at [email protected] for advise or inspiration to help you get started. Then all you have to do is:

1. Recreate a work of art that features books, reading or has a reference to literature.
2. Recreate a book cover or an illustration from a book.
3. Create your own original artwork using books or referring to books for inspiration.

Once you have your recreation complete, use the to tag us – and include a photo of your inspiration too!
@50 ’

16/11/2021

Lovely piece by Fr Brian Darcy in last Sunday's Sunday World, in case you missed it. We love the Robin O'Connell story 'The Only Radio in the Parish' as well. When the wireless signal goes just when Wexford's Nicky Rackard was about to hit a free, it's hard to blame the good people of Clare for imagining the cause was Rackard's sliotar ! 😉😆

15/11/2021

Some good news today people 😉It looks like the reading public want stories, tales and poems from the grassroots of Gaelic Games. Who would have thought it!☺Grassroots has moved to four in the bestselling sport's book charts, pic courtesy of Independent.ie. Thank you all for the support 👊

13/11/2021

Nice piece by Cian Murphy on Grassroots, for latest GAA newsletter. Has a nice explanation of the cover image 🤔Yes, you guessed it, every light represents a GAA club😉

By Cian Murphy There'll be no shorrage of GAAbooks on the shelves this Christmas and there'll be lots to savour. But one particular collection of stories from the membership of the GAA is a bit special and certainly no ordinary book. GAA Grassroots – Stories from the heart of the

13/11/2021

All the snaps, stories and poetry from last night's incredible launch in Croker to come 😁🤗 To start, here is a lovely photo of PJ with GAA President Larry McCarthy at last night's launch. Big shout out to the Irish Independent Sport team for using Aishling Conway's pic in today's bumper sports edition. 👏... More to come 🤫 .books.ireland