Boy Wonder

A collage of personal memories passed over into family myth, Boy Wonder is a funny and moving account of a childhood spent, like countless others, on pitches, sidelines and stands, struggling to make sense of competition and the outsized role it plays in the lives of men and boys, fathers and sons. From tough lessons on the parish field and the politics of afterschool football to the euphoria of Croke Park and brushes with demigods like Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Roy Keane, Boy Wonderis a poignant comic memoir about family, sport and the rites of passage that shape every childhood. It is one man's story - but a testament to every man's experience. 'If you ever strung a length of washing line across the road to try to replicate the excitement of Wimbledon, played street football while imagining John Motson simpering over your every touch, trotted around an obstacle course slapping your backside during Dublin Horse Show week or tried to emulate Alex Higgins on a four-foot by two-foot snooker table in the tight confines of a suburban kitchen, then Boy Wonder will make you ache with nostalgia for your own childhood.' Paul Howard 'Utterly authentic.'Matt Cooper

Dave Hannigan is a professor of history at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island, and a weekly columnist with the Irish Times, the Evening Echo, and the Irish Echo (New York). He is the author of several non-fiction books and two children's novels. Born and raised in Togher, Cork, he now lives in East Setauket, New York with his wife Cathy and his sons, Abe, Charlie and Finn.