GAA heroes turned out in force for launch of fantastic new book on iconic Offaly hurling family

THERE was a rare gathering of GAA heroes present in the Bridge House, Tullamore last Thursday evening as a new book on one of Offaly's hurling most cherished families was launched.

Dooley A Family Memoir is an autobiography type book about Joe, Billy and Johnny Dooley but it is also much more than that.

It features interviews with their mother Betty and siblings Seamus, Mary, Kieran, Sandra, Patricia and Eilish while their late father Sean and his influence is an important part of the publication.

The book was written by Tullamore man Kevin O'Brien and is already earning glowing reviews. It is a fascinating read, giving a great snapshot of their family upbringing in Clareen along with their hurling careers and development into some of the top players in the country.

A sports journalist with The42.ie, Kevin O'Brien is well known as a Tullamore senior footballer and won senior championship medals with them in 2013 and 2021 – last week's launch was a special occasion for him as he is taking a year out to go to Australia, departing shortly.

The book is about the wider Dooley family but the focus is very much on the three brothers, Joe, Billy and Johnny – their contribution to the Offaly hurling success story in the 1980s and 1990s was immense as they won All-Ireland and Leinster medals and All-Star awards.

Joe had the longest career, emerging onto the scene in 1982, just after the first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship win in 1981. He has a couple of unique records to his name – he is the only Offaly man to win three All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship finals on the field of play (1985, 1994 and 1998) and he is the only to play in six finals (1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1998 and 2000).

The 1990s was a special time for Offaly hurling and younger brothers Johnny and Billy were alongside him in the attack in 19094 and 1998. Johnny was one of the most gifted hurlers of his generation and at last week's launch both Michael Duignan and Kilkenny legend, DJ Carey described him as the best hurler of a brilliant family – Carey described him as the “Henry Shefflin” of that Offaly team and said he was the one Offaly forward that Kilkenny always feared in that era.

Johnny was captain of the team beaten by Kilkenny in the 2000 All-Ireland senior hurling final as Offaly entered decline while Billy was absolutely pivotal to the successes in the 1990s. A fantastic scoring machine, his ability to pop up with crunch scores helped that Offaly team get out of many a tight corner.

Billy won an All-Ireland minor hurling medal in 1986 and 1987 while 15 year old Johnny was wing back in 1987 and in a more familiar attacking role two years later as Offaly won their third in 1989. The book is a genuinely good read with some great stories, simple tales and it gives a real insight into Offaly hurling in those years as well as their own personalties.

Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan performed the official launch last Thursday evening in front of a crowd of hundreds of people – the gathering included Offaly hurlers and footballers from every era while the book was published by former Meath footballer, Liam Hayes who runs a company called Hero Books.

Duignan won an All-Ireland minor hurling medal in 1986 and played alongside the Dooley's throughout the 1990s. He said he was there as a friend and team mate of three great men. He joked: “I will not debate who the best of the three was but Johnny was”, describing him as one of the greatest Offaly hurlers of any period.

Duignan described it as a “phenomenal book” and also spoke about their contribution to the four Offaly Senior Hurling Championship titles they won and the regular heartbreak they inflicted on his club, St Rynagh's. Noting that Seir Kieran had a great record against St Rynagh's but not such a good one with Birr, he recalled St Rynagh's beating Birr in one senior hurling semi-final. He met their father Sean Dooley after that game and was thanked for them beating Birr – Duignan said that his words were wise as Seir Kieran duly beat St Rynagh's in the final.

He said the book was not just about hurling; it was also about a love of family and sense of place, work rate, honesty and values. “It is about loyalty to family and you were a very close knit family,” he outlined, adding that the whole family was pulled together by Betty, who was widowed at just 58 years of age – he paid tribute to Sean who died in 2000 at 64 years of age. He outlined the accumulative record of Joe, Johnny and Billy – 10 Leinster titles, seven All-Ireland medals and six All-Stars.

“You are also hugely successful men away from hurling and that is because you bring those attributes of work rate and values with you,” he said. He concluded by describing them as a “lovely family, beautiful hurlers and great friends”.

Liam Hayes talked about Hero Books and the books they have published throughout Ireland and the UK. He said they were delighted to publish the book about the Dooley's and praised Kevin O'Brien for the way he crafted their story.

Joe Dooley replied on behalf of the family and he made a presentation to Kevin O'Brien on behalf of himself, Billy and Johnny. He said that when they decided to do the book, their first decision was that they would enjoy it, their second was that they would be honest and their third was that they would involve their own family in it.

Stressing that it was not for financial gain, he said they were thrilled to donate their share of the royalties to Offaly Dochas. He wished Pat Teehan the best of luck in his bid to become GAA president and was glad to see family friend Brian Cowen present.

The formal part of the evening concluded with Kevin O'Brien conducting a questions and answers session with Joe, Johnny and Billy Dooley, DJ Carey and Brian Whelahan.

DJ Carey paid tribute to the Offaly hurling team of the 1990s, noting that they always played with a “grudge” that was not present in other teams. He recalled that they used all sorts of things to motivate themselves and carried that into games – he recalled Kilkenny beating Offaly with a second team in the Walsh Cup once as their first team were just back from a holiday and how Offaly used this as an insult and inflicted a beating on them in the championship later in the year.

Brian Whelahan spoke fondly about his career with the Dooley's and recalled meeting a young Johnny for the first time in St Brendan's Community School in Birr.

Dooley A Family Memoir is available locally and nationally in bookshops while it can also be purchased on Amazon.