REFLECTING ON THE worst phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s ironic to discover that for a time in which our movements were tightly restricted, plenty seismic events still actually happened.
Croke Park was set aside to be a field hospital because nobody knew what was coming down the line. Leah Scholes / INPHO
Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO
The book recalls the worst days of the virus through the lens of Gaelic Games. Milestone events, long famines for major success being conquered, and stories of incredible individuals overcoming huge adversity are all collated in the pages through a collection of stories.
This is Lawlor’s eighth book and his second which follows this kind of structure. It was also his first attempt at recollecting a stretch of time that most people would rather forget.
And when he proposed his idea to others, he was warned that Covid-19 is not a subject that inspires much intrigue.
“These kinds of concept books [make me] very nervous,” Lawlor tells The42. ”The last one went very steadily for me and I was delighted with the way it worked out. You’re kind of [thinking], ‘What happens if this goes out and doesn’t go as well?’ I’m beating myself up over that. I had only joined RTÉ Sport full-time a few weeks and I found myself back as a news reporter which I hadn’t done in years. I was doing live sport, feature writing, presenting, and books.
“So, the job came up to go to RTÉ and I was on the gig of reporting all the Covid news that came, and there was a lot happening. As we were going through it, the publisher asked me to do another book.
“I spoke to a few friends of mine, including Paul Rouse from UCD and I mentioned that I was thinking about doing a Covid book. Both Paul and the publisher weren’t too enthusiastic about it and [warned me] that we’re all weary with Covid. The country is sick of it.
“I agreed with them but the stories I had in my head were completely different. They were all about how people fought through Covid and showed resilience to overcome huge odds.
“I listed all these stories to the publisher and to Paul Rouse, and they were like, ‘Well that’s entirely different to what I thought it was.’ So, that was the idea I had for the book – an antidote to Covid. Hopefully it’s coming across like that.”
Coming into this project having previously written a book in this style was of great assistance to Lawlor. He devised a firm strategy to get on top of the writing process. Living in a busy household which also includes three young children, he worked within a target of writing 5,000 words per week while also taking regular inspections of the material he had along the way.
Keeping a close eye on the stories and ensuring a relevant hook to Covid was in there somewhere kept him anchored throughout too.
“You never stop fretting throughout the whole process and that you’re doing it right. I edited it so much then and sent it through. I think the reaction has been fairly positive so far and I wouldn’t say it’s in all the shops yet but the feedback has been brilliant.
“I cut maybe 15,000-20,000 words out of it to get as sharp and punchy as I wanted it. All of my mind was like, ‘People are Covid weary.’ I wanted every chapter to bounce around nicely and to punch along nicely, be it good, bad or ugly but I wanted it to zip along. If you look back at my first book with Liam Dunne, ‘I Crossed The Line,’ that book went down great thanks to Liam’s honesty but the chapters were very long.
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“I showed the book to a few people, and they reassured me that I was on the right track because eight books in, I still need that guidance. You lose all concept of whether it’s good or bad when you’re in the thick of it.”
Lawlor spoke to some people whose lives were either directly impacted by Covid-19 or who encountered major turmoil during the pandemic. One such memorable case refers to the life of Marianne Walsh from Mooncoin in Kilkenny. An oncology nurse working in Waterford, Walsh was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the winter of 2020.
Playing camogie for her club was the foundation of her motivation for recovery, and the following year, she played a starring role as Mooncoin won the Kilkenny Junior championship.
The opening chapter considers the story of Niall Murphy from Club Aontroma in Belfast. Shortly after returning from a trip to New York for work, Murphy began showing symptoms of Covid-19 and was later brought to hospital after his breathing weakened significantly. He was placed on a ventilator and an induced coma but slowly managed to recover.
The book also revisits some historic victories: Cavan footballers ending a long wait for the Ulster SFC, the Tipperary footballers capturing their first Munster title in 85 years, and the awesome rise of the Meath Ladies.
“I took a week off between the end of the county championship and the start of the club, and I went down to Kilkee where I saw [former Meath ladies manager] Eamonn Murray. He must have passed me four times walking up and down the promenade.
“And four times I went to go over to him but his head was so concentrated that I knew he was thinking things out and I wasn’t going near him.
“They [Meath] would not have achieved what they achieved had they not got the time and camaraderie together during Covid, where they became tighter and fitter than any team in Ireland and were able to execute the tactics that they came up with.”
Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Winning the 2021 All-Ireland final with Meath was a time of immense joy for Murray, who has since stepped down from the position. But the pandemic also brought an equal amount of great worry for him.
Eamonn Murray’s family was dealt a hard blow by Covid when his daughter Eimear was struck by the virus, and was also found to have non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The funny thing,” says Lawlor, “is that I went back a good few times to Eamonn to flesh stuff out because he had his own stuff going on during Covid with his daughter.
“But meeting people like him made so worth while for me. The Marianne Walsh story in Kilkenny [as well]. Marianne was going through chemo in Waterford where she works. To think that camogie kept her going throughout that. It just bowled me over. You keep going back over it and taking stuff out and putting stuff in.
“And then you get a sense of ease that there’s actually no more I can do with this book.”
While the world was gripped by the virus, effectively all sport was forced into a shutdown. But the GAA still found a use for Croke Park, managing to keep the lights on for the healthcare workers who needed as many workstations as possible to conduct PCR testing. Vaccines were administered there too.
Lawlor also uncovered that if the virus began spreading to an uncontrollable level, the stadium was prepared to be operated as a hospital wing. Every possible outcome was accounted for in a time of total uncertainty.
“One of the earliest interviews I did was with Peter McKenna who is the stadium director. He’s at the top of his profession and is always thinking outside the box. The moment ceased being able to host games, he linked in with the HSE pretty quickly and the earnest words and descriptions about what the stadium could be used for. Peter said he only realised the enormity of the whole thing when he saw young medics, doctors and nurses walking up and down in the PPE gear.
“As you read in the book, there was a good wing of a hospital with all the facilities needed under one of the stands. It was set aside to be a field hospital because nobody knew what was coming down the line.
“They were prepared for the worst and Peter was able to reveal that [plan of action] to when the worst was hopefully over. Peter tied in with the Royal College of Surgeons then as well, and they held their lectures there in Croke Park. I think they made the most use of it that anyone possibly could. It was set aside just in case.”
Croke Park also hosted the hauntingly poignant Bloody Sunday commemoration in 2020. Lawlor looked at the events which marked the centenary of the attacks by British Parliamentary forces during a game at Jones’ Road, and the original plan for the event which succumbed to Covid.
“I had to be convinced of that chapter fitting into the book. I was afraid that bringing it into a book related to Covid might not be appropriate for the Bloody Sunday victims. I wondered if one would complement the other. But then I spoke to Cian Murphy about the logistics and how Covid knocked on every plan they had made. And then I knew where it fits in.
“A huge fear of mine was that I would be putting stuff out that was already known. I did everything I possibly could to try and drive it on. So, yeah, 82,000 people were originally meant to be at Tipperary versus Dublin to finish off the game. The Tipperary players were being picked out and one player from every county in Ireland was going to be represented among the subs to come on and add a national dimension to it.
“There were all sorts of celebrations and commemorations planned. The poignancy wasn’t going to be lost but it was going to be an occasion and a packed Croke Park. But instead of 82,000 people, eight people were allowed in and two of those were working. There were no lights in the stadium for Gerry Grogan the script reader to read it. Cian Murphy came over with his phone and the light went in his phone.
“It was a complete blanket of darkness and all you had was Brendan Gleeson reading out the script, and Mick Foley doing the words. That turned out to be a powerful chapter.
“Once it went in, it connected three or four chapters brilliantly. Cian Murphy was in hospital and he was onto the relevant department right up until the night before to see what was doable, how many people could go and what did the Government actually approve. That’s how tight it was.”
The final chapter is an important reminder of the fatal consequences of the coronavirus, and the reason why sport and social activity was a necessary sacrifice for the last two years.
Many people lost their lives after contracting Covid, while others died from separate causes, forcing families to hold private funerals while mourners were not permitted to attend.
Noel Walsh from Clare, Fr Tom Scully and the incomparable Éamonn Ryan, who masterminded an incredible 10 All-Ireland titles for the Cork ladies, all passed away during the pandemic. It was a fitting way to conclude an important documentation of a troubling time in world history.
“I had to honour three figureheads of our sport that we lost during Covid. They didn’t all pass away from Covid circumstances but I felt it was very important that we mark this people because they were game changers in every possible way. I could have put in another 10 [people] there but I felt these people were innovators.
“Éamonn Ryan didn’t pass away from a Covid-related illness but because of these restrictions, not many people could go to his funeral and that’s poignant in itself.
“You don’t have to be into GAA to read this book. It’s just about people battling and overcoming their own personal struggles.”
After The Storm by Damian Lawlor is published by Black & White Publishing.
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'Croke Park was set aside to be a field hospital because nobody knew what was coming'
REFLECTING ON THE worst phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s ironic to discover that for a time in which our movements were tightly restricted, plenty seismic events still actually happened.
That’s one of the key takeaways from the brilliantly written book, ‘After The Storm’ by renowned Irish sports journalist, Damian Lawlor.
The book recalls the worst days of the virus through the lens of Gaelic Games. Milestone events, long famines for major success being conquered, and stories of incredible individuals overcoming huge adversity are all collated in the pages through a collection of stories.
This is Lawlor’s eighth book and his second which follows this kind of structure. It was also his first attempt at recollecting a stretch of time that most people would rather forget.
And when he proposed his idea to others, he was warned that Covid-19 is not a subject that inspires much intrigue.
“These kinds of concept books [make me] very nervous,” Lawlor tells The42. ”The last one went very steadily for me and I was delighted with the way it worked out. You’re kind of [thinking], ‘What happens if this goes out and doesn’t go as well?’ I’m beating myself up over that. I had only joined RTÉ Sport full-time a few weeks and I found myself back as a news reporter which I hadn’t done in years. I was doing live sport, feature writing, presenting, and books.
“So, the job came up to go to RTÉ and I was on the gig of reporting all the Covid news that came, and there was a lot happening. As we were going through it, the publisher asked me to do another book.
“I spoke to a few friends of mine, including Paul Rouse from UCD and I mentioned that I was thinking about doing a Covid book. Both Paul and the publisher weren’t too enthusiastic about it and [warned me] that we’re all weary with Covid. The country is sick of it.
“I agreed with them but the stories I had in my head were completely different. They were all about how people fought through Covid and showed resilience to overcome huge odds.
“I listed all these stories to the publisher and to Paul Rouse, and they were like, ‘Well that’s entirely different to what I thought it was.’ So, that was the idea I had for the book – an antidote to Covid. Hopefully it’s coming across like that.”
Coming into this project having previously written a book in this style was of great assistance to Lawlor. He devised a firm strategy to get on top of the writing process. Living in a busy household which also includes three young children, he worked within a target of writing 5,000 words per week while also taking regular inspections of the material he had along the way.
Keeping a close eye on the stories and ensuring a relevant hook to Covid was in there somewhere kept him anchored throughout too.
“You never stop fretting throughout the whole process and that you’re doing it right. I edited it so much then and sent it through. I think the reaction has been fairly positive so far and I wouldn’t say it’s in all the shops yet but the feedback has been brilliant.
“I cut maybe 15,000-20,000 words out of it to get as sharp and punchy as I wanted it. All of my mind was like, ‘People are Covid weary.’ I wanted every chapter to bounce around nicely and to punch along nicely, be it good, bad or ugly but I wanted it to zip along. If you look back at my first book with Liam Dunne, ‘I Crossed The Line,’ that book went down great thanks to Liam’s honesty but the chapters were very long.
“I showed the book to a few people, and they reassured me that I was on the right track because eight books in, I still need that guidance. You lose all concept of whether it’s good or bad when you’re in the thick of it.”
Lawlor spoke to some people whose lives were either directly impacted by Covid-19 or who encountered major turmoil during the pandemic. One such memorable case refers to the life of Marianne Walsh from Mooncoin in Kilkenny. An oncology nurse working in Waterford, Walsh was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the winter of 2020.
Playing camogie for her club was the foundation of her motivation for recovery, and the following year, she played a starring role as Mooncoin won the Kilkenny Junior championship.
The opening chapter considers the story of Niall Murphy from Club Aontroma in Belfast. Shortly after returning from a trip to New York for work, Murphy began showing symptoms of Covid-19 and was later brought to hospital after his breathing weakened significantly. He was placed on a ventilator and an induced coma but slowly managed to recover.
The book also revisits some historic victories: Cavan footballers ending a long wait for the Ulster SFC, the Tipperary footballers capturing their first Munster title in 85 years, and the awesome rise of the Meath Ladies.
“I took a week off between the end of the county championship and the start of the club, and I went down to Kilkee where I saw [former Meath ladies manager] Eamonn Murray. He must have passed me four times walking up and down the promenade.
“And four times I went to go over to him but his head was so concentrated that I knew he was thinking things out and I wasn’t going near him.
“They [Meath] would not have achieved what they achieved had they not got the time and camaraderie together during Covid, where they became tighter and fitter than any team in Ireland and were able to execute the tactics that they came up with.”
Winning the 2021 All-Ireland final with Meath was a time of immense joy for Murray, who has since stepped down from the position. But the pandemic also brought an equal amount of great worry for him.
Eamonn Murray’s family was dealt a hard blow by Covid when his daughter Eimear was struck by the virus, and was also found to have non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The funny thing,” says Lawlor, “is that I went back a good few times to Eamonn to flesh stuff out because he had his own stuff going on during Covid with his daughter.
“But meeting people like him made so worth while for me. The Marianne Walsh story in Kilkenny [as well]. Marianne was going through chemo in Waterford where she works. To think that camogie kept her going throughout that. It just bowled me over. You keep going back over it and taking stuff out and putting stuff in.
“And then you get a sense of ease that there’s actually no more I can do with this book.”
While the world was gripped by the virus, effectively all sport was forced into a shutdown. But the GAA still found a use for Croke Park, managing to keep the lights on for the healthcare workers who needed as many workstations as possible to conduct PCR testing. Vaccines were administered there too.
Lawlor also uncovered that if the virus began spreading to an uncontrollable level, the stadium was prepared to be operated as a hospital wing. Every possible outcome was accounted for in a time of total uncertainty.
“One of the earliest interviews I did was with Peter McKenna who is the stadium director. He’s at the top of his profession and is always thinking outside the box. The moment ceased being able to host games, he linked in with the HSE pretty quickly and the earnest words and descriptions about what the stadium could be used for. Peter said he only realised the enormity of the whole thing when he saw young medics, doctors and nurses walking up and down in the PPE gear.
“As you read in the book, there was a good wing of a hospital with all the facilities needed under one of the stands. It was set aside to be a field hospital because nobody knew what was coming down the line.
“They were prepared for the worst and Peter was able to reveal that [plan of action] to when the worst was hopefully over. Peter tied in with the Royal College of Surgeons then as well, and they held their lectures there in Croke Park. I think they made the most use of it that anyone possibly could. It was set aside just in case.”
Croke Park also hosted the hauntingly poignant Bloody Sunday commemoration in 2020. Lawlor looked at the events which marked the centenary of the attacks by British Parliamentary forces during a game at Jones’ Road, and the original plan for the event which succumbed to Covid.
“I had to be convinced of that chapter fitting into the book. I was afraid that bringing it into a book related to Covid might not be appropriate for the Bloody Sunday victims. I wondered if one would complement the other. But then I spoke to Cian Murphy about the logistics and how Covid knocked on every plan they had made. And then I knew where it fits in.
“A huge fear of mine was that I would be putting stuff out that was already known. I did everything I possibly could to try and drive it on. So, yeah, 82,000 people were originally meant to be at Tipperary versus Dublin to finish off the game. The Tipperary players were being picked out and one player from every county in Ireland was going to be represented among the subs to come on and add a national dimension to it.
“There were all sorts of celebrations and commemorations planned. The poignancy wasn’t going to be lost but it was going to be an occasion and a packed Croke Park. But instead of 82,000 people, eight people were allowed in and two of those were working. There were no lights in the stadium for Gerry Grogan the script reader to read it. Cian Murphy came over with his phone and the light went in his phone.
“It was a complete blanket of darkness and all you had was Brendan Gleeson reading out the script, and Mick Foley doing the words. That turned out to be a powerful chapter.
“Once it went in, it connected three or four chapters brilliantly. Cian Murphy was in hospital and he was onto the relevant department right up until the night before to see what was doable, how many people could go and what did the Government actually approve. That’s how tight it was.”
The final chapter is an important reminder of the fatal consequences of the coronavirus, and the reason why sport and social activity was a necessary sacrifice for the last two years.
Many people lost their lives after contracting Covid, while others died from separate causes, forcing families to hold private funerals while mourners were not permitted to attend.
Noel Walsh from Clare, Fr Tom Scully and the incomparable Éamonn Ryan, who masterminded an incredible 10 All-Ireland titles for the Cork ladies, all passed away during the pandemic. It was a fitting way to conclude an important documentation of a troubling time in world history.
“I had to honour three figureheads of our sport that we lost during Covid. They didn’t all pass away from Covid circumstances but I felt it was very important that we mark this people because they were game changers in every possible way. I could have put in another 10 [people] there but I felt these people were innovators.
“Éamonn Ryan didn’t pass away from a Covid-related illness but because of these restrictions, not many people could go to his funeral and that’s poignant in itself.
“You don’t have to be into GAA to read this book. It’s just about people battling and overcoming their own personal struggles.”
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after the storm Covid-19 Croke Park Gaelic Games sports book