Friendship never retires in Mark Tuohy’s nostalgic football tale

“AS I wrote at the beginning of the book, laughter is the sweetest kick of all,” remarks Banbridge-based author Mark Tuohy regarding his debut novel set in Greenhills.

‘Walk the Ball’ is a tale centred on friendship, memory, humour and redemption among a group of retired amateur football players in Dublin.

Set decades after a defining Junior Cup Final in Dublin, the novel follows six former teammates now living in retirement.

Though their playing days are long behind them, unresolved emotions, shared history, and long-standing friendships continue to shape their lives.

At the centre of the story is Charlie Farrell, a man who has carried private guilt for decades following the breakdown of a close friendship on the eve of the team’s most important match.

When Charlie discovers an opportunity to participate in a walking football competition, he persuades his former teammates to reunite, setting in motion a

return to the game that once defined them.

What begins as a recreational activity quickly becomes a deeper emotional journey as the group is forced to confront themes of ageing, regret, reconciliation, and personal loss.

The narrative explores how shared history can both divide and heal individuals over time. Mark explains that these characters are not “heroes or superstars” but the “salt of the earth” found everywhere.

He wanted to write about men who are “ordinary in every way, down to earth, except for the weight of their memories”.

Mark also reflects that he wanted to give them different personalities while maintaining a level of typical Irish humour and banter.

A challenge was finding the time and place to write; “When I finally retired in 2022, I had more time, but, as my wife said, ‘your time is now my time. ’”

Mark had to find the time to write in between chores, driving duties, house repairs, and gardening maintenance.

Some nights, he may have found half an hour to write; other nights, two or three hours.

He expects the readers to resonate with the main characters who have spent their lives working and now find themselves at a loose end, “a sort of ‘I’m not finished yet’ feeling”.

“There’s more to retirement than a sedentary life,” he surmises.

Mark is currently planning a follow-up to ‘Walk the Ball’, declaring there is still life in the characters and they “need another challenge, although they don’t know it yet”.

He would like to thank Atlanta, Georgia-based Writer Cosmos for publishing the book, as well as his late mother, a writer herself, who encouraged him to be creative in both writing and art.

‘Walk the Ball’ is currently available on Amazon and Kindle.