Working On A Dream was the book of a lifetime for GAA journalist Damian Lawlor.
"It’s the book I’m happiest with, it’s the book I love most. I became an honorary Waterford man for a year."
The Tipperary native spent a season with John Kiely’s Waterford footballers in 2009 and he will never forget it. “It’s right up there at the very top to be completely honest. It’s the one book that you could go anywhere in Ireland and somebody would come up to you about it.”
The Déise panel were easy to deal with. "They were the best bunch you could meet. It was weird for me to go into a dressing room that wasn’t my club team or a Tipperary team but it was incredible to be accepted the way I was. I had been plaguing John Kiely to do this book for a long time. He agreed but he didn’t know what he agreed to. Sure I was down at training the following week!"
Kiely's men were unbeaten in Division 4 before they travelled to London over St Patrick's weekend. "On Saturday morning we went for breakfast. A few of the lads went to do a bit of sight seeing. I got a picture with Jackson outside Buckingham Palace wearing a Barcelona cap! I still have that picture hanging up somewhere. It was one of the great moments in Irish sport in my opinion!"
The trip to the ground turned into a nightmare however. "From the moment we headed out, I knew there was trouble. The bus driver hadn’t got a clue. He had no idea where Ruislip was. He asked for directions and somebody sent him off to Wembley! We were heading that way at one stage!"
A devastating one point loss (0-9 to 0-8) derailed their bid for promotion. “There was pure despair in the dressing room. I felt physically sick myself because you couldn’t help but get sucked into it.”
When Waterford were knocked out of the championship by Meath, John Phelan presented him with a jersey. "I'll remember 2009 forever, there's no doubt about that."
Listen back to Damien Lawlor’s interview from Friday’s Lár Na Páirce.
https://soundcloud.com/wlrfmwaterford/damian-lawlor-working-on-a-dream-lar-na-pairce-march-15
