Bernard Brogan: The Hill

by Bernard Brogan, Kieran Shannon

BERNARD Brogan’s life story is one of the most keenly-anticipated Irish sport autobiographies in years. For much of the past decade Brogan was the headline act of Gaelic football for his remarkable forward play, scoring feats and role in helping transform Dublin from flaky contenders into the most dominant team the sport has ever known. By the time of his retirement, he had contributed to seven All Ireland titles, five National Leagues as well as winning four All Stars, Footballer of the Year honours and captaining his country in a victorious International Rules series. Yet despite reaching the pinnacle of the sport, Brogan has encountered his fair share of setbacks. He never made the Dublin minor football panel. He suffered two cruciate ligament injuries. He only broke onto the Dublin senior team when he was 23. And in his final seasons, despite being one of the most illustrious names in the game, he found himself struggling to recapture the glory days as the next generation of Dublin stars forged a brave new future. In his book, he details the effort and frustrations that came with trying to get back from that last cruciate injury to try to play for Dublin again, the historic Drive for Five, and how he and Dublin became such a force in the first place, giving a unique insight into the workings of a high-performance set-up and athlete all the while trying to hold down and grow a couple of businesses and a family steeped in the GAA.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 7, 2020

Reviews

[Sir Mullo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Older than Brogan but grew up in the same area. It’s a mental spot for GAA for the last number of years and with Kilkenny the main man now and also from the area it will continue to be. He comes across as a gentleman and a real role model for all up and coming sports stars. Amazing dedication and determination. A great insight into one of the best teams the GAA has ever seen but the nerd in me wanted more of the process and tactics they employed and less of his fading star journey. That might be harsh. Top man and an amazing family, the Brogans

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read enjoyed it one thing and its minor is why don't they have action shots on the cover, scoring a goal by the hill that sort of thing. Better than headshots I think but its a decent read alright.

[John English · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful look into the record setting Dublin football team as one of it stalwarts heads into the final chapter of his career

[Ciaran Mulhair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading

[Shane Mulcahy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of autobiographies, but this one was a disappointment. I was hoping for a more interesting, insightful read about the Dublin setup. Unfortunately, it feels like Bernard Brogan was holding back and afraid to upset Jim Gavin or his former teammates. Dublin GAA fans will undoubtedly enjoy this book, but I wonder if it would have been a better read if Brogan had waited for a few more years to pass by before writing it.