{"id":870,"date":"2014-03-11T15:01:26","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T15:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thisisbanter.com\/?p=870"},"modified":"2014-04-06T19:16:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-06T19:16:33","slug":"the-back-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banter.test\/the-back-page\/","title":{"rendered":"The Back Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Back Page<\/a>\u00a0is a new festival of talking about sports. Brought to you by the people behind\u00a0Banter<\/a>\u00a0and Bodytonic Music<\/a>, it will feature all kinds of sports people talking about all kinds of sports. For our first outing, we have swimmers, athletes, football managers, snooker champs, rugby players and those who write about and talk about all of the above.<\/p>\n

Full day by day programme below. Tickets for each session are now on sale\u00a0here<\/a>, including a special season ticket which will get you into every talk over the weekend.<\/p>\n

THURSDAY MARCH 27<\/strong><\/p>\n

6.30pm Stage \u2013 Brian Kerr on the art of the gaffer<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as being an astute and sharp pundit, Brian Kerr has been an international manager (Republic Of Ireland, Faroe Islands) and a club manager (St Patrick\u2019s Athletic) so he knows all about controlling, directing and guiding the team from the sideline. The Back Page will quiz him about what it takes to be a manager, what makes a good \u2013 and bad \u2013 manager and who he rates in the game. Anyone who caught Brian in full flow at Banter a while ago will know to expect some witty, insightful and super-sharp thoughts.<\/p>\n

8.00pm Stage \u2013 Go Deep with Steve Redmond<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The endurance swimmer comes out of the water to talk (and talk). A former rugby player and triathlete,\u00a0Steve<\/a>\u00a0is best known for successfully completing the Oceans Seven challenge, which entails swimming seven of the most difficult straits or channels across the globe, and was voted 2012 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year. The Back Page will ask him about what he does and, more importantly, what drives him on to do more.<\/p>\n

FRIDAY MARCH 28<\/strong><\/p>\n

6.30pm Stage \u2013 War Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vincent Hogan<\/a>\u00a0(Irish Independent),\u00a0Shane McGrath<\/a>\u00a0(Irish Daily Mail chief sportswriter) and\u00a0Clare McNamara<\/strong>\u00a0(RTE) compare scars and tall tales from life in the trenches writing and talking about sports. Chaired by\u00a0Michael Moynihan<\/a>\u00a0(author of \u201cGAAconomics\u201d and sports writer with The Irish Examiner). Flak jackets and helmets available at the door.<\/p>\n

6.30pm Basement \u2013 Online with Paddy Power<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Nagle<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Paddy Power<\/a>\u00a0on how social media helped to turn a small Irish bookmaking set-up into a worldwide operation. We\u2019ll hear about how the company has used social media to push their profile and build the brand, the ups and downs of this strategy, the way in which social media has changed the market, what\u2019s the future for sports \u2013 and sportspeople \u2013 online and if our favourite athletes will continue to use Twitter to act the eejit<\/p>\n

8.00pm Stage \u2013 A conversation with Ken Doherty<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The don of the green baize talks sport as we join him on the road from Jason\u2019s in Ranelagh to world snooker champion and well-regarded broadcaster with Sunshine FM<\/p>\n

8.00pm Basement \u2013 A rough ride in Rwanda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writer with The Observer,\u00a0Tim Lewis<\/a>\u00a0is also the author of\u00a0\u201cLand of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda\u2019s Cycling Team\u201d<\/a>, an incredible book about how the Rwandan cycling team overcame impossible odds to inspire a country which had been torn apart by the 1994 genocide. In conversation with\u00a0Gavin Cummiskey\u00a0<\/a>from The Irish Times<\/p>\n

SATURDAY MARCH 29<\/strong><\/p>\n

6.30pm Stage \u2013 GAAconomics<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all know \u2013 or think, anyway \u2013 that the GAA is loaded, but where exactly is the money and where does it come from? One of the best sports books of 2013 was\u201cGAAconomics\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by Irish Examiner journalist\u00a0Michael Moynihan<\/a>\u00a0who set out on the trail on the money in the our national games. He joins us at The Back Page to uncover the money trail from the training pitch of your local club to the plush surrounds of GAA HQ in Croke Park. In conversation with\u00a0Mick O\u2019Keeffe<\/a><\/p>\n

6.30pm Basement \u2013 The Summit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nick Ryan is the director of\u00a0The Summit<\/a>, the powerful, magnetic and riveting documentary about what happened on the K2 expedition in 2008 which led to the deaths of 11 climbers who had successfully made their way to the top. It\u2019s a compelling look at why people take this challenge on the peak which straddles the Himalayas between Pakistan and China \u2013 and the terrible, often fatal dangers even for the most experienced climbers<\/p>\n