The furlongs to be launched by gaa president in tullamore this week

A book on the history of the renowned Furlong family from Tullamore written by fellow Tullamore man Pat Nolan will be officially launched by GAA president Liam O’Neill this Friday.

‘The Furlongs - The Story of a Remarkable Family’ is published by Ballpoint Press, which is headed up by Clara native PJ Cunningham. The book will be launched at the Tullamore Court Hotel on Friday, September 5 at 8pm.

Master of ceremonies on the night will be legendary commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh who, incidentally, shared digs with Mickey Furlong, the eldest of the four brothers, in Dublin back in the 1950s.

The Tullamore Court Hotel, of course, is situated on the site where Tom and Margaret Furlong raised their four sons, Mickey, John, Tom and Martin, on whom the book is based.

It charts the family’s early days in Wexford and a life on the run during the War of Independence, before landing in Tullamore in the late 1920s.

The four boys all achieved notoriety through the GAA to varying degrees with Martin becoming most famous as the goalkeeping great on Offaly’s All-Ireland winning football sides of 1971, 1972 and 1982.

Like so many other Irish families, economic circumstance saw three of the Furlong boys turn to America, where the name expanded into New York GAA and American football circles.

Interviews with more than 50 people were carried out in the process of completing the book and, given the breath of the Furlong brothers’ playing careers spanning from the 1940s to ‘80s, a host of famous GAA names from all around the country are expected to attend the event with a sizeable contingent of Furlongs returning from America especially for the occasion.

Proceeds from the book will go to Dóchas, Offaly’s cancer support group.