Devotion

A moving and lyrical memoir about life, love and loss, from a true giant of Gaelic games.

In a frenetic seven-year spell at the outset of his senior managerial career, Mickey Harte led Tyrone to four Ulster Championships and three All-Irelands. It was a run that shifted football’s balance of power, changed the way the game would be played for over a generation, and cemented his reputation as one of the most transformative figures in GAA history.

Then, in January 2011, the visitation of a shocking tragedy changed everything: Mickey’s daughter Michaela was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius, and the Harte family, grief-stricken, awoke to find themselves at the centre of an international news story.

Devotion, the product of a collaboration between Mickey and author Brendan Coffey, is many things. The story of a family’s decade-long struggle to come to terms with an almost unimaginable loss. A meditation on the ways in which faith, community, and sport can sustain us in our most difficult moments. And, finally, a portrait of one of Irish sport’s true icons, as he brings one legendary era to a close and steels himself for a final assault on the history books

Author Biography

Mickey Harte is one of the most successful Gaelic football managers of the modern era. During his 17-year tenure with Tyrone (2002-2020), the country won 12 Dr McKenna Cups, six Ulster Football Championships, one National League, and three All-Ireland Championships. After parting ways with Tyrone after the end of Covid-affected 2020 season, he accepted the post of manager with the Louth senior football team.