Anthony Molloy gives frank account in new book which is launched on Friday

Legends are few and far between in Donegal but there is no doubt that Anthony Molloy earned that status when he lifted the Sam Maguire for the county for the first time on September 20, 1992.

Now 30 years later the life and times of Molloy’s life has been chronicled in a new book - Anthony Molloy An Autobiography: A memoir on life, glory and demons - will  be launched on Friday, October 28 at 7.30.

Local Ardara journalist, Frank Craig, was tasked with putting together what is a candid and open story about Anthony Molloy’s successes and struggles.

Craig explains how he became involved in the project after a ‘phone call from well-known journalist and author, Liam Hayes, who would have been a midfield opponent of Anthony Molloy in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.

The book can be purchased online now by clicking here

“It was Liam Hayes that contacted me and he said he had a project and he wanted to know if I was interested. Knowing Liam and knowing Hero Books, I assumed it was a Memoir or an autobiography. Liam then rang me and said he had been on to Anthony.

“I think it being the 30th anniversary (of the All-Ireland win) and with Covid and things being quiet, he felt it was a good time.  And when Anthony agreed, he said he would do it along with me, and that was brilliant,” says Craig.

“Liam was in contact with me, I think August of last year, and the caveat was that it had to be done and dusted and on shelves by September 2022, which was exactly a year, to coincide with the 30th anniversary.

“I know we hit that target but with county finals on and Jason Byrne of Killybegs had a book launch with Martin McHugh of Leitrim, so we just thought we would let it lie a few weeks until October so that the likes of the Neil Gallaghers, the Michael Murphys, Neil McGees, who had great time for Anthony as well, they would be out of season and fit to attend.

“We were hoping to get a nice quiet night on the calendar that everybody could get together.”

Having such a massive project to work on along with your normal working week, was new ground for Craig. So how did he manage to get it completed on schedule?

“There was nothing to compare this to. Features done in the past might have run to 2,000 words and you can cram a lot into that on one person. But when you look at a book and roughly what Liam said he wanted was 80,000 words from cover to cover.

“I just sat down with Anthony and started recording and writing and we did this four or five times before we decided on a structure.

“The book has 12 chapters with three intervals of reflection, which basically makes it 15 chapters. After every three or four chapters we have a reflective piece where he talks about life, more so the downs and the struggles that Anthony had on the field.”

The author says they were blessed to get two other legends of the game in the county to pen the foreword for the book.

“Jim McGuinness and Brian McEniff were kind enough to write a joint foreword. And not to give too much away, it is amazing how the stars aligned for Anthony because in 1991 he had hung up the boots, after having a very bad fall-out with Brian. 

“Lo and behold, they reconciled in November or December of that year in the MacCumhaill Park car park and so come the following September both had achieved their wildest dreams. It’s crazy to think that that happened,” said Craig, who says it was an amazing journey to go back over 50 years to the start of Anthony’s life.

“The Democrat Archives, I have to say, were a huge help in getting the structure right. You get bullet points and then Anthony fleshes it out and it kinda works then. 

“It was an experience for me because obviously it was something I had never done on that scale.”

Anthony Molloy was always a leader in the Gaelic football world and now is a community leader in the political field, being a member of Donegal County Council.

“As a County Councillor now, it keeps him very, very busy. Every session or chat we had, you barely got 10 minutes without an interruption or a ‘phone call about a blocked drain or something. He loves it and he explains in the book that he functions better if he is kept busy. The Council work is not 9 to 5 and that works for him.

“But  when you look back, he should not have been playing in 1992 (because of his knees). I spoke to Dr Austin O’Kennedy and dug out his medical records. They make pitiful reading those knees of his. So to actually get across the line in the end in the state that he was in. His prime years were probably ‘88 and ‘89; he was on the other side of that,” says Craig, who added that he watched the 1992 All-Ireland final again. “It was amazing how many times he got on the ball and while not able to run from box to box, he still made a great contribution.

“Both Brian McEniff and Jim McGuinness pointed out that midfield was the most important sector of the pitch back then and it was where you needed brave men and Molloy fitted into that category.”

Craig says the book was an exciting project for him personally and he says that Liam Hayes was very keen to complete the project. “He rated Anthony big time as he had come across him in battle when Meath played Donegal.”

While 1992 was the high point of Molloy’s career, few will realise that he was on the GAA scrapheap just three years later, retiring as a county footballer in 1994 and from Ardara a year later. And it was his struggles to deal with retirement which caused him pain. The book also chronicles the manic nature of the celebrations for Molloy as captain after the All-Ireland win, not just at home but abroad.

“He didn’t resent the feat of what they achieved, but he resented what he had to do in the end as a captain, and by his own admission, it got on top of him. But also by his own admission he has got on top of that now, which is great.”


THE AUTHOR

Frank Craig (41) is an Ardara native. Frank went to Crannog Bui National School in Ardara and secondary school at St Columba’s Comprehensive School in Glenties before studying media in North West Institute in Derry and Legal Studies at LyIT. He worked with the Donegal Post from 2007-2017 and Donegal News 2019-2022 and he is joining the Donegal Democrat as Sports Editor from November 7th.

Frank has a keen interest in all sports, playing Gaelic with his native Ardara and soccer with St Catherine's.