Donn has ghost-written six racing autobiographies, his most recent being that of recently-retired Irish National Hunt jockey Davy Russell, published in October 2024.
During 2019 and 2020 Donn assisted the late Pat Smullen, nine-time champion jockey and one of the greatest Irish jockeys ever, with his autobiography and completed it with Pat’s wife Frances. It was published in 2022.
In 2011, Donn assisted Sir Anthony McCoy, 20-time champion and the most successful National Hunt jockey of all time, in writing his autobiography.
Donn has also written three other racing autobiographies – Better Than Sex, the autobiography of former top National Hunt jockey and now racing broadcaster Mick Fitzgerald, Moscow Flyer, with trainer Jessica Harrington, and Riding the Storm, Timmy Murphy’s autobiography – and he has worked with leading racing photographer Pat Healy on the Healy Racing books Thrills and Spills and Flat Out.
Outside of the world of racing, Donn has written a novel for younger readers, All To Play For, published by O'Brien Press in 2020.
"My Autobiography" – Davy Russell with Donn McClean
Capturing the highs of an incredible career as top jockey, form the adrenaline rush of winning the Grand National twice, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and being Irish champion jockey three times to becoming the number one jockey at Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud.
Davy also discusses the devastating blows that he experienced through injury and showcases his huge resilience and strength of character.
It is a truly remarkable journey written by the most entertaining jockey in the business.
Reviews of “Davy Russell - My Autobiography”
“An outstanding insight into the life and career of one of the greatest National Hunt jockeys” – Rachael Blackmore
“Davy Russell’s story has been the most fascinating of racing journeys, Donn McClean its classiest chronicler” – Brough Scott
“A superb book, one of the best sports books I’ve read” – Eamon Dunphy
“My Autobiography” was shortlisted for the 2024 Irish Sports Book of the Year.
"Champion" – Pat Smullen with Donn McClean
Pat Smullen was one of the greatest Irish jockeys ever. In a career laden with success, his position as one of the best Irish flat jockeys ever was long established, yet he never felt that he had arrived. Despite being a nine-time champion jockey, there was a humility about him that defined him.
It was this strength of character that got him through when in March 2018, Pat was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. There was never any self-pity. He just dealt with it. More than just dealing with it, he brought it centre stage, raised funds and awareness, and channelled his energies into helping others. He was a champion in all aspects of life, no matter what setbacks were thrown at him. Pat was one of life’s givers, and he majored in giving that most precious of commodities: time. Tragically his own time was cut short far too early in September 2020.
Assisted by Donn McClean and completed with Pat’s wife Frances, Champion is his story.
Reviews of “Champion”
‘From incredible highs to devastating lows, the championship battles and mental turmoil, the Derby winners and cancer heartbreak, Pat has left more than a legacy. Read this and you will agree with me - he is iconic.’ Ruby Walsh
‘Pat tells his story with the same honesty and humility that defined him as a person. He was a remarkable man and his is a compelling story.’ Sir Anthony McCoy
‘Pat was an amazing man, a man of dignity who went about life with a smile on his face. He is an example to all of us.’ Frankie Dettori
‘Inspiring, heart-breaking and unforgettable.’ Brough Scott
"From the word go I urged Pat to do it. He would keep saying to me 'why would I do that?' and 'who'd want to read about me, sure I'm boring?' But I always encouraged him as I thought it would be a lovely thing for the kids and all his family to have. The best part of the book was him going through everything with Donn. Actually doing it was the best part. He was reliving his whole life all over again and I think that gave him a real lift. Even if nobody ever bought a copy of the book that made it worth it." Frances Crowley
"My Autobiography" – A.P. McCoy with Donn McClean
Tony ‘AP’ McCoy is the greatest and most successful jump-jockey of all time. He has collected a record sixteen consecutive jump jockey titles to date, and since 1992 he has ridden over 3,000 winners, saying ‘I never stop dreaming of the day I’ll reach 4,000.’ In 2002, he beat Sir Gordon Richards’ record of 269 winners in a season by riding 289. In April 2010 AP achieved his lifelong ambition when he won the Grand National at Aintree on Don’t Push It. It was his fifteenth attempt to win the race, a victory that captured the public’s imagination and irradiated a glittering career in which he had already won all there was to win. It was the final missing piece in the racing jigsaw for a champion jockey who had already had famous victories in the King George VI Chase, Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup.
This powerfully honest autobiography looks at life at the very top in National Hunt racing. These are the memoirs of a true champion, an icon of sport, whose astonishing achievements over the past sixteen years are unlikely to be surpassed. It is a great story of courage and modesty, pain and professional setbacks, strong family values and sporting triumphs, the good guy coming first – and staying there.
“A.P. McCoy – My Autobiography” was shortlisted for the following awards:
- 2011 Irish Sports Book of the Year – Bord Gais Irish Book Awards
- 2011 William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year
Reviews of “A.P. McCoy – My Autobiography”
“It deals rewardingly with the man rather than with the career. It helps, of course, that Donn McClean is a superlative writer. This book reads as though it has been crafted for craft’s sake rather than dashed together in the face of a Christmas deadline. McClean finesses the fracture between subject and ghostwriter and brings McCoy’s noted wry humour to work upon areas obviously contributed by writer not rider. Sure, this is no deathless page-turner because we know what happens in the end (McCoy conquers the world, sorry for the spoiler) but the object of the exercise is illustration and in this respect McClean is something of an artist.”
Steve Dennis, The Racing Post, 6th December 2011
“Tony McCoy could tell you about such books – he’d already published two of the genre before he sat down with Donn McClean to write AP McCoy – My Autobiography. The only reason he could justify having a third go at it would be if he had something to say about himself that he hadn’t said before. Thankfully, this is indeed the case. He takes his time in getting there, but by the end of this excellent book we do have some idea of what it is that drives McCoy, of where the madness comes from.”
Malachy Clerkin, The Irish Times, 17th December 2011
“It makes for a complete portrait of one of the most remarkable sportsmen of recent decades. It is a benefit, too, that Donn McClean, the jockey’s collaborator, is one of Ireland’s finest racing writers and at no point in nearly 350 pages does this feel like just a long list of winners. The key moments of McCoy’s career are explored in detail, of course, including the recent, cherished victory in the 2010 Grand National and the recognition as BBC Sports Personality of the Year that followed. What emerges above all, though, is a reassuring sense that this driven man is now learning to pause and appreciate a success before setting off to chase the next one.”
Greg Wood, The Guardian, 10th December 2011
“Better Than Sex” – Mick Fitzgerald with Donn McClean
When you think of Mick Fitzgerald, you might think of his masterful ride on Rough Quest to win the 1996 Grand National, or his interview with Des Lynam live on BBC afterwards: “After that, Des, even sex is an anti-climax”.
You might think of his victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Champion Chase or the Triumph Hurdle or the Hennessy Gold Cup because, as one of the most accomplished jump jockeys ever to throw his leg over a saddle, Fitzgerald has just about done it all. You might not want to think about his fall from L’Ami at the second fence in the 2008 Grand National, however, or about the displacement of three vertebrae and two disks just two years after breaking his neck, an eight-hour operation and the possible present-day scenario had that operation not been an unqualified success. That would just be too close to the bone.
In “Better Than Sex”, Fitzgerald tells his story with a candidness that is both rare and refreshing. He provides a unique insight into life as a jockey in England, the struggles, the temptations, the victories, the celebrations. He tells openly of his failed marriage, of riding for The Queen, and about how the racing game has changed irrevocably during the 19 years since he crossed the Irish Sea, half a lifetime ago.
Fitzgerald is rightly known as one of the most articulate jockeys of recent times. They say that he could talk for Ireland. In Better Than Sex, his eloquence and his sincerity shine through.
“Better Than Sex” was short-listed for the following awards:
- William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year Award 2008
- Best Autobiography – British Sports Book Awards 2008
- Irish Sports Book of the Year – Irish Book Awards 2009
Reviews of “Better Than Sex”
“Fitzgerald tells the story of his rise to grasp jump racing’s most coveted prize well, his memoirs shot through with a dry wit.”
Simon Redfern, The Independent
“A terrifically rewarding book. McClean has both the keen ear and sure touch to capture Fitzgerald’s voice on the page”
Denis Walsh, The Sunday Times
"Riding The Storm" – Timmy Murphy with Donn McClean
Timmy Murphy’s story is not just about a young man who pursued his dream and fulfilled it. This is a story about anticipation, frustration, alcoholism, despair, realisation, reconciliation and ultimately, redemption.
It looked all over for Murphy when the cell door closed behind him at Wormwood Scrubs on 23 July 2002. All blown away in one moment of alcohol-induced madness. His account of his time inside is frighteningly stark. The regret, the fear, the shame, the appreciation of liberty. He tells of starting all over again with his reputation in tatters and nothing but his extraordinary talent intact. And he tells of the remarkable chain of events that led to him landing one of the top jobs in National Hunt racing.
In Riding the Storm, Murphy relays his tale with the rare frankness of one who knows what it is like to stare into the abyss and return.
“Riding the Storm” was short-listed for the following awards:
- Inaugural William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year – 2006
- Boylesports Irish Sports Book of the Year – 2006
- British Sports Book Autobiography of the Year – 2006
Reviews of “Riding the Storm”
“The idiom and the idiocies are honest. These are Murphy’s own words, fashioned around his own mistakes – and in turn his own hardship, resolution and repentance. But he is indebted to McClean for the energy and rhythm of a remarkable parable.”
The London Independent, 19 December, 2006 – Chris McGrath
“This is an autobiography, an excellent one, well crafted by Donn McClean, but it is essentially a book of atonement.”
The Sunday Times, 7 January, 2007 – Book of the week
“Searingly honest, utterly outshines the banal ramblings of our indigenous football population.”
Daily Telegraph
“A remarkably candid autobiography.”
Daily Mail
"Moscow Flyer" Jessica Harrington with Donn McClean
The two-mile steeplechaser is the most exciting athlete on the planet. Half a tonne of horse set to carry a rider over twelve five-foot fences at almost forty miles an hour. Moscow Flyer, twice winner of Cheltenham’s Champion Chase but never safe from birch-busting errors, was the most exciting of them all.
Moscow Flyer is much more than just the portrait of the greatest Irish jumper since the legendary Arkle died in 1971. Jessica Harrington’s account of the horse’s journey from a small farm in Limerick to the Cheltenham winners’ enclosure pulls together a cast of characters and a chain of circumstance which become a living metaphor for current Irish life.
Reviews of Moscow Flyer
“A strong narrative told with brisk authority”
The Sunday Times, 4 December 2005
“This book does more than justice to the highest-rated steeplechaser in these islands”
The Irish Field, 3 December, 2005
“A story worthy of the telling … honest and thoughtful … excellent”
Racing and Football Outlook, December, 2005