The 2022 edition of A Season of Sundays has been launched by GAA president Larry McCarthy.
For 26 years Sportsfile’s A Season of Sundays is an annual sporting tradition, marking the end of each GAA season with a collection of images.
The 2022 edition captures the highs and lows of an another GAA season that saw capacity crowds return to GAA stadia after the Covid pandemic.
It features unforgettable AIB All-Ireland Club finals in Croke Park when Ballygunner and Kilcoo scaled their respective ‘Everests’ for the first time, to a new season format which saw the games come thick and fast in both football and hurling.
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 paring 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.
There was no change in the winners’ enclosure in hurling as Limerick recorded a first three-in-a-row win over Kilkenny, which saw Cats’ legendary manager Brian Cody bow out of the longest inter-county management tenure in Gaelic games.
Speaking at the launch, the book’s publisher Ray McManus said there was something novel about the relative return to normality in 2022 after the the pandemic.
“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 certainaly 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.
Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Labhras Mac Carthaig, says A Season of Sundays has stood the test of time.
“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."
The book is available at bookstores nationwide and online at www.sportsfile.com and is priced at €27.95.
