Focus On The Rainbow

Donal Og Cusack who is a hurler and plays for the Cork All Stars has won the prestigious Williamhill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year Award.

Cusack along with journalist Tom Humphries, wrote the book ”Come What May” in which Cusack outed himself as a bi-sexual and then “coming to terms” with being a gay man, said he has been overwhelmed with the support he has received from his teammates, family and friends since making the decision to publicly come out.

In an issued statement, Cusack said: “Taking the decision to write this book was a difficult one but once I decided, I knew it had to be an honest account of my life.”

“Since publication, I have been overwhelmed with the response the book has received both here and abroad. Winning this award is a great honour for me and I would like to thank the judges and the general public for choosing my book from such a strong shortlist.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my family, friends, teammates and work colleagues for their unwavering support in the last number of years” Cusack concluded in his statement.

“Donal Og’s book is an excellently told story of a person with a huge dedication to their sport and someone who wasn’t afraid to put themselves forward as a role model to many in sport and life not just in Ireland but across the world”, said Tony Kenny, PR manager for William Hill.

When Cusack first announced his sexual identity with the release of the book, many fans were less than enthusiastic to be rooting for someone who was not heterosexual, yelling homophobic slurs at games, so much so his mother stopped attending events her son participated in.

You’ll find a related article which was posted earlier here at Focus On the Rainbow – Sports here.

For more about Donal Og Cusack and his book award read this article at The Belfast Telegraph.