'Derry: Game of My Life' launched by Michael McMullan in city this weekend

The former Co. Derry Post Sports Editor, who currently writes for Gaelic Life, will be in the Great James St. store from 11am-1pm to sign copies of the new publication in which he sits down with 25 of the county’s greatest footballers to discover the game they cherish most. Players like Anthony Tohill, Tony Scullion, Mickey Lynch, Paddy Bradley, Anthony McGurk, Henry Downey and Brian McGilligan are among the legends included. Here Michael sits down with the Journal’s Michael Wilson to discuss his new publication.

Earliest GAA memory?

Watching the 1986 All-Ireland final, Kerry v Tyrone in my Granny Scullin’s in Greenlough. I remember it like it was yesterday and Pat Spilline’s diving punch to the net. My earliest Derry memory came the following autumn when my godfather Raymond, Greenlough’s Chairman, took me along to my first Derry game. It was a Division Two win over Longford and the score was something like 0-10 to 0-6. I still have the programme, with scribblings all over it. Nothing’s changed!

Growing up, who was your GAA hero?

That’s a hard one. My first one was probably Larry Tompkins of Cork. I loved watching him kick points off the ground and I was a big Cork fan at the time; no idea why. From a Derry point of view, there were so many but Anthony Tohill is the best player I ever saw in the flesh. He had everything. A great leap, was a goalscoring midfielder, kicked points from play and from the deck. He’d be back plucking balls in the full back line. An all rounder.

Who was the biggest GAA influence on you?

I would have to say Adrian McGuckin in St Pat’s, Maghera. I was lucky enough to be in a winning Hogan Cup winning squad and the level of detail he put into preparation was awesome and so far ahead of his time. It was the beginning of a deep interest on what goes on behind the scenes with teams for me.

Sum up your own days as a player?

I won a few medals at school but that was about the height of it. I played a handful of seasons at senior level but began to take more of an interest in coaching. (My brother) Antóin has more than made up for my short career between the posts.

If there was one moment in GAA history you could revisit, which would it be?

I’d love to go back to All-Ireland minor final in 2007 and find a way of preventing Damien Reddington’s winning goal for Galway. The one that got away!

Which GAA star (past or present) would you love to spend an hour with?

Can I have two? Eamonn Coleman and Paidi Ó Sé. From chatting to the players in the book, I almost feel I know Eamonn even though I never met him. If it’s one, it would have to be Paidi. He seems like an absolute gas man and an evening chatting over a few pints in his pub in Ventry would be some craic. An hour wouldn’t be long enough.

Greatest match you've ever watched in person?

I’d have to say the 2002 All-Ireland final, Armagh v Kerry. Still on a high from Derry winning the minor game; you never knew who was going to win. It was a brilliant day for Ulster football too.

What's the one rule you'd pass to improve football?I think the rules are tampered with too much but I’m going to go with a two pronged change of focus. (1) Inter-county players training Tuesday and Thursday with the county with their county S&C done in their club gym. Clubs need to see their players more.

(2) Players not playing league football released back to their clubs. I appreciate it’s hard for county managers to make different rules for different players, but players need to play games.

Is modern football over coached?It is and it comes from bigger management teams where there is more detail available. Players are coached with perfection in mind now. It’s great that we have players in top physical condition and who can all do the basics to a decent level but it’s the magical players who win the big prizes. We need more of them.

13. What are Derry's prospects under Mickey Harte?

It’s still strange to get the head around having such an iconic Tyrone man in charge of Derry but his track record speaks for itself. We’ve a squad mixing at the top table but we need to be able to bring men off the bench with 20 minutes to go with experience to close out games against the top teams. If Mickey and Horse can find that, we’ll not be far away.

14. What was your own 'Game of your life'?

I’m going left field here; the 2022 Ulster final. I grew up in an era when Derry were a Division One team. More recently, it’s been a journey through the divisions. Rory Gallagher put a shape to Derry and got them to fully commit. That day in Clones was must win for the new-look Derry. While many slated the entertainment value, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. To see the crowds on the pitch after is something I’ll never forget and to see men like Chrissy McKaigue and Benny Heron with smiles on their faces after years of commitment, in all divisions, was class.

Michael will be signing copies of Derry: Game of my Life on Saturday, November 25 (11am to 1pm) in Little Acorns Bookstore in Derry. The book is on sale in various outlets across the county. Any queries email [email protected]