In the old days, pulling on the jersey of a fabled school in a colleges hurling or football game was one sure way of pulling the pick, as well, of the local convent girls, recalls An Fear Rua …

Many's the happy future match was made in the heady aftermath of a winning Harty Cup or Dean Ryan tussle. AFR thinks this was hardly a dimension confined to the hurling fields of Munster. But whether that class of carryon went on around the games of the Hogan Cup - the All Ireland colleges football championship - is not something journalist Gerry Buckley goes into in his splendid new book on this famed competition.

'Fifty Years of the Hogan' is a handsomely produced volume, written by Gerry in association with O'Neills Sports and Leisurewear. As you'd expect from a class outfit like the 'Leinster Leader' it is beautifully printed, with some excellent photos on the front and back covers. The cover is an action shot from the 1958 final between Jarlath's of Tuam and the Franciscan College, Gormanston, in the county of Meath. On the obverse cover is the 2001 final, with the perennial Jarlath's again and another Meath team - this time St. Patrick's of Navan. Inside there is a further good selection of photos spanning the years.

The book is dedicated to the author's father, Des Buckley, who taught in St Finian's College, Mullingar from 1949 to 1991. It includes full team sheets and scores for every one of the finals and records each side's path to the final. But it is much more than than just a dry recitation of facts and figures. As you'd expect from a book dealing with colleges football, there is an abundance of characters, colour, humour and excitement.

The format of the book is a series of extended interviews with forty-nine out of the fifty winning captains. The only captain out of the fifty who 'politely declined' an interview request was John Gilmurray from the 1963 St. Mel's side. Names that went on from colleges football to even greater achievement include: Simon Behan, who led the famous Joey's of Marino, in Dublin, to the first victory by a CBS team in 1959 and Liam Mulvihill who was on the victorious St. Mel's team in 1963. Two former colleagues of AFR (in another life) who feature are Cork Fianna Fáil TD, Batt O'Keeffe, who was on a defeated St. Brendans, Killarney side along with Joe Brosnan, who ended up as Secretary General of the Department of Justice! AFR also recalls tussling on the playing fields of Munster with another Hogan Cup winning captain, Der Cogan (Coláiste Chríost Rí, Cork 1968) - ach sin scéal do lá eile!

Other intriguing names include the celebrated actor TP McKenna (St. Pat's, Cavan) and major stars like Des Foley, Enda Colleran, Pat Donnellan, John Morley, Seamus Leyden, John O'Keeffe, Páidi Ó Sé and Pat Spillane - both on a losing Brendan's side in ྄, Colin Corkery, Séamus Moynihan, Padraic Joyce, Mike Frank Russell and an up and coming young Meath talent, Seán Stephens. That 'Who's Who? of Gaelic football points up the importance of the Hogan as a breeding ground, or stepping stone, to later senior honours.

Gerry Buckley moved from being what he calls a 'hopefully competent but deeply unhappy accountant' to being a sports writer on the 'Westmeath Examiner' He has done his topic justice. Perhaps his work will inspire other scribes to put pen to paper about the Harty, Ryan and Croke competitions. The book is a 'must' for anyone who has ever attended any of the 'Hogan' schools and hopefully will bring back fond memories of stirring encounters not just with other schools, but with that nice little red head from the convent … now, what was her name again?

The Appendixes to the book list All Ireland schools B Finalists and scores, captains, referees, and winners of the recently established C competition. However, the book lacks a year-by-year list of the A winners and a summary of the number of titles won by each school would have been a useful addition. In the greater scheme of things, however, these are quibbles. The book is great value at €15 and should be in all good shops. If you have difficulty in tracking it down, we're sure Gerry wouldn't mind if you dropped an e-mail to Gerry Buckley

Oh, I nearly forgot! Hyacinth Keenan… Now, what has he (for it is a he) got to do with the Hogan Cup? Well, Hyacinth was a Leitrim lad who played on the defeated St. Patrick's, Cavan team in the Hogan final of 1948. AFR has had emissaries snooping all over the county of Leitrim these past few weeks. One early report from the Midlands suggested that Hyacinth had gone on to win a bucket of county medals with Barnacoola or some such illustrious outfit. However,so far, no one has come up with the real answer to that greatest of GAA mysteries: Whatever Happened to Hyacinth Keenan?