Award-Winning
Writer,
Journalist
& Producer
On the People, Places & World We Live In
Latest Book Out Now:
Haunted by Waters,
A Journey into the Irish Countryside
Travel with Daire throughout a season of fly fishing as he searches for a sense of meaning, meeting kindred spirits as he explores the Irish countryside and finds himself rediscovering the majestic beauty of his native country.
From fishing on our most secluded bays and wildest loughs in Connemara and Kerry, casting a line on the rippling waters of the Suir in Tipperary, to catching salmon on the Blackwater in Waterford, and the serenity of the Dodder in Dublin on a workday afternoon, Haunted by Waters is an evocative and stunning love letter to Ireland through a sport rich in tradition and storytelling.
"Though I often think that nothing could lighten the spirit and give more joy than fly fishing the rivers of Ireland, Daire Whelan’s book, Haunted by Waters, captures that deep pleasure."
Mark Kurlansky,
New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'Cod' and 'Salmon'
Books
HAUNTED BY WATERS
2021 Hachette Ireland
When author and journalist Daire Whelan sat down at his kitchen table exhausted at the end of another week of school drop offs, work commutes and deadlines, he couldn’t shake the feeling that, somehow, life was passing him by. Vowing to make a change, he decided to commit to a year of fly fishing and set about planning his route through the wild and beautiful waters of Ireland.
Here, in Haunted by Waters: A Journey into the Irish Countryside we travel with Daire throughout a season of fly fishing. But as he searches for a sense of meaning, meeting kindred spirits as he explores the Irish countryside, Daire finds himself rediscovering the majestic beauty of his native country.
From fishing on our most secluded bays and wildest loughs in Connemara and Kerry, casting a line on the rippling waters of the Suir in Tipperary, to catching salmon on the Blackwater in Waterford, and the serenity of the Dodder in Dublin on a workday afternoon, Haunted by Waters is an evocative and stunning love letter to Ireland through a sport rich in tradition and storytelling.
ABOUT
Daire Whelan is an award-winning producer, journalist and author.
He has written for Ireland's biggest media organisations and newspapers and his work has appeared in the Irish Times (as a former Business of Sport columnist), the Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, Sunday Tribune, Sunday Times, Village and Magill magazines.
Writing about society, culture and people, he is the author of six non-fiction books.
THE ART OF HURLING
2017 Mercier Press
How are some hurling managers able to transform losing teams to All-Ireland champions in a short time? What is it about their philosophies and beliefs that makes them unique and successful?
Daire Whelan uncovers the ideas and methods of some of the game’s most successful managers.
They provide an insight into the traits and techniques of the greatest hurling managers.
"A great read with real insights into the minds of hurling managers."
Eoin Kelly
"From Ger Loughnane and Liam Griffin, to Anthony Daly and Eamon O’Shea, who wouldn’t want to hear what these managers think? This book captures the essence of them."
Jamesie O’Connor
DONAL LENIHAN: MY LIFE IN RUGBY
2016 Transworld Ireland
As player, manager, and pundit, Donal Lenihan has seen it all in the world of rugby - and done much of it too. A victorious captain of Munster Junior and Senior Schools, he went on to skipper the Ireland team at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 1987 and was a fixture in the second row for over a decade, winning two Triple Crowns and three Five Nations championships.
From such a stellar position at the heart of the rugby world, Donal Lenihan has a wealth of stories to tell from both on and off the pitch, from raucous antics on tour to the sometimes difficult fellowship of players in a time of Troubles.
Full of wit, insight and emotional sincerity, this is a rugby book for the ages by a sporting great.
​
Short-listed for Irish Sports Book of the Year.
​
"Full of wit, insight and emotional sincerity, this is a fine rugby book by a sporting great."
RTE Radio 1
"Particularly good on Ireland's Triple Crown teams of the 1980s, Lenihan is also revealing about his varied experiences with the Lions as player and manager."
Sunday Times
"There's a steel to him that shines through here, whether dealing with the political situation in Ireland during his playing days or the dreadful tragedies that robbed him of two of his children at an early age."
Irish Times
THE MANAGERS: THE TACTICS AND THINKERS THAT TRANSFORMED GAELIC FOOTBALL
2013 Hachette Ireland
'Brilliant. The best researched and best compiled book on the subject that's ever been printed. Fans, players and would-be managers will devour it.' Seán Kelly, former President of the GAA
Daire Whelan looks at how the most successful and innovative managers of the past fifty years have influenced the development of Gaelic football.
What is it that made some managers so successful? What was different about their philosophies and approaches? And how did they influence and change the game?
The Managers provides us with a valuable account of the evolution of Gaelic football, and the men who changed it forever.
"Brilliant. The best researched and best compiled book on the subject that's ever been printed. Fans, players and would-be managers will devour it."
Seán Kelly,
former President of the GAA
"...reading Whelan too might give Roy Keane an even greater understanding of management."
​
Kieran Shannon
Irish Examiner
WHO STOLE OUR GAME? THE FALL AND FALL OF IRISH SOCCER
2006 Gill Books
In the 1950s, League of Ireland grounds were packed to capacity every week. Yet, fifty years on, with more media attention and more money than ever being pumped into football, the Irish people have turned their backs on the game in this country.
How has the League of Ireland failed so spectacularly over five decades?
While the international team is strongly supported, and the English Premiership is a national obsession, who is responsible for the fall and fall of the League of Ireland?
'Who Stole Our Game?' tries to find the answer and is a damning indictment of the officials and management of the FAI and the League of Ireland. Daire Whelan's book finds out why it was allowed to happen and what could have stopped the rot. What happened needn't have happened.
"A great insight into what happened
to the League of Ireland."
​
RTE.ie