As annual markers go the launch of Sportsfile’s Season of Sundays was one you didn’t realise how much you missed until it returned.
That’s what it did last night for the first time since 2019 at the Croke Park Hotel, and the 26th time in total for the annual reminder of the Gaelic Games season gone by.
Ray McManus was there as Master of Ceremonies, surrounded by family and friends, together with the photographers that make the year spring from the pages of the book, Alan Milton, the newly elected Chair of Round Towers GAA Club and Communications Chief for the GAA who adds the words and the GAA President Larry McCarthy to speak with affection of the team and how they delivered once more a year to remember.
This is the 20th year that Offaly-based Carrolls Meat has supported the publication of the book and CEO John Comerford was also there to say a few words.
From unforgettable AIB All-Ireland Club finals in Croke Park when Ballygunner and Kilcoo scaled their respective ‘Everests’ for the first time, both with late, late shows, to a new season format that saw the games come thick and fast in both football and hurling, 2022 intrigued GAA followers everywhere.
The Munster hurling championship gave us a final for the ages before Limerick’s all-conquering crusade marched on and in football, Derry emerged from the most competitive of the provincial championships to end their barren spell and return to Croke Park as Ulster kingpins.
When Kerry accounted for Dublin in dramatic fashion in the semi-final, the path was cleared for them to lock horns with Galway in a final pairing to whet the appetite of the traditionalists – a game that would see the Sam Maguire Cup return to the Kingdom for the first time since 2014, a fact neither lost nor left uncommented by proud Corkman McCarthy.
He also welcomed the return of the lens to the Gaelic Grounds in New York, his second home down the years.
There was no change in the winners’ enclosure in hurling as Limerick recorded a first-ever three-in-a-row win but not before Kilkenny provided their sternest test. The Cats’ legendary manager Brian Cody bowed out ending what was the longest inter-county management tenure in Gaelic games.
The Meath ladies footballers rose to the top of the pile once again adding to their breakthrough win of the previous year with a final victory over Kerry and on the camogie front, Kilkenny edged Cork to claim the spoils.
“After what we went through and all that was endured by so many over the course of the worst of the pandemic, there was something novel about the relative return to normality in 2022,” said McManus.
“More than anything, the return of large crowds resonated with us all as the atmosphere and the buzz we perhaps previously took for granted, returned to venues everywhere – and the games certainly did not disappoint.”
“Every season throws up different storylines and unique circumstances and it is our pleasure to be present at the games to witness so many of them.”
“I would like to thank the GAA President Larry McCarthy for launching the book and also Carrolls for their ongoing support, without which, the project would not be possible.”
“We are delighted to be back together in person, gathered to mark the launch of yet another edition of A Season of Sundays, replied the President.
“To say that it has stood the test of time would be something of an understatement and for many – not all of course – the curtain can now fall on the calendar year of Gaelic games that was 2022.”
“While we can and will marvel at the quality of images captured by Ray and his team, sometimes the real value of this project is in the recording of imagery that will remind us all in years to come of the enjoyment we derived from the games while also informing future generations of heroic feats and the stellar names who achieved them.
“Well done Ray and here’s to many more editions.”
An ideal gift for any GAA fan, the book is available at bookstores nationwide and online at www.sportsfile.com and is priced at €27.95.
It’s like being asked to pick a favourite child to nominate a favourite image but when you get your hands on the book I’d draw you to pages 14, 11, 180 and 181 as a taster
