Dundalk FC Magazine 2020 | Issue 7 | KI Klaksvik

DUNDALK v KI KLAKSVIK THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1ST 2020

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WE’RE IN GOOD HANDS AGAIN FOR ANOTHER GREAT SEASON!

A GREAT TEAM

CLUB DIRECTORY Honorary Club President Des Casey Chairman Bill Hulsizer Vice-Chairman Michael Hughes Board Michael Hughes, Bill Hulsizer, James Baboulas, David Samhat & Fred Spencer Chief Operating Officer Martin Connolly Finance Officer Elaine Duffy Chief Business Officer David Minto Media Content Officer Gavin McLaughlin Projects Manager Aaron Lawless Office Manager Ailish Kelly Office Admin Karen Travers, Gary Cronin Club Ambassadors Padraig McGowan, Paul Brown, Andy Connolly Player Liaison Officer Des Dunleavy Community Officer Liam Burns Press Officer Darren Crawley Child Protection Officer Aoife Burns Event Controller Regina O’Hare Bar Manager Kevin Carthy PA Announcer Michael Duffy DFCTV Chris Clarke

TEAM MANAGEMENT First Team Coach Filippo Giovagnoli Assistant Coach Giuseppe Rossi Opposition Analyst Shane Keegan Goalkeeping Coach Steve Williams Strength/Conditioning Graham Norton Kit Manager Noel Walsh Doctor Dr David Connolly Physiotherapists Danny Miller & David Murphy Sports Science Adam Fox Videographer Shane Taaffe

DUNDALK FC MAGAZINE DFC Magazine Editors: Colm Murphy, Paul Dunne, Gavin McLaughlin DFC Magazine Contributors: Jim Murphy RIP, Ruth Hardy, Darren Crawley, David Farrelly, Tom O’Connor, Sean DeLoughrey, Martyn Hindley Sales: Helen Myers, Jimmy Neary, Roy Mackin, Stephen Neary, Patrick O’Neill Thanks to: David Caldwell Photography: Sportsfile, Ciaran Culligan Programme of the Year 2008 (First Division) / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019 Dedication: The 2020 DFC Magazine is dedicated to Jim Murphy.

Note: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily shared by Dundalk FC. Especially The Spectator... ©2020 Dundalk FC

DUNDALK FC V KI KLAKSVIK | 01.10.2020

IN THIS

ISSUE 4 Opening Shot

36 Centre Spread

6 From The Dugout

38 Greg Sloggett Interview

9 Player Q&A

44 Home Away From Home

10 From The Dressing Room

48 Barry Kehoe Testimonial

12 Underage Round-Up

63 2020 Player Sponsors

18 KI Klaksvik Preview

65 The Numbers Game

24 Patreon Scheme

66 2020 Fixtures and Stats

26 Get With The Programme

68 The Spectator

28 European Retro

71 Injury Time: Quiz

4

OPENING SHOT

SEPTEMBER 27TH 2020 | ORIEL PARK | DUNDALK Dundalk supporters, pictured during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park. In line with government guidelines, 100 fans were permitted access to the game for the first time since March.

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FROM THE DUGOUT

T

GIUSEPPE ROSSI

onight is a really important night for the club, the town, the players, for me and for Filippo. We are looking forward to it and we really want to make everybody in Dundalk happy.

I am 10 years younger than Filippo but we used to live in the same building, right from when I was born. We know each other forever, over 30 years, and I will never forget the day he called me and said there might be an opportunity coming in Ireland.

Our target was qualification for the Europa League. We got through the first stage and the second stage and now we’re just one step away. I think we deserve to go through and I hope for the people in Dundalk that we go through.

The supporters here are really passionate and they make us proud of what we do on the field. I hope that we can give them a huge moment on Thursday night.

A lot of things went through my head during the penalty shootout in Moldova last week. I thought that we deserved to win the game.

I was nervous because with penalties you never know, it’s a bet. But I was also confident because each of our players approached their penalties with huge personality. Almost every one of them wanted to take one. It was amazing.

To concede a goal after six minutes, against a team like Sheriff who can really destroy you, was tough but the players remained composed and

stayed with the plan and they played with great personality and focus. We came back well and we had two or three great chances where we could have won the game in 90 minutes and again in extra time. At half time we said, ‘Okay, now we can see that we can do it’.

We just told them to go back out and keep the momentum going. Sheriff moved their possession up in the second half but we avoided what they like, through balls in the middle and little

from the Faroe Islands will be easy but KI is a team that can suffer during the game and still win. In their last game against Dinamo Tiblisi, they won 6-1 and only had 29% of possession. They scored six goals. If you balance the possession and the goals, that is unbelievable! They’re a good team and the things they do, they do well. They know how to defend, they stay compact and when they create a chance, they score! Soccer is a global game now and there are no weak teams. Everybody studies the game and everybody has access IT WAS GREAT TO SEE PEOPLE to technology to REALLY HAPPY AND TO COME BACK prepare for a game. KI TO DUNDALK AND SEE PEOPLE WHO is in the playoff round WERE PROUD OF WHAT WE DID IN because they are a MOLDOVA. NOW WE HAVE ONE LAST good team. We have STEP TO TAKE. to respect them but we have our own strengths combinations, and in the end, and we have to make them we got the result we deserved. work during the game. I’m Against a team like Sheriff, confident we can do that. you can only go through if you The draw for the group give the sort of performance stages takes place on Friday we did. morning. I was really nervous The celebrations at the for the last two rounds but I end were fantastic. I think I told Filippo that if we are in watched Gavin’s video about the group stage draw I will just 200 times! It was amazing. I sit back, relaxing and laughing! was so happy for the players When I think about it, it is because of the work they put difficult for me to realise just in on the pitch and for all of how big it could be. I’ll be the people who work with us, honest, I’d love to play against the physios, the goalkeeping Tottenham and Jose Mourinho coach, the conditioning coach, and also against Napoli. the staff and everybody at Gennaro Gattuso was my idol the club. It was great to see when I was younger. Playing people really happy and to against his team would mean come back to Dundalk and more than playing against AC see people who were proud of Milan but, before we dream, what we did in Moldova. Now we must make it happen. we have one last step to take.

It’s going to be really difficult Enjoy the game! tonight. People think a team Giuseppe Rossi

“

6

7

COMMUNITY PARTNER OF DUNDALK FC

Supporting You, Supporting Community DUNDALKCU.IE

PLAYER Q&A

GARY ROGERS

DFC Mag: What club have you supported since childhood?

Gary Rogers: Liverpool.

DFCM: What’s your favourite dish?

GR: I’m a big fan of hot chicken wings.

DFCM: Who is the best player you have played with?

GR: Joseph Ndo. DFCM: Who is the dirtiest player you have played against?

GR: Alan Murphy!

DFCM: Which teammate

spends the longest in the shower?

GR: Ganno! It’s embarrassing how long he is in the shower!

DFCM: Who is your best friend at the club?

GR: Massey or Garts - all the old married men with kids.

DFCM: Your all-time sporting hero?

GR: That’s a hard one because there are so many. Packie Bonner and his penalty save in Italia 90 is one of my favourite moments in Irish sport, though.

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DFCM: What is the best ground you have ever played in?

GR: The Aviva Stadium.

DFCM: Who is the best dressed in the squad?

GR: Dane Massey is a sharp dresser. A banker for a white shirt on a night out.

DFCM: Who has the best music taste in the dressing room?

GR: Chris Shields.

DFCM: Who has the worst music taste in the dressing room?

GR: Take your pick!

FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

JAMIE WYNNE

It’s safe to say that the events of the past week will live long in the memory of Jamie Wynne.

On Thursday night, the 18-year-old was part of the Dundalk squad that booked a spot in the Europa League playoff with a famous penalty shootout win over Sheriff Tiraspol in Transnistria.

Seventy-two hours later, he came off the bench to make his debut for the club, appearing as a 70th-minute substitute in the 4-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park. It was little wonder then that the Coolock native had a beaming smile on his face when he spoke to DFC Magazine.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better week,” he said. “I only found out on the Sunday before the Europa League game that I was going to Moldova. Martin Connolly rang me and said to send him my details as he was 90% sure I was on the trip. As soon as I got off the phone I was like, ‘happy days!’. I let my family know and they were all delighted.

“It was my first time being in and around the firstteam squad. The lads are so professional and it’s a fantastic set-up. Everybody takes things really seriously and it was great to be involved with them.”

Settling into the group wasn’t a problem for the teenager with Chris Shields and Daniel Cleary, in particular, taking him under their wing in Tiraspol.

“The two lads were a great influence,” said Wynne. “They helped me out around the hotel, chatted to me all the time and really took me into the group.

They were really good for me.”

The Lilywhites squad touched

down at Dublin Airport in the early hours of Friday morning and after a couple of hours sleep, Wynne received the news that he would be involved against Rovers.

“I knew I would be involved but I only found out that I’d be on the bench on Saturday. I was hoping to make an impact when I came on but unfortunately, we were a few goals down. I just tried my best to get involved and I thought we played well for big spells of the game.”

Wynne’s U19 teammate Andrew Quinn started the game at right-back while another teenager, Val Adedokun (pictured with Wynne above), also came on as a substitute in the second half and Wynne said that it was encouraging that Filippo Giovagnoli was willing to throw the youngsters in at the 10

deep end.

“Filippo is trying to integrate youth into the team which wasn’t really done that much before he came in. It’s a great example for all of the young lads at the club who know that they’ll get opportunities. When I was coming up through the U17s I never really saw any more than one young player with the first team but now there’s a couple of few of us who have come on and made appearances and are training with the squad.

“It gives everybody a real push at youth level to perform better because that’s what we all want to do, play for the first-team,” he added. “I’ve had my first taste now so I’ll just keep my head down, keep working and, hopefully, be involved some more.”

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CLUB NEWS

UNDERAGE ROUND-UP

The Dundalk FC U18 girls team continued their good run of form with an impressive 4-1 win away to Leixlip United at the weekend in the Metropolitan Girls Premier Division.

Katie Brophy, Caoimhe Crichton, Scarlet Herron and Louise Johnston were all on target for the Lilywhites.

Elsewhere, our U15 girls team’s Metropolitan Girls League fixtures have been postponed for the next two weeks due to the restrictions in Dublin.

It was a mixed weekend for the club’s academy sides.

Derek Boyle’s side slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Drogheda United in Group Five of the U19 National League at United Park on Saturday while the U13 side lost 4-0 away to St Patrick’s Athletic on the same day.

It looked like the U15 side were heading for a similar

result when they found themselves 3-1 down against Drogheda United on Sunday afternoon but goals from Ethan Sousa and Josh Hand 12

rescued Darren McGarry’s side a well-earned point. Dualta Honey maintained his good run of form with the opening goal.

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EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW

KI: AN INTRODUCTION

Djúpumýra Stadium Location: Klaksvík, Faroe Islands

Martyn Hindley gives an introduction to Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag.

To look at the league championship contenders in the Faroe Islands is a slippery tumble into a world of alphabet spaghetti. Argir boasts a team known as AB, presumably enabling them to celebrate being top of the league before the first weekend on alphabetical order.

Torshavn has HB and B36 and take care not to forget EB, IF and NSI.

league championship – and their first in two decades – to earn a shot at Europe.

As a non-Faroese, you can appreciate the simplicity of the club name in comparison with the full title of Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag

(Klaksvik Sports Club), which is a collection of letters that no Countdown contestant would ever thank you for.

Their Dundalk date with a place in the UEFA Europa League Group Stage at

Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands

Besting all of them in 2019 were KI, who landed their 18th 18

stake is a historic landmark in the history of the club, but also the national association. No Faroese club had previously graced the play-off round and they didn’t only qualify but annihilated Dinamo Tbilisi 6-1 in Tórsvøllur, the wild celebration of the opening goal from Deni Pavlovic turning into disbelief as Jonn Johannesen swept home the last to celebrate his new three-year contract at the club.

The manner of that success against the Georgian giants removed the denotation from this particular Wikipedia entry that it only happened because they received victory by walkover in their first Champions League assignment of the summer when Slovan Bratislava were eliminated

by COVID-19 cases rather than on the football pitch.

Still, KI gave an excellent account of themselves in Berne at the second stage, making Young Boys toil for a 3-1 success that transferred

Mikkjal Thomassen’s charges to the Europa League.

All of this good news for KI fans calls for a song, which is perfect timing

Manager: Mikkjal Thomassen

really as the club announced last week the release of the Bryta Blaa Wave. Karl Martin Samuelsen and Steintor Rasmussen put their heads together with the Klaksvik Horn Orchestra and produced a melody that was then combined

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with some poetry and thrust onto YouTube by means of festivity.

As summer makes way for autumn and the nights grow longer, such jubilation may help inside the Djupumyra, the 2,500 capacity stadium that is home to KI in the domestic championship.

In that league, there are seven matches to go and KI trail the leaders HB by four points despite having taken a win and a draw from the first two of their meetings this term. Their title aspirations appear to have been torpedoed by homeand-away defeats to the other prominent Torshavn outfit B36, who smashed them 6-2 in the capital but remain inconsistent enough to be off the pace in fourth spot.

If last season was a journey of discovery for KI, then Europe is a whole new level.

This game against Dundalk is unquestionably the biggest in the history of club football in the Faroe Islands.

EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW

DRAMA ACROSS EUROPE

Martyn Hindley takes a closer look at the unpredictability of this season’s Europa League qualifying rounds.

In the wake of the Champions League “final eight” emergency format, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin pondered out loud whether it might be a good thing to retain on a regular basis. That was until the idea was slapped down by some European heavyweights who didn’t like the idea of losing revenues from home matches.

That said, the single-leg

shootouts that have been an expedient measure of this summer’s European qualifying rounds have been such an unpredictable blast that he might think about whispering it gently again, once COVID-19 has ceased wreaking havoc on the football community.

Whilst one of Dundalk and KI will feature in the group stages of the competition, that is far from the only match where both sides are dreaming of a golden ticket.

Ararat could break new ground for club football in Armenia if they overcome Crvena Zvezda (Red Star 20

Belgrade), who were European Cup winners three decades back.

Sarajevo have 90 minutes of a bash at Celtic that the Bosnians may not have fancied as much over two legs and the champions of Albania, Estonia and Finland all have the unusual sensation of playing European football in October.

Take a look at the league path and you will also see some mammoth encounters.

What about Rangers against Galatasaray with only one place up for grabs between them? Our old friends

CSKA Moscow celebrate after winning the UEFA Cup back in 2005

Rosenborg have a date lined up with 1988 European Cup winners PSV Eindhoven and Milan have the slightly warmer setting of Portugal to try and secure their Group Stage berth having emerged unscathed from their trip to Tallaght.

With a modified qualification process, in 90 minutes time, one of these clubs will be looking at a significant rainbow given the sides who have already secured their place in the draw. Arsenal are the club with the highest co-efficient ranking of those and Leicester City also

lie in wait after Brendan Rodgers somehow managed to steer them away from a Champions League return with some filthy postlockdown form.

It’s the 60th anniversary season of Benfica breaking Real Madrid’s stranglehold on the European Cup, so that wouldn’t half be a bad time to see the Eagle land at the Stadium of Light, scene of Bayern’s thrilling win in last season’s final.

Across the city, CSKA Moscow became the first Russian club to lift a European trophy in 2005 and the Army Men are back 21

in Pot One this time as well, alongside such luminaries as AS Roma, Napoli, Villarreal and Bayer Leverkusen.

Once upon a time, this might have been a pipedream, as two-legged ties unquestionably dampen any sense of unpredictability and regularly gift us similar quarter-finalists at the business end of the competition, especially in the Champions League. We might not have thought it but some of the reveries above would be welcome thoughts for the future for Europe’s less experienced clubs.

CLUB NEWS

FANS BACK IN ORIEL

Dundalk fan Anne Mernagh makes her way into Oriel Park ahead of the game with Shamrock Rovers

In line with current Irish government guidelines, Dundalk Football Club can confirm that 100 supporters will be permitted to attend Sunday evening’s SSE Airtricity League game with Finn Harps at Oriel Park.

Please note that this initiative is completely dependent on Co Louth (Level Two) not being a part of any further restrictions.

A draw for the 100 tickets took place at Oriel Park on Tuesday, performed and witnessed by club administration staff. All supporters must be current season ticket holders and must agree to follow strict protocols in order to attend the game.

To facilitate the safe return of supporters, the club has put a number of conditions in place.

Supporters must agree to abide by all of these protocols before admission.

q Completion of an online COVID-19 questionnaire q Temperature checks prior to entering Oriel Park. q Dundalk FC encourages all supporters to wear face masks on their way to, and inside, Oriel Park. q Each ticket is nontransferable. If a supporter can not make the game they must return the ticket to the club and another supporter’s name will be drawn q Any juvenile supporters who are drawn must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian who must also be a current season ticket holder.

Those who gain entry to the ground will be seated in the north-east (town end) terrace and The Shed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The main stand is unavailable to supporters as it will be used by both sets of substitutes, along with media and match 22

delegates.

Social distancing will be carried out at all times in the ground unless supporters come from the same household.

This is the second game in which supporters have been permitted to attend; 100 fans were also in attendance for the 4-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers on Sunday night and Lilywhites chief operating officer Martin Connolly said it was great to have people back in the ground.

“Everybody at the club was really looking forward to seeing people back in Oriel again so to have 100 here for the Rovers game was brilliant and it passed off very smoothly,” he said.

“It’s been very tough on everyone at the club not having supporters at our games since we came out of lockdown so it’ll be brilliant to see some of them here again against Finn Harps on Sunday.”

FRANK RYAN

EUROPEAN MEMORIES During the lockdown earlier this year, we caught up with 87-year-old supporter Frank Ryan from Malahide in Dublin who has been supporting the Lilywhites for over 70 years.

After falling in love with the Lilywhites in 1945, Frank spent much of the sixties and seventies following the club in Europe and he was happy to share some wonderful memories with us.

DFC: You were born and raised in Dublin so how did you end up supporting Dundalk?

FR: My father Sean was the president of the GAA from 1928-1932 and I grew up beside Dalymount Park in Phibsborough. In those days, the ban was in existence and every Sunday I would go down to Croke Park but I never went to Dalymount Park. I walked past it every day but the ban was there and my father was very interested in GAA. One Saturday, a pal of mine at school asked me if I wanted to go to Dalymount. I said I wouldn’t be allowed because that’s the way things where back then but we went anyway. My pal said ‘they’re my team’. I asked who they were? ‘Bohemians’, he said.

Now bear in mind I lived yards from Dalymount Park and I didn’t even know who the team was! He said. ‘you can have the other team. They’re Dundalk’.

I’ve followed them ever since!

DFC: Any stand out memories from the games you’ve seen?

I was at the famous match in 1952 when the Walter Durkan ‘goal’ took place against St Patrick’s. The referee deemed that the ball didn’t go over the line but there were pictures in the paper the following day that

The Nepstadion in Budapest

showed it had! To the best of my knowledge, Pat’s kicked up shit about it! In those days, they used to bring in English referees to do the matches and he got a bollocking at the end. I don’t think he was beaten up but he was certainly harangued and abused!

DFC: Dundalk has taken you to various different places over the years...

FR: Yes, I’ve been all over Europe following the club. I was in Switzerland when we beat Zurich in our first-ever away game, I was in Budapest when Vasas beat us 9-0, I was at Anfield for the 10-0 against Liverpool, I was at White Hart Lane for the game against Tottenham in 1981, I was at Ibrox, I was in Holland, I’ve been everywhere! I had a wonderful time.

DFC: Which trip sticks out?

The Swiss trip was the best one ever because it was our first away game in Europe and we won the game. There must have been about 80 people who went to Zurich! It was marvellous. Fr Maguire was on that trip as a guest of the club 23

and he used to say mass for us every morning as was the case in those days!

DFC: You mentioned Budapest four years later….

FR: Yes, Vasas beat us 9-0 but it was a marvellous trip.

The game was actually a double-header in the famous Népstadion in Budapest and there were 80 or 90,000 people at the game. The Vasas Dundalk game was actually the feature match! At half-time, there was a draw for a bicycle and some fella up at the back of the stand won it. The spotlight zoomed in on him and followed him all the way down to the pitch. He was presented with the bike and went on to ride around the stadium four or five times waving at the crowd! I still have a Russian flag which I swiped off the table of the hotel we were staying in. Both of the visiting teams who played in the double-header stayed in the same hotel and when you came down in the morning, they had an Irish flag and a Russian flag on the tables just to make the teams feel welcome. I stole the Russian flag. Just don’t tell the Hungarian police!!

SUPPORTERS

PATREON MEMBERSHIP

In early June, Dundalk FC launched a new official membership scheme, aimed at growing and improving the relationship between the club, our supporters and the local community.

Since then, the uptake has been fantastic with over 240 members signed up thus far.

Like every business, COVID-19 has had a major, detrimental effect on the club’s plans for the year. In order to respond to the loss of match night earnings and sponsorship, we decided to introduce a high-quality membership service that we hope our fans and the local community will support.

For a monthly subscription, members will receive exclusive access to digital content on the Dundalk FC Patreon page that will bring them closer to everything

that happens at Oriel Park.

On top of that, members will also receive a host of benefits from the club and our selected community partners.

How much will it cost? €15 a month.

The fee is payable on joining and will then be charged on the first of every month. *Please note that prices exclude Patreon VAT rate of 23%.

How do I access it?

The content will be housed on the Dundalk FC Patreon page. www.patreon.com/dundalkfc What exactly do I get for my money?

Exclusive members-only digital content and a host of other benefits.

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What are the other benefits?

Dundalk FC Membership Card and Certificate Members sign-up pack includes: – DFC Snood – DFC Scarf – DFC Personalised Mug A 10% discount in the Dundalk FC Club Shop.

Discount offers at selected community partners.

Free monthly Dundalk FC surprise.

Monthly members draw.

Monthly members newsletter.

Exclusive access to members events. *More benefits will be added when the current restrictions around COVID-19 are eased.

How do I sign up?

Simply visit: www.patreon.com/dundalkfc

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

GET WITH THE PROGRAMME Dundalk v Zurich, 1963-64 European Cup

League but Dundalk businesses are well represented- Felda, the Roma, Kelleher insurance, Fastix, McQuillans pharmacy.

The relevance: Dundalk’s European odyssey began in 1963 with a European Cup tie against Swiss champions Zurich.Oriel Par was four years away from being floodlit so Dundalk hosted this one in Dalymount Park.

Famous names: The likes of Rogers, McEleney, Gannon, Boyle, Gartland and McMillan are likely to feature tonight, other Dundalk heroes were Ronan Finn, Robbie Benson, Stephen O’Donnell and Daryl Horgan. Michael Pazdan, Tomasz Jodlowiec and Nemanja Nikolic (Hungary) were among five Legia players to feature at Euro2016.

The facts: Sixpence bought a modest 12 page programme.

The content: An editorial is presented, impressively, in English, Irish and German.

There’s a scant half page on Zurich and a potted history of Dundalk. The centre pages include team photos and lineups.

A word from our sponsors: Different times are reflected in a slew of alcohol and tobacco advertising, including ful page ads for Sweet Afton cigarettes and Phoenix ale.

Famous names: West German international inside right Kalus Sturmer was considered the Zurich dangerman, Kobi Kuhn was a regular for Switzerland and later managed his country.

The match: Part timers Dundalk battled well but Zurich showed their experience and class to run out 3-0 winners. Dundalk came within an ace of a massive upset in Switzerland though, racing to a 2-0 lead and hitting the crossbar.

Zurich pulled one back but Dundalk recorded the first win by an Irish club in Europe’s premier competition.

The match: Dundalk competed well, but a controversial penalty and a late sucker punch looked to have killed the tie. The Lilywhites were brilliant in Poland though and threatened to overturn the two goal deficit, but it was not to be. Legia played Real, Dortmund and Sporting in the Champions League while Dundalk faced Zenit, AZ and Maccabi in the Europa League.

Dundalk v Legia Warsaw, 2016 Champions League Playoff The relevance: Dundalk’s last Euro playoff was four years ago, at this very venue.

Legia Warsaw provided the opposition that day with Champions League qualification for the winners and the parachute of the Europa League for losers.

The facts: €5 bought a substantial 72 page programme.

The content: The usual top quality Dundalk programme of recent years, the Legia issue was packed with news and features.

There are 5 pages on the opposition, a look at historic European games, interviews, stats, and coverage of the win over BATE. A word from our sponsors: It may have been an impossibly glamorous Champions

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literally dozens of local businesses with a local travel agent featuring on the back page advertising trips to London, Paris, Puerto Rico, Miami and the Canary Islands.

Famous names: Jim McLaughlin’s Dundalk side included Barry Kehoe, Richie Blackmore, Martin Lawlor, Hilary Carlyle Mick Fairclough and Tommy McConville.

Fram Reykjavik v Dundalk, 1981-82 Cup Winners Cup The relevance: Tonight is Dundalk first tie with Faroese opposition, so we’re looking back at the Lilywhites’ first European tie against Nordic opposition.

The facts: There’s no price on the cover of a nicely produced 16 page programme.

The content: The programme is packed with content. There are player profiles reviews of recent Fram matches with plenty of action shots, one detailed page on Dundalk and some general Icelandic football news.

A word from our sponsors: Five pages are given over to

The match: Mick Fairclough gave Dundalk a half time lead, but goals from Gudmundur Torfason and Hafthor Sveinjonsson gave Fram a 2-1 lead to take to Oriel. Dundalk won the second leg 4-0 and went on to run Spurs close in the second round.

Dundalk would go on to win the League of Ireland title, Fram finished the 1981 season as runners-up to Vikingur.

Dundalk v Celtic, 1979-80 European Cup The relevance: You want European glamour? How about Celtic in the Last 16 of the European Cup with Real Madrid to come in the quarter-finals!

The facts: 30p 27

bought a fine 36 page programme.

The content: Lots of great coverage of Celtic, with pen pics, historic articles, an interview with manager Billy McNeill among a host of features.

Naturally the exciting 3-2 first leg is covered in detail.

A word from our sponsors: Local companies were out in force to support the club, including Murphy’s jewellers, PJ Carroll’s, McGuill Insurance, Slipped Disc record store and the Derryhale. ‘You score when you buy Esso at Dealga Service Station’ on the Carrick Road.

Famous names: Celtic included Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken, Tommy Burns, Davie Provan, Bobby Lennox and Murdo McLeod, with a young Packie Bonner on the bench.

Dundalk featured the famous Blackmore-McConville, Lawlor, Dunning Keely defence with Cathal Muckian, Liam Devine and Jimmy Dainty also starring.

The match: Celtic sneaked through the tie as the held out for a scoreless draw and 3-2 aggregate win.

EUROPEAN RETRO

THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES

The Dundalk squad, pictured outside Russell’s Bus Saloon before their departure to Zurich in 1963

1963: Come on you red and whites!

were required to play in an alternative kit to avoid a colour clash. Therefore, Dundalk played their first ever European match wearing Arsenal jerseys owned by the local summer league team of the same name.

Playing in European competition was regularly a loss-making affair, but the 1963 matches were sponsored by PJ Carroll’s Cigarettes – who agreed to cover any losses of the trip.

These days clubs playing in European competition have to deal with a mountain of regulations. It wasn’t the case back in 1963, but Dundalk were forced to deal with a small number of official procedures that resulted, just like tonight, in us moving our European Cup match with FC Zurich to Dublin.

Today, the issue with Oriel Park is the lack of seats, toilets, media facilities, corporate facilities, the pitch….basically everything we know about Oriel Park. Back then, it was just a lack of floodlights. Therefore, the match was moved to Dalymount Park.

Plus, unlike last Friday’s match between Bohemians and Derry City at Dalymount, Dundalk

1967: Fighting with Fox

After qualifying for Europe again in 1967, the Dundalk board decided to bring European football to Oriel Park. To do this, they formed a floodlighting committee who were responsible for raising funds to make this a reality. Two weeks 28

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EUROPEAN RETRO

THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES

later the £12,000 floodlighting pylons arrived and brought with it an exciting new era for Dundalk FC. They fell down in 1969.

The floodlights allowed Dundalk to play money spinning matches against Northern teams such as Linfield and Glentoran. But their first job was to transform Oriel Park into a stadium fit to host one of Europe’s top teams, Vasas Budapest. The reports of the match in the national and local media gave as much attention, if not more, to how well Oriel Park was looking. Dundalk were excellent and were unlucky to lose 1-0. The Dundalk Democrat raved about how the “brilliant flood of light was focused on

the emerald green of the pitch”.

The return in Budapest was, unofficially, the largest attendance that any Dundalk team played in front of with an estimated 100,000 people crammed into the People’s Stadium. It turned out to be a traumatic experience resulting in the joint-third heaviest defeat in the club’s history, 8-1.

However, the result was only part of the story.

Alan Fox’s decision to bring Paddy Turner, who was struggling for fitness, to Hungary against the wishes of the Dundalk board led to a very unfortunate series of events.

The Dundalk board were so disgusted by the performance that they initially refused to 30

cover the costs of the player’s breakfasts in the hotel on the following morning!

With relations between board and manager at a low ebb, Fox was suspended for a month in October. While the board denied that this was Budapest related, the relationship never truly recovered between the board and the player-manager who had won the league in 1967 in such great style. Fox was eventually granted free release

by Dundalk in March 1968.

That wasn’t the end of the matter and Dundalk travelled to the Market’s Field to play Limerick, who had signed Fox as player-manager, a few weeks later. The match ended in such violence that the referee was hit

by a stone and had to be taken to hospital while the Dundalk team had to be smuggled out of the ground by 12 Gardai to what remained of the team bus.

Even after this great escape, the deceived Limerick fans had to be shown the empty dressing room by the Gardai to convince them to disperse.

What caused this outbreak of craziness? In the 62nd minute of the match, Alan Fox had an exchange with Dundalk’s Derek Stokes which resulted in Stokes receiving a hefty thump. While both teams became engaged in a ‘schmozzle’ – Dundalk keeper Kevin Blount made his way up the pitch and floored Fox. All hell broke loose.

Dundalk won the match 3-2 – and Blount, while escaping a red card, had his act witnessed by a Garda and was eventually sentenced to a month’s imprisonment for assault – only to have the verdict overturned on appeal!

1968: Trouble on the Terraces: Part I

Kevin Blount received a six-month ban for the Fox affair – and made his next appearance as a substitute in the 2-1 win over DOS Utrecht in the European Fairs Cup when he replaced the injured Pat Lawless.

After conceding nine goals in two matches in the weeks that followed, Blount never played for Dundalk again. Incidentally, Dundalk still managed to win both games – a 7-4 win over Limerick and a 7-5 win over St Pat’s.

The main story from the Utrecht match in Holland was the sad case of Patsy ‘Tootsie’ McKeown. His 11-year Dundalk career that saw him amass 334 appearances and win two league titles came to an end in the fourth minute of that match when he broke his leg. He received a rapturous reception on the pitch before the second

leg match in Oriel Park.

Dundalk won the match 2-1 in extra-time and 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a thunderous 15-yard header from Jimmy Morrissey but supporters could have been deprived of such a momentous if the FAI and the cabal of Dublin clubs had got their way.

Up to this season, the Irish representatives in the ‘InterCities Fairs Cup’ were the highest placing team in the Shield competition who had not already qualified for either the European Cup or Cup Winners Cup. The place had been reserved for Dublin clubs. So in 1965, for example, Shelbourne got the European spot despite finishing under Dundalk, Waterford and Cork Celtic.

Dundalk administrators needed to overhaul that regulation in order to secure the nomination.

The reward for beating DOS Utrecht was a tie against Glasgow Rangers. The first leg in Ibrox was marred by sectarian abuse directed at the Dundalk players and 200 or so Dundalk fans who made the trip.

The Scottish media reported that the “foul mouthed fans set a new record for obscenity” and Rangers chairman John Lawrence issued a statement apologising for the supporters behaviour and how “we are sick and tired of being embarrassed

by these morons”.

The return match in Oriel Park was also a fraught affair with the Gardai engaged in running battles inside and outside the ground with Rangers fans who had travelled from Northern Ireland. The local courts were busy dealing with the aftermath including a bizarre tale of a pub whose visiting clients from Belfast refused to leave the premises until the Gardai sang them the national anthem.

1969: Shankly’s Touch of Class

The 10-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in the 1969 Fairs Cup is Dundalk’s biggest ever defeat.

Tommy McConville recounted what happened after the match in an interview conducted in 2011: “I remember after the game. The press were hovering around and we had swapped shirts. We shut the door and just wanted to be left alone.

There was a knock at the door.

Hughie Fleming was Liam’s assistant and he shouted “Who is it?”. We heard this strong Scottish accent responding: “Bob Shankly”.

“We opened the door and he had a trolley. Two crates of beer were placed in the middle of the dressing room. He said “don’t worry about that. Nobody would have lived with my team out there tonight. Get stuck

Liverpool rattle home another goal in the 10-0 at Anfield back in 1969 31

EUROPEAN RETRO

THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES Tommy McConville

into them”. We couldn’t believe it – the great Bill Shankly telling us to enjoy ourselves. It was a lovely touch.”

1976: Toe-to-toe with PSV

The 1-1 draw in the 1976 European Cup first round match with PSV Eindhoven ranks as one of the great Oriel Park nights.

Playing against a side that featured players that played in both the 1974 and 1978 World Cup Finals, Dundalk produced one of the great displays of the Jim McLaughlin era to draw 1-1.

Over 10,000 people attended the match with PSV sponsors’ Philips Electronics bringing three busloads of employees to the match. However, the club later admitted that they were slightly disappointed with the financial returns from the

encounter of £7,000.

1977: Tommy Mac’s Saipan

It is unfortunate that the 1-0 win over Hajduk Split in the 1977 Cup Winners Cup is not solely remembered for how Mick Lawlor set up Terry Flanagan to hammer home a shot past Yugoslavian international keeper Katalinic to give Dundalk a famous 1-0 win.

The match is more remembered for the off-field issues that followed. Tommy McConville again takes up the tale: “We were heading off on the Saturday to Split. I was unemployed at the time. We were told there would be a match-fee but no expenses.

Jackie McManus was the captain. He enquired about this and was told that there was no 32

expenses for loss of wages. He was a teacher in the north. He said he couldn’t go and wished us luck. On the Saturday, we got on the bus at The Square and there was Jackie. I asked him what was going on and he said that they rang him and sorted it out.

“We got to the airport and I asked about the issue. Again, I was told there were no expenses. I wasn’t happy with that at all – I asked them why Jackie was getting expenses and those of us on the dole were getting nothing.

“It wasn’t a nice situation. Mick Lawlor said that we should just go over to Split and that we would sort it out over there. I said that’s okay and agreed. The gate for the flight was opened and then a club official basically said that there was no point for anybody to go over who wasn’t

going to try.

“I wasn’t happy with that comment and asked for my passport and left. There was a call for me to go out the following day but by then it was too late. The fall-out was even worse. Jackie was let go because he told me on the bus that his expenses situation was resolved and this was supposed to be secret. Tony Cavanagh was sold to Sligo as a result of it. They got the blame. I was ready to be shipped off also.

But nobody said anything to me. Nobody said anything to resolve it. The two lads were let go and that was that.”

1979: Trouble On The Terraces Part II

Dundalk’s European Cup run against Malta Hibernians, Linfield and Glasgow Celtic have provided enough primary material for many more documentaries than what Shane Tobin managed to fit into the 2015 “Once in a lifetime” documentary.

The Linfield match made the 1969 visit of Rangers look like a picnic. The scenes in the town that day were hard to fathom.

It was reported that one Pearse Park resident, near where the Linfield busses were parked, had his legally held shotgun at the door and threatened to use it if his home was attacked!

A gang of about 25 locals attacked the Linfield buses with stones and petrol bombs.

One Linfield bus got lost and ended up in Blackrock with the result of some damage and violent incidents along the route. Probably the most bizarre incident was when one local man was arrested for waving a gun at people on the Carrick Road after the match. He later explained to the judge that he had found a toy gun on the ground and had used it to deter any Linfield fans from coming near him. Witnesses spoke of

Gardai try and control the mayhem at Oriel Park during the tie with Linfield in 1979

people diving for cover behind cars and walls outside the Garda station before a Garda arrested him.

Next up was Malta Hibernian, Dundalk won the first leg 2-0 at Oriel Park but had to endure a torrid time on a grass-less pitch in the second leg. Dundalk managed to hold out for a 1-0 defeat despite the unbearable heat and violent tactics of the home team.

The two matches against Celtic are, of course, among the most famous in the club’s history. After Dundalk had been narrowly defeated 3-2 at Parkhead in the first leg, the Glasgow Herald reported after the match that “No one seemed to have told the collection of Irish bankers, butchers and company directors that they were not supposed to have a chance against the Scottish Champions: it was to be a picnic for Celtic and a goal feast for the fans. But brave Dundalk, with several players less than 100% fit, defied all the odds to and came so close to nearly pulling off an even greater shock.”

The Daily Record also praised Dundalk’s performance: “Let me be blunt. This was not a case of the luck of the Irish. No Leprechauns guarded their goal.

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No blarney was used to con the Celts. The Parkhead crowd watched in eloquent silence as Dundalk celebrated a moral victory.”

Speaking in 2010, Dermot Keely recalled the excitement of the matches. “The first leg is a match I remember well. We were getting pounded over there. I remember asking Paddy Dunning how we could survive it and he told me to “stand on the edge of the box and pray!”

Dundalk were one of the first sides ever to play square at the back. Yet I stepped up twice and Celtic got in twice to score. I remember somebody going down injured and Jim McLaughlin himself ran on the pitch with a water bottle. He looked at me with venom in his eyes and shouted at me – “See if you step up again? I will f***ing strangle you!!”

“It was a great night. Of course we nearly went through in the second leg when Tommy Mac nearly scored at the end.

It was a night Danny McGrain’s beard turned grey! Celtic was the outstanding memory of my European experience. I couldn’t believe that they could get that many people into Oriel Park and then the directors said afterwards that they didn’t have any money to pay a bonus!”

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SEPTEMBER 27TH 2020 | ORIEL PARK | DUNDALK Dundalk interim head coach Filippo Giovagnoli, pictured during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park. Picture by Stephen McCarthy/ Sportsfile.

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BIG INTERVIEW

GREG SLOGGETT

O

ur first signing of the 2020 season was one which raised some eyebrows.

Greg Sloggett arrived from Derry City in November of last year and has slotted in seamlessly to the Lilywhites midfield, playing a starring role in the club’s run to the Europa League playoff round. We get to know him a bit better in this week’s Magazine and we began by asking him how he found it in when he arrived at the club Greg Sloggett: It has been really good this year. I have enjoyed it since I came in and I was coming in to a dressing room, a large dressing room full of winners. They are the best calibre of player in the country but that is where you want to be.

It’s the best dressing room in the country and it’s a big challenge but a good challenge. I want to test myself against the best and it can only improve me as a player and a person. I am meeting the challenge

head on and it has been good so far. It has been great to be involved and I have come in and played a lot to begin the season which is great but I want to keep getting better and I want to challenge myself to continue.

DFC Magazine: The deal was done quite early at the back end of last season. Was that intentional?

GS: I knew I was going away in the off season so it was something I wanted to get done quickly. I had four-five years at UCD with non stop action, I didn’t really have any sort of break with college and college football running through the season.

There was also the league matches with the senior team as well so I knew I needed a break at the end of the season. I didn’t want to be worried when I was halfway across the world! I wanted to ensure that I had the deal done as early as possible and as soon as Dundalk came in, once I knew they were

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interested it was a no brainer for me. My decision was made easy and it was great to get it done early. It put my mind at ease and I had some enjoyable time off. I came back with a fresh head for the new season and I think I felt the benefits of it.

DFCM: Tell us about your beginnings in football…

GS: I started when I was six, I would have been following my two brothers who are both two and three years older than me. It gave me the incentive to go and be better than them and I always grew up wanting that! That was always my intention.

My dad had us into football early on too so it came from there and I was able to carry it on there. I spent six years at Home Farm and a year at St Kevin’s Boys too which was great for me and I learned a lot during my spells there.

It set me up well and I went on to UCD then which was a brilliant experience for me.

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BIG INTERVIEW

GREG SLOGGETT DFCM: You had a stint at UCD... how would you sum up your time at Belfield?

GS: I loved the university. It was a great time for me and playing football every week was amazing too. The football that they played there was brilliant, it gives you a great platform to go and play football at a great level. When I initially went there they were in the Premier Division and then got relegated just a couple of months into my term there. I had four

good years in the first division, I notched up nearly a century of appearances and got to the FAI Cup semifinal against Dundalk too actually. They were back in the Premier when I moved to Derry City. It was great for me and on top of that, you play so many other college games throughout the week.

It’s not just the senior team, there is other competitions to be played and you get so many matches to play.

There’s a lot and it’s great to be playing so much. It’s a pressure

free environment to go and play football.

DFCM: You are following a pathway that has been championed by others – Andy Boyle, David McMillan, Ciaran Kilduff to name a few – is that something you were aware of when you were coming here?

GS: There have been a lot through the years but if you look across the league, there’s so many different players at every club that have come through UCD. I have noticed it and I know there have been

Greg Sloggett during the UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round match between Inter Escaldes and Dundalk in Andorra.

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BIG INTERVIEW

GREG SLOGGETT are highly regarded in their attitude, the like way that they conduct themselves and it stands to me that previous players have done that, it stands to me that the previous players have put in good performances and hopefully I can continue that tradition so more UCD players can benefit from it.

DFCM: You had a year with Derry City, how was that?

Greg Sloggett and Greg Bolger during the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium

quite a few here over the years. There have been plenty of players who have gone on from UCD while I was there too so I have been aware of it and it’s a good path to go down. It’s one of those that you look at as a

good omen. I did the same going to Derry City as well but you have to go and do the work yourself to go down that route. You can only move on if you work hard and your performances are good enough. UCD players

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GS: It was pretty good at Derry. It was my first experience really of being away from home for a prolonged period of time just for football.

So that was a test in itself but I enjoyed the experience. Playing thirty something games of Premier Division football and achieving European qualification is something which was great for me. It was the perfect year for me to build on the time that I had had at UCD. I owe my move to Dundalk off the back of my performances for Derry City and I am grateful to the club and it was a year that I really enjoyed with a great group of lads and a great club in the

Greg Sloggett has a shot on goal during the UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round match between Inter Escaldes and Dundalk in Andorra.

Brandywell.

DFCM: How have you enjoyed Europe this season?

GS: It wasn’t the start that we wanted in the Champions League but it has been good since then. We have had two wins in a row and they have been fantastic

experiences. They are amazing to be a part of and especially the win over Sheriff last year. The big thing about Europe is that it is a test of fitness and last week was exactly that. It was tough but a great win in the end and it was great to get through. We want

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to make sure that we finish the job and get through DFCM: Finally, what are your thoughts on tonight’s opponents?

GS: They are a good side, you don’t get to this stage of the competition without being a good side and from what we have seen of them they are good with the ball and press without so we know we are going to have a difficult game.

It’s a Europa League playoff and they are the kinds of matches that you want to be involved in and we are looking forward to it, we would love to create another bit of history by qualifying for the group stages again and hopefully we can.

EUROPEAN GAMES IN DUBLIN

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME! Since Dundalk FC first participated in European competition back in 1963, tonight is the ninth occasion on which we’ve had to ‘up sticks’ and temporarily move our ‘home’ to Dublin to host a European game! Padraig McGowan looks back at some memorable - and not so memorable - moments in the capital.

When teams from our capital city visit Oriel Park for games, they get the usual ‘provincial’ welcome chant of ‘You Dirty Dublin so and so’s!’. Of course, they reply in a similar vein!

Over the years there has always been an extremely keen rivalry between our beloved

European Cup game against Dynamo Dresden at Oriel Park.

Since we first participated in European competition back in 1963, tonight is the ninth occasion on which we’ve had to ‘up sticks’ and temporarily move our ‘home’ to Dublin to host a European game!

estimated crowd of 20,000.

Unfortunately, the night did not go well, as the ‘home’ side were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline. Two weeks later, Dundalk made history in the return leg when they became the first League of Ireland side to record an away win

Lining up for the Champions League playoff tie against Legia Warsaw at the Aviva Stadium in 2016

border club and the clubs from Dublin. However, we’ve had cause to be grateful to our Dublin opponents for putting their grounds at our disposal when Oriel Park has been deemed unsuitable for hosting the big games in European competition. Of course, we’ve also returned the favour, and in 1978 Bohemians played a

After finishing the 1962/63 season as league champions, Dundalk made their European debut against FC Zurich of Switzerland in the first round of the European Champions Cup on September 11th, 1963.

Because Oriel Park didn’t have floodlights at the time, the match was played at Dalymount Park in front of an 44

in European competition by winning 2-1 in Zurich, Dermot Cross and the legendary Jimmy Hasty with the goals. An interesting aside from the first leg was the fact that due to a clash of colours, Dundalk were forced to play in a change strip and lined out in a red and white strip borrowed from a junior club Arsenal!

After floodlights were installed at Oriel Park in 1967, Dundalk’s subsequent European home games were played at the Carrick Road venue, with much success. European aristocrats such as PSV Eindhoven, Hajduk Split, Glasgow Celtic, Porto and Tottenham all failed to record wins against the home side - an incredible feat.

While Dundalk played Malmo in a UEFA Cup tie at United Park in 1995, our next ‘home’ European tie at a Dublin venue was the visit of Varteks Varazdin of Croatia to Tolka Park in 2002. Oriel Park was unable to host the game as it didn’t have sufficient seating capacity to meet UEFA’s revised stadium

standards! However, as things

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turned out, seating capacity wasn’t an issue as a crowd of just over 400 turned up for the game in Drumcondra. This game was a dead rubber after the Lilywhites were blitzed 5-0 in the away leg two weeks previously and Dundalk limped out of the competition on a 9-0 aggregate score.

Our next trip to the capital for a European game was a much more memorable occasion.

Trailing 1-0 from the first-leg defeat against BATE Borisov in Belarus a week earlier, Dundalk hosted their opponents in Tallaght Stadium for the return leg of the Champions League second qualifying round tie and who will ever forget the joyous scenes as the ‘home’ side defeated the muchfancied Belarusians 3-0, a very emphatic victory.

This was an incredible performance and meant that Dundalk were now in the Champions League playoff round, and safe in the knowledge that even if they did not progress in the Champions League, they were guaranteed a place in the Europa League group stage! David McMillan, with a brace, and Robbie Benson, with an exquisitely taken third goal, were the

Ciaran Kilduff makes history, scoring the winner against Maccabi Tel Aviv at Tallaght back in 2016

heroes on the night! Nobody cared that the game ended in a downpour, we’d made history in what, for me, was the most exhilarating Dundalk European performance I’ve ever witnessed!

Another change of ‘home’ venue came in the subsequent Champions League playoff round against Legia Warsaw of Poland, which took place at the Aviva Stadium, or ‘The Dublin Arena’ as it was temporarily renamed in August 2016. A good overall performance by

the home side was blighted by a very soft penalty and a late second goal by our Polish visitors. Of course, Dundalk nearly pulled off a major shock the following week in Warsaw with a splendidly taken Robbie Benson goal. However, and even down to 10 men, the Poles grabbed a late equaliser meaning that Dundalk had to settle for ‘consolation prize’ of the Europa League group stage!

All three of our Europa League Group D ‘home’ games against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zenit St 46

Petersburg and AZ Alkmaar were played at Tallaght Stadium that year. It became our second home for the three months of September, October and November 2016, and we have special memories of those wonderful games. After the Lilywhites become the first League of Ireland side to earn a point in the group stages of a European competition, better was yet to come and on September 29th, 2016, Dundalk FC became the first League of Ireland side to record a win in

the group stages of a European competition with a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel. After scoring the equaliser against AZ Alkmaar, Ciaran Kilduff was once again the hero with the crucial goal.

Incredibly in our next ‘home’ game against Zenit, an opening goal from Robbie Benson momentarily lifted us top of Group D. Things could have got even better had a Dane Massey shot hit the net rather than the post but that was as good as it got and the Russians

finally got on top to run out 2-1 winners. Our final ‘home’ game in Group D was against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and the long season finally caught up with the Lilywhites who slipped to a 1-0 defeat in a very disappointing game.

Defeat in the last group game against Maccabi signalled the end of our ‘magical’ European adventure, one which will never be forgotten.

Our last European game in the capital was just last year when we hosted Slovan Bratislava in 47

the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.

A narrow 1-0 defeat in Slovakia in the first leg meant that hopes were high of progressing to the playoff round but the brilliance of the Slovan goalkeeper, Dominik Greif, who repelled Dundalk’s best efforts meant that the Slovaks ran out 3:1 winners on the night. That takes us up to tonight’s game against KI of the Faroes. Let’s hope that we can add another successful chapter to our list of ‘home away from home’ European adventures!

1989: BARRY KEHOE’S TESTIMONIAL

A GALA NIGHT AT ORIEL PARK! On Monday, June 5th 1989, a crowd of 6,000 people, along with some of the biggest names in football, packed into Oriel Park to pay tribute to one of the town’s favourite sons, Barry Kehoe. Gavin McLaughlin looks back at a memorable night and the events leading up to it.

G

rowing up in the 1980s, I had two footballing idols. Both were midfielders, the proper, box-to-box version that seems to be going out of fashion with every passing year. I didn’t know it back then, but, as faith would have it, they once played together. More on that later.

Bryan Robson was a dynamo who would single-handedly drag his team through matches.

Manchester United’s season would invariably hit the wall when he got injured and England might even have gone on to win the World Cup in 1986 had he not dislocated his shoulder. He signed for United nine days before I was born, drove a Jaguar and had a boot deal with New Balance - 30 years before anyone had even heard of them! Captain Marvel with the number seven on his back but plying his trade across the water, viewable only on the TV. He was a distant hero.

The second was a lot closer to home. He wore the number eight shirt, driving Dundalk to league and FAI Cup success with some memorable performances and goals, and

looked at home in the company of top English and European stars.

What made it even better was that he was one of our own.

In the Redeemer Boys School, where lads had allegiances to different English clubs, he was the one player that would unite everyone. Before Richie Towell, before Stephen O’Donnell, before Daryl Horgan and before Patrick Hoban, there was Barry Kehoe. The player that every Dundalk fan wanted to be. The

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hometown hero.

Barry’s story is well documented, a tale of glory on the field set against the harsh backdrop of sickness off it. In 1983, at the age of 20, he was diagnosed with cancer, but he fought his way back to full health, overcoming the illness with a determination that was the hallmark of Barry Kehoe the footballer and five years later, he led the Lilywhites to a league and cup double. Just seven months after bringing the FAI Cup over the Hill Street Bridge, Barry had played his penultimate league game for the club. A major heart operation revealed that the cancer that had infected his body six years earlier had returned for another joust.

As he resumed the battle, the people of Dundalk, along with some of the biggest names in football, came out in force to pay tribute to one of the town’s favourite sons at his testimonial in June 1989.

A STAR IS BORN Born on September 12th, 1962 and reared in Pearse Park, Barry lined out for St Dominic’s in the Dundalk Schoolboys League and was

The cover of Barry Kehoe’s testimonial programme. Left: Barry in action against Celtic in a friendly game in 1981

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Barry Kehoe and Jim McLaughlin, pictured with a number of Dundalk FC supporters, including Vincent Cranny (centre) after the league title win in 1982.

part of Tommy Connolly’s starstudded Dundalk youth side that won an AUL treble in 1980/1981. International recognition followed with Eamon Dunphy picking him for the Republic of Ireland Youth squad and he made four appearances for the Dundalk first-team that season with Jim McLaughlin handing him his debut in a Leinster Senior Cup tie at home to Bohemians on September 25th, 1980. In direct opposition was a Bohs debutant who would go toe-to-toe with Barry in many a battle over the next eight years, Paul Doolin.

Barry’s league bow came in a 3-0 win over Waterford in February 1981 with his first goal coming a week later as Dundalk beat Shamrock Rovers 2-1 at Oriel Park.

McLaughlin’s side finished the season with the FAI Cup,

League Cup and President’s Cup on the sideboard but the Derryman was already looking to the future and following a post-season youth

games during the 1981/82 campaign. He scored four times as Dundalk clinched their sixth league title. Their double hopes were ended after a third - yes, a third - FAI Cup semi-final replay against Bohs. At this stage, his performances were I’VE PICKED UP A REAL GEM OF beginning to attract the A PLAYER IN FRANCE. HE HAS A attention of cross-channel BIG FUTURE IN THE GAME AND HE clubs and he starred WILL GO A LONG WAY. HE’S FROM in both of Dundalk’s DUNDALK AND HIS NAME IS BARRY European Cup Winners KEHOE. Cup matches against a Tottenham Hotspur side JIM MCLAUGHLIN which included stellar names such as Ray tournament in France, he Clemence, Chris Hughton, Ossie revealed his plans for 1981/82 Ardiles, Tony Galvin, Garth to the local papers. “I’ve picked Crooks, Steve Archibald and up a real gem of a player in Glenn Hoddle. After two thrilling France,” he said. “He has a encounters, including a secondbig future in the game and he leg, played in front of 33,000 will go a long way. He’s from people at White Hart Lane, the Dundalk and his name is Barry Lilywhites bowed out 2-1 on Kehoe.” aggregate. A man-of-the-match McLaughlin’s words bore fruit display and a goal for good as Barry played in all 30 league measure followed in a friendly

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Barry Kehoe in action for Dundalk, wearing in an unfamiliar red strip, against Tottenham Hotspur’s Garth Crooks in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1981. Below: The Manchester United team that played Barnet in 1982.

win over Celtic at Oriel Park in December 1981 and suddenly Barry was on his way to Manchester United for a trial.

Accompanied by McLaughlin, Barry flew to Manchester in March 1982. He was joined on the plane by a shy Dubliner by the name of Paul McGrath. A meeting with United manager Ron Atkinson followed and Barry was informed that he would be playing on the left-hand side of midfield in a friendly against Barnet that evening!

Alongside him were three relative unknowns: Ray Wilkins, Steve Coppell and a certain Bryan Robson! Dubliner Anto Whelan, who later played for Dundalk in the mid-nineties, partnered Martin Buchan at centre-back as United won 2-0. The goals came from two Irishmen, Frank Stapleton scoring a penalty just seven minutes after the trialist wearing the number 10 shirt, B Kehoe, had put United ahead!

Despite rave reviews from Atkinson, United never followed up their interest, a decision that

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left McLaughlin bewildered.

“To this day, I cannot understand why they never signed Barry,” he wrote in 1989. “He was certainly the best player on the pitch that night - and that includes Robson and Wilkins.” Further trials with Liverpool and Luton Town followed at the end of the League of Ireland season.

Never one to miss an opportunity, teammate Tommy McConville, who also saw a move to Old Trafford slip through his fingers years earlier, christened Barry, ‘The Judge’. Another chance of a breakthrough arrived at the beginning of the 1982/83 season when he went on trial with Manchester City on a tour of Germany and Greece but things went pear-shaped and Barry, approaching his 20th birthday, refocused on the domestic campaign ahead, unaware of what was lying in wait.

Barry Kehoe, pictured training at Oriel Park in 1987. Photo: Billy Strickland/INPHO

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Barry Kehoe, who missed the game with an injury, celebrating Dundalk’s league win against St Patrick’s Athletic in 1988.

Chairman Eamonn Hiney holds the league trophy — the big gold ball — while Turlough O’Connor sips on champagne

TURBULENT TIMES Trouble started to brew in October 1982 when Barry experienced a bout of dizzy spells after being hit in the stomach by a ball during a League Cup tie with St Patrick’s Athletic. It later transpired that the blow had irritated cancer cells in his body. Two months later, and with the dizziness showing no signs of abating, he was sent to the Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for a check-up.

An infection in the lower abdomen was the diagnosis and in January 1983, Barry had infected cells removed and sent for analysis. A course of radium treatment at St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin was prescribed and Barry would stay in his sister’s house in Finglas four days a week, returning home to Dundalk at the weekends where he would go and watch his teammates in action.

Life took another vicious turn when his father died on February 11th, 1983 and two months later, on April 22nd, he underwent a check-up in the

Lourdes. The results weren’t good and a new form of treatment called chemotherapy was advised with Barry assured that it had a 100% success rate.

Three days later in St Luke’s, he was told otherwise, and the word ‘cancer’ was mentioned for the first time. Up to that point, he was told he had a disease.

For five days a month between May and August 1983, he endured the nauseating effects of chemotherapy but he kept himself strong and fit, taking part in five-a-side matches, training with Dundalk teammates McConville and Richie Blackmore, and even lining out in the Summer League. In September 1983, Barry received the perfect 21st birthday present: the all-clear.

He had beaten his most difficult opponent.

Football became his focus once again and on October 20th, 1983, just short of a year since his last appearance, he made an emotional return to the Dundalk team in a Leinster Senior Cup tie against Athlone 54

Town. With Jim McLaughlin now at Shamrock Rovers, Barry had to try and impress new manager John Dempsey, who lasted less than a season in the hot seat before he was replaced

by Tommy Connolly. The arrival of Turlough O’Connor in May 1985, however, gave Dundalk fresh impetus. At the end of the 1985/86 season, ‘Turlie’ wanted to put Barry on the transfer list.

Whether it was a psychological move or not, the shock tactic worked and Barry, now married to his sweetheart Adrienne, daughter of former Dundalk chairman Enda McGuill, responded with his finest season in years as the Lilywhites finished runners-up in the league and FAI Cup, won the League Cup and secured a place in Europe. They went one better in 1988 with Barry an integral part of a memorable league and cup doublewining side. I’ll never forget the day himself and Dessie Gorman brought the trophies - remember the big gold ball? to the Redeemer.

The injured duo of Barry Kehoe and Terry Eviston pictured before Dundalk’s 2–0 loss against Derry City at The Brandywell in January 1989. Picture: The Argus. Inset: Barry in action against Red Star Belgrade’s Robert Prosinecki in the European Cup tie at Oriel Park in 1988. Picture: The Argus

1988/89 The 1988/89 season started promisingly for Barry and Dundalk. As league champions, O’Connor’s men were handed a crack at Yugoslavian kingpins Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup. Barry played in the first leg at Oriel Park where Red Star produced an exhibition, winning 5-0, but missed the second leg with a calf injury.

On home soil, Dundalk were still the team to beat, losing just once in their opening 23 domestic games. The sole defeat was a telling one with McLaughlin’s Derry City cruising to the League Cup with a 4-0 demolition job at Oriel Park in October 1988. Off the field, Barry made his foray into the business world with Mr Ridley’s officially opening a month later. To this day, it remains a landmark of the town.

After scoring what proved to be his final goal for the club in the 1-1 draw away to Shamrock Rovers on November 25th, the last of Barry’s 15 appearances of the campaign came on December 4th in the less than glamorous surroundings of St Colman’s Park. O’Connor’s double winners

slumped to their first league defeat of the season against a Cobh Ramblers side that had failed to win in any of their previous 13 outings. A groin strain was cited as the reason for his absence but, unfortunately, there were more malevolent forces at work. A routine medical visit suggested he had a heart murmur. Further tests were carried out at the Mater Hospital in Dublin and bad news followed from Professor Declan Sugrue. “I’m afraid you have a growth on the right ventricle of your heart,” he told Barry. “If it’s malignant, you’ll need more chemotherapy. If it’s benign, we’ll have to operate.”

In January 1989, Dundalk’s bid for back-to-back titles suffered a heavy blow when they were beaten 2-0 by Derry City at the Brandywell. Days later, Barry - who was pictured before the game with the injured Terry Eviston - underwent major surgery to remove a cyst from a valve on his heart. After weeks of immense pain and trauma which saw his lungs collapse and infection set in, Barry was informed that a tiny particle of malignancy had appeared in the heart biopsy and that chemotherapy was needed.

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MCCLAIR’S MEMORIES In the meantime, work had started on putting his testimonial together. Pat D’Arcy, the ghostwriter of Barry’s story, ‘My Most Difficult Opponent’ recalls the conversations that got the ball rolling. “I remember sitting around with Enda McGuill, his wife Noreen, his son Gerry and Reina and Jim McLaughlin. We were chatting about Barry and his health situation. It wasn’t good and it looked as if his career would once again be coming to an end. He was back on chemotherapy at the time and the talk centred on doing something for him. He had been through everything, got over it, made a comeback, and now was facing another battle. The club was more than willing to help out and give him a special testimonial, especially as he was approaching his 10th season.”

Discussions were held between Enda McGuill, Des Casey, Jack Charlton and members of the Republic of Ireland squad prior to the World Cup qualifier with Spain in April 1989 and a game between a Barry Kehoe Selection and a Republic of Ireland XI was mooted for June 5th, 24 hours

after the Boys In Green were due to meet Hungary in a qualifier at Lansdowne Road.

Early reports stated that Liverpool’s Stephen Staunton would, once again, pull on a Dundalk shirt for the game and there was real excitement when it was confirmed that Manchester United duo Brian McClair and Mal Donaghy would play for the Kehoe Selection.

The addition of McClair - who said he would “cycle from the airport” in order to be involved - was a real coup for the organisers. After moving to Old Trafford from Celtic in the summer of 1987 he went on to score 24 times, becoming the first United player to hit 20 league goals in a season since a certain George Best, 20 years earlier.

“I remember the game and the event very well,” said McClair. “Alex Ferguson told me about Barry’s background and the way he overcame his illness to get on with his life and career and he asked me would I go over and play in it. It was a great weekend.

I was treated brilliantly by Barry and his family from the moment I arrived in Dundalk.

We had a great couple of days.

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I remember there was a great crowd at the game and there were some really good laughs at the dinner after it. Barry was so humble and had a great attitude about everything,” he added. “What it did was make me appreciate every single day.” The Scot, who lined out for Celtic in a friendly at Oriel Park five years earlier, returned to the Carrick Road in 1994 with a United side who had to come from two goals down to beat Dundalk in Gino Lawless’ testimonial. It’s a game that was made famous by Eddie Van Boxtel, who became the first goalkeeper to stop an Eric Cantona penalty! “It was a good save,” recalled McClair. “It had to be to keep one of Eric’s penalties out!”

MY MOST DIFFICULT OPPONENT Player sponsorship, costing €250, was quickly snapped up with a jersey, match tickets and passes to the Gala Dinner in the Imperial Hotel and, more importantly, the disco in Tivoli’s afterwards, on offer to sponsors. Local company Riverside Manufacturing agreed to meet the cost of the international team’s

accommodation. A special 64-page programme, titled ‘My Most Difficult Opponent’ was produced for the game and is widely recognised as one of the best Irish football publications of all time.

It’s a compelling read, the result of many hours of conversation between Barry and Pat D’Arcy.

“Myself and Barry were good friends and we’d often meet, either in Enda McGuill’s office at The Square or with Jim McLaughlin,” said D’Arcy. “I made the suggestion to him that he should tell his story.

It was a great one. There was the history of a lot of the soccer life of the town tied up in Barry’s life, many mighty men and women had an influence on him, and the whole story was well worth telling. He thought about my suggestion for a while, maybe 10 seconds, and said he would if I would write it. So away we went.

“It didn’t take so long. Barry came round to my house whenever he had the time, and talked. I asked him some questions but he was a fantastic storyteller, he could tell the

story, with all its pain and pathos, humour and fears. We planned a structure and Barry had a clear idea of the things he wanted to say and the people he wanted to credit with helping him in life. The story just unfolded. I typed it all

this way, we worked our way through his life story.”

Writing in his ‘Fans Eye View’ column, Kieran Lawless wrote that Barry’s ‘dignified and courageous battle against illness has been an example to us all and taught us to place our own trifling problems in perspective. At a time when it seems football is BARRY CAME ROUND TO MY in danger of being taken HOUSE WHENEVER HE HAD THE over completely by thugs, TIME, AND TALKED. I ASKED HIM chancers and messers, it is SOME QUESTIONS BUT HE WAS A a pleasure to salute Barry FANTASTIC STORYTELLER, HE COULD Kehoe’. There were tributes TELL THE STORY, WITH ALL ITS PAIN from Charlton and the Irish squad with McGrath AND PATHOS, HUMOUR AND FEARS. recalling their short stint WE PLANNED A STRUCTURE AND together at Old Trafford.

BARRY HAD A CLEAR IDEA OF THE ‘We had a couple of good THINGS HE WANTED TO SAY AND THE nights together on the town PEOPLE HE WANTED TO CREDIT WITH in Manchester and Barry is HELPING HIM IN LIFE. THE STORY JUST a great fella. I am sad for UNFOLDED. him that things didn’t work PAT D’ARCY out better but I know he looks on the positive side up on my wee Apple of everything. I am happy to IIc computer and saved the be in a position to help a fellow wonderful words on these big professional. Good luck, Barry!’ floppy disks. We’d chat about Staunton also penned a few something, I’d write it up, save it words, saying that he ‘used to to disk, print it, and Barry would take enjoyment watching Barry read through it at our next play for Dundalk when I was a meeting, checking for accuracy, fan standing on the terraces.’ putting in further memories, The most poignant piece came impressions, thoughts. In from his old manager, Jim

“

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Left: ‘Dundalk’s Brian McClair and Mal Donaghy chat with Mick Neville and Gino Lawless in the line-up. Right: Peter Reid, Tony Galvin and Mal Donaghy go off at half-time. Pictures: Thomas Gorman

Barry enjoys a kickabout with his nephews before the game.

Picture: Dundalk Democrat

McLaughlin, who stated that: ‘A special bond has developed between myself and Barry that some people find hard to understand. We have formed a deep and lasting friendship which I value so highly.’

Details of the game were made public during Dundalk’s 1-1 draw at home to struggling Galway United on March 27th, 1989, a result that all but ended their title hopes. Making his first appearance at Oriel Park in some time, Barry was given a fantastic reception by the Lilywhites support and it was confirmed that Big Jack Charlton would be bringing his Boys In Green to Oriel Park on Whit Monday, June 5th at 7pm.

On the field, Kehoe’s absence was keenly felt in the run-in as Dundalk relinquished their hold on the FAI Cup, losing 1-0 to Cork City in a quarterfinal replay at Turner’s Cross, with Derry City beating Cobh Ramblers in their final league

game to put the seal on an unprecedented domestic treble. ’A GALA EXPERIENCE’ Described by the Democrat as a ‘feast of football’ the big night itself saw over 6,000 people turn out to pay homage to one of Dundalk’s favourite sons. There were cheers even before a ball was kicked when Barry, flanked by Enda McGuill and Turlough O’Connor to his right, and Adrienne and Eamon Hiney to his left, signed a new contract for the 1989/90 season. Barry later revealed that the contract was for €1 a week but it was a fine gesture from the Dundalk board and one that showcased their steadfast belief that Barry would recover from his latest setback.

The ‘Barry Kehoe Selection’ comprised of an all-star cast.

Barry’s Dundalk teammates Alan O’Neill, Gino Lawless, Martin Lawlor, Dessie Gorman and Terry Eviston were joined 58

by Cork City’s dual star Dave Barry - a thorn in the side of both the Lilywhites and the Louth senior GAA team just weeks earlier - and the Derry City trio of Paul Doolin, Liam Coyle and Mick Neville, fresh off the back of a domestic treble with the Candystripes.

“Myself and Barry both got married on the same day back in 1986,” explained Neville. “Me and my wife were going on our honeymoon and into the airport walks Barry and Adrienne. We shook hands with each other and congratulated each other.

‘Where are you going?’ I asked him.

‘Portugal,’ was his reply.

‘Same as myself,’ I said, ‘What part?’

‘Don’t know,’ said Barry.

‘I don’t know either, to be honest, Portugal is all I know’.

Myself and the wife got on the bus to go out to the plane and it turns out Barry and Adrienne

are on it. We board the plane and it turns out Barry and Adrienne are on it! We got off the plane, said our goodbyes again but, lo and behold, Barry and Adrienne are on the bus to the same place - for two weeks!

“We became great friends after that and he invited me up to play in the testimonial.

Ireland played a World Cup qualifier the night before and there was a fierce smell of drink coming from somewhere,” laughed Neville.

“I remember the craic in the hotel before the game. Peter Reid was wearing a tricky tie and he got some stick over it!

I remember he gave it up for auction later in the evening.

It was the only time I played for Dundalk. Enda McGuill was trying to get me to play for them for years and he was finally happy to see me wearing the white shirt! A friend of mine actually bought the jersey I wore at the auction and he gave it back to me. I still have it at home. It was a great day and a great event.”

Willie Crawley and Ollie Ralph, two of Kehoe’s close friends and former Dundalk teammates, came off the bench while

the stardust was added by McClair, Donaghy and England international midfielder Peter Reid. The picture of all three wearing a Dundalk shirt is still a bit surreal to this day.

“It might be harder for something like that to happen now because there are so many international games on at the end of the season but I’m sure most players would be happy to come out and play in a game like that,” said McClair. “I’m no different from anyone else. I had an extraordinary job playing football. It was a cracking cause and one I’m delighted to have been involved in.”

Charlton stuck to his promise and six of the players who were involved in the 2-0 win over Hungary the previous night were named in his starting XI. Those who were absent all had good reasons. Packie Bonner was in Donegal for a prior engagement while Kevin Moran, then of Sporting Gijon, had to return to Spain. With summer holidays booked, Everton’s Kevin Sheedy and Liverpool’s John Aldridge had to make their way back to Merseyside while Paul McGrath, who scored against Hungary, missed out 59

through injury. He was still present, though, happily signing autographs and posing for pictures for supporters before regaling the crowd with stories at the Gala in the Imperial afterwards.

The player most conspicuous by his absence was Staunton.

An FA Cup winner with Liverpool just over two weeks earlier, the former Clan na Gael star had to miss out due to his involvement with the Republic of Ireland U21s at the Toulon Tournament in France. Local referee, Denis McArdle, missed the game for the same reason.

A Dundalk man who was on the Anfield books at the time did pull on the green jersey that night.

Nineteen-year-old John Smith was a former teammate of Staunton’s in the Dundalk Youths set-up who signed for the Reds in 1987. He was digesting his dinner at his family home in Dowdallshill when the phone rang. On the other end of the line was Des Casey, the former FAI president telling Smith to grab his boots and make his way to Oriel Park where he had to report to a Mr J Charlton!

60

The Argus described it as ‘more of an exhibition than a game’ but the crowd were football question anybody treated to an entertaining 2-2 could throw at him. I got a draw. Liam Brady, who dictated great photo with him,” recalled the tempo, created the opening Dundalk supporter, Alan Moran. goal for John Byrne, whose After the razzmatazz of that effort flew past Alan O’Neill Monday night, real-life hit home and a familiar face made it 2-0 two days later. An infection to the Charlton Selection with meant that Barry’s final round Martin Lawlor turning the ball of chemo, which was due to past his teammate for an own start in April, was pushed back goal. The popular full-back saw until after the testimonial but it the funny side of it afterwards, did little to quell his resilience. “I quipping to the Democrat that have no doubts I will overcome it was ‘great to score for my it again and I want to get back country’. playing,” he told The Argus.

The ‘hosts’, with Lawless “It’s too early to say whether I showing no signs of will but my first priority is to holding back, came get back to living an ordinary back into it after the life. I have been unfortunate break. Coyle came off the bench to replace BARRY KEHOE, A YOUNG PLAYER Gorman at half-time OF IMPECCABLE CHARACTER, HAS and pulled one back GIVEN DUNDALK AN INJECTION OF early in the second INSPIRATION. EVERY TIME HE GETS half. The game also THE BALL, A BUZZ OF EXPECTANCY proved to be Dessie’s last RUNS AROUND ORIEL PARK BECAUSE in a Dundalk shirt. Less THE CROWD KNOW THAT HE IS than a fortnight later, ‘The SOMETHING SPECIAL. Hawk’ was on his way

“

“

to French third division club Bourges in a deal worth €35,000. The equaliser came 15 minutes before the end when Lawless - who received a talking to from the referee for a typically robust challenge on Gerry Peyton in the first half beat the Irish goalkeeper with a fine drive, much to the delight of the Oriel Park faithful!

At the reception that followed in the Imperial, Barry received a standing ovation that lasted several minutes after making a speech of ‘remarkable wit and humour’ while Bob Wilson, of sponsors Harp Lager, described him as ‘one of the best ambassadors that football has ever had’ and said that he was a ‘tremendous influence, not only in Dundalk but throughout the country.’ It was a night to remember, a fitting occasion and one which will live long in the memory.

“After the game, Peter Reid was holding court in the hallway in Ridleys answering any

but every man and woman who develops the illness says the same. I realise, however, that I am lucky when I go up to the hospital and see people who are worse. All I’m interested in now is getting the treatment finished, enjoying my testimonial, having a good holiday and getting back to work and enjoying a normal life again.”

The next time Kehoe would pull on a Dundalk shirt came eight months later in a friendly with Rock Celtic that marked the Blackrock club’s 20th anniversary. He made just one further league appearance for the Lilywhites, coming off the bench in a 1-0 defeat at home to Sligo Rovers on January 31st, 1992 and four years later, after linking up with McLaughlin on the south side of Co Louth, he literally guided Drogheda United to their very first FAI Cup win over his beloved Dundalk, deputising for the ill 61

and absent Jim in the dugout.

His sudden passing from heart failure in 2002 shocked the town with tributes pouring in from across the football world. Gerry Prendergast, a former colleague of mine in the Dundalk Democrat, penned a tribute piece for the 2002 FAI Cup final programme, describing Barry as Dundalk’s ‘White Knight’.

In researching this piece, I came across a profile of Barry that was published in the match programme for Dundalk’s European Cup Winners Cup first leg tie with Spurs at Oriel Park.

It read: ’Barry Kehoe, a young player of impeccable character, has given Dundalk an injection of inspiration.

‘Every time he gets the ball, a buzz of expectancy runs around Oriel Park because the crowd know that he is something special. Added to his footballing skills is his manner. Nowhere would you meet a nicer person. You can be guaranteed a smile and a wave whenever you meet him.

What more can be said about Barry except that he’s got the world at his feet.’

Those words resonated with the youngster inside me who used to stand behind the dugouts at Oriel in the 1980s, hoping to catch a glimpse of his hero, our hero, the hometown hero, the one and only Barry Kehoe.

BARRY KEHOE SELECTION: Alan O’Neill (Dermot O’Neill), Gino Lawless, Martin Lawlor (Mick Shelley), Dave Barry (Ollie Ralph), Mick Neville, Mal Donaghy, Paul Doolin, Peter Reid, Brian McClair, Dessie Gorman (Liam Coyle), Terry Eviston (Willie Crawley).

JACK CHARLTON XI: Gerry Peyton, Chris Hughton (John Smith), Jim Beglin, David O’Leary (Joey Malone), Liam Brady, Andy Townsend (Pat Byrne), Ray Houghton (Noel King), John Byrne, Tony Galvin, Garry Waddock (Martin Murray), Tony Cascarino (Larry Wyse).

REFEREE: Paddy Daly.

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Which teams played in the 2014 FAI Cup Final?

Which teams played in the 2014 FAI Cup Final?

Lucky Dip! In whatDip! league do Swansea City now play?

Lucky Which Dutchman player managed Barnet and wore do Swansea City now play?

In what league the No1 jersey?

Which Dutchman player managed Barnet Who plays their home matches at Fir Park?and wore

the No1 jersey?

Who plays their home matches at Fir Park?

Andrew Quinn made his league debut for the club against Shamrock Rovers on Sunday

3

The number of Academy players who made their league debuts against Shamrock Rovers earlier in the week.

Defender Andrew Quinn started the game at right back wearing the number 12 jersey.

Normally a centre back for the Under 19s. It’s been a busy 12 months for the Meathman as he was part of the victorious Leinster Schoolboys side who won the interprovincial series last November before being selected for the national side and signing a professional contract at Dundalk.

The two other Academy players were former Malahide United forward Val Adedokun2019_14_Qarabag_60_p.indd the 17 year old has 41 been with the Lilywhites since Under 15 level, is an underage international and also signed

a professional contract at the outset of the 2020 season and Jamie Wynne.

Wynne is usually to be found on the wing and has played for the club at both Under 17 and Under 19 level as well as studying at the FAI-ETB Centre in Irishtown. He was part of an Irish ETB selection, alongside former Dundalk FC Academy goalkeeper David Odumosu, to travel to Cadiz at the end of 2019.

12

The jersey number worn by debutant Andrew Quinn against Shamrock Rovers during the week.

The eagle eyed amongst viewers may have noticed that his surname wasn’t present on the back of his jersey.

The black away kit worn by

Dundalk earlier in the season during the 3-2 defeat away at Tallaght Stadium also contained no names on the back of the jerseys that night.

Georgie Kelly appeared as a sub on that occasion before vacating the number 12 jersey after his loan move to St Patrick’s Athletic.

Thus number 12 became the only number to be worn both home and away against Shamrock Rovers this season by two different players and neither with a name on the back of the jersey.

Incidentally, Kelly is one of only two senior players to wear the number 45 jersey as a squad number, the other being Josh Gatt who started 19/07/2019 on Sunday against Shamrock Rovers- his first league start of the season.

Lucky Dip! 13: The EFL Championship / 14: Edgar Davids / 15: Motherwell FAI Cup 10: Ian Morris / 11: CIE Ranch / 12: St Patrick’s and Derry City

Lucky Dip! Premier Division 13: The EFL Championship / 14: Edgar Davids / 15: Motherwell 7: Limerick / 8: Bohemians / 9: Manchester City 65

21:20

1-0 2-1 3-0 2-3 4-0 1-1 4-1 1-0 4-2 2-1 1-1 1-2 1-0 2-2 0-3 1-3 2-0 3-2 1-0 1-1+ 0-4

x

FAIC: Extra.ie FAI Cup UCL: UEFA Champions League UEL: UEFA Europa League PRC: President’s Cup UUCC: Unite the Union Champions Cup TOTAL APPS/GOALS (excl. friendlies)

W W W L W D W W W W D L W D L L W W W D L

John MOUNTNEY

Patrick HOBAN

8

9

u t n

u u u u

u t u t1 n

t2 u t u

u t u

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u

n

n n n n n n l n

n n n n n u u1 t

n n n n n n n n l n n

n n n t n n

x x 9/0 2/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 14/0 �

t t t u

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9/0 2/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 14/0

n

t

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3/1 2/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 8/1

t n n n n

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8/0 2/1 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 13/1

n© n© n© n© n© u© u© u©

t u t1 t1 l u1 uP

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u u u

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11/0 2/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 16/0

u l t

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7/2 1/0 1/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 9/2

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10/4 2/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 15/4

t t u u1© t t t u l n t t t tu t

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6/0 2/0 0/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 10/0

t n t u

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u n t u n1 t u

n1 n1 n u n1 n u

n u l u

t n

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t u

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9/7 1/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 13/7

�

7/2 1/0 0/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 10/2

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4/0 1/0 1/0 1/0 0/0 0/0 7/0

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ROMA RESTAURANT 7 PARK STREET, DUNDALK

TEL 042 9334928 66

u t n n n

t

t

n1 n n

14 Dane MASSEY

Michael DUFFY 7

t t u© n© n©

12 Andrew QUINN

Jordan FLORES 6

t u u n

11 Patrick McELENEY

Chris SHIELDS

u u n

10 Greg SLOGGETT

Seán HOARE

Res. 7-1 W 1-2 L 0-2 L 2-0 W 2-1 W 0-1 L

5

K-O 7:45 5:00 4:00 7:45 7:30 7:45 PP 7:45 7:45 7:45 8:00 8:00 7:45 7:45 7:30 7:30 7:45 7:45 5:45 7:45 5:45 6:00 5:00 5:00 8:00 6:00 tbd 7:30 7:30 1:00 5:00 tbd 7:45 5:45 7:45 7:30 7:45 tbd tbd tbd

4

Opponents UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN CFR Cluj CSKA Moskva DROGHEDA UNITED Crusaders LONGFORD TOWN SHAMROCK ROVERS DERRY CITY Shelbourne CORK CITY Shamrock Rovers [RTÉ] Finn Harps DERRY CITY BOHEMIANS DROGHEDA UNITED ATHLONE TOWN LONGFORD TOWN SAINT PATRICK’S ATHLETIC [RTÉ] Bohemians [WATCHLOI] WATERFORD [R1] [WATCHLOI] WATERFORD [WATCHLOI] NK Celje [QR1] Sligo Rovers [WATCHLOI] Cobh Ramblers [R2] [WATCHLOI] SHELBOURNE [EIRSPORT] Inter Club d’Escaldes [QR2] Sheriff Tiraspol [QR3] SHAMROCK ROVERS [RTÉ] KÍ KLAKSVÍK [PO] Group Stage Draw [UEFA.com] FINN HARPS [WATCHLOI] Cork City [WATCHLOI] Saint Patrick’s Athletic [WATCHLOI] BOHEMIANS [WATCHLOI] Derry City [WATCHLOI] Waterford [WATCHLOI] SLIGO ROVERS [WATCHLOI] Bohemians [QF] tbd [SF] tbd [F] xLGE: SSE Airtricity League

Brian GARTLAND

Comp.

Frie Frie Frie Frie Frie Frie PRC LGE LGE LGE LGE LGE Frie Frie Frie Frie Frie LGE LGE FAIC LGE UCL LGE FAIC LGE UEL UEL LGE UEL UEL LGE LGE LGE LGE LGE LGE LGE FAIC FAIC FAIC

Seán GANNON

H/A H N* N* H A H H H A H A A H H H H H H A H H A** A A H A A H H+ H A A H A A H A N H

3

Date Fri 17 Jan Wed 22 Jan Fri 24 Jan Thu 30 Jan Mon 03 Feb Tue 04 Feb Sun 09 Feb Fri 14 Feb Fri 21 Feb Mon 24 Feb Fri 28 Feb Fri 06 Mar Fri 10 Jul Tue 14 Jul Fri 17 Jul Mon 20 Jul Tue 21 Jul Fri 31 Jul Fri 07 Aug Tue 11 Aug Fri 14 Aug Thu 20 Aug Sat 22 Aug Sun 30 Aug Fri 11 Sep Thu 17 Sep Thu 24 Sep Sun 27 Sep Thu 01 Oct Fri 02 Oct Sun 04 Oct tbd Fri 09 Oct Fri 16 Oct Mon 19 Oct Sat 24 Oct Fri 30 Oct tbd Sun 22 Nov Sun 29 Nov xApps/Goals

Gary ROGERS

2020 SEASON MATCH DATA

2

TEAMSTATISTICS

1

2020_08KI60_56_57.qxp_DFC: Matchday Magazine 29/09/2020 21:50 Page 1

8/1 1/1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 9/2

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4/0 1/0 1/0 2/0 0/0 0/0 8/0

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28 Lido LOTEFA

23 Cameron SMITH

25 Taner DOGAN t t t t n

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Pld W 13 11

D 2

L 0

F 34

A 7

+/- Pts +27 35

Bohemians Waterford

13 13

9 6

0 2

4 5

15 16

8 18

+7 -2

27 20

DUNDALK St Patrick’s Athletic Sligo Rovers Derry City Shelbourne

11 13 13 12 13

5 4 5 3 3

2 4 1 4 4

4 5 7 5 6

20 8 14 12 10

18 10 17 12 15

2 -2 -3 0 -5

17 16 16 13 13

Finn Harps

13

2

4

7

9

20

-11

10

Cork City

12

2

3

7

7

20

-13

9

Note: Data correct until Tuesday 29 September 2020 (7:30pm)

Fixtures Date Fri 02 Oct Sat 03 Oct Sun 04 Oct

l t t n1 l

t t

n n n

Standings Team Shamrock Rovers

Match Derry City v Waterford (5:45) Shamrock Rovers v Sligo Rovers (7:45) Cork City v St Patrick’s Ath. (5:00) Shelbourne v Bohemians (7:30) Dundalk v Finn Harps (5:00)

Note: Kick-offs are 7:45 unless otherwise stated

n n n

t

l l u t t l t u

12 George KELLY

44 Andy BOYLE

29 David McMILLAN

45 Joshua GATT

u1 t u t1

n

t t u

l u

1/0 1/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 2/0

u n1 t

t n t t u

u t n t u t u t

t t n u

n

27 Daniel KELLY

24 Jamie WYNNE

23 Cameron DUMMIGAN t

t

l t n

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22 Stefan ČOLOVIĆ

21 Daniel CLEARY

19 Val ADEDOKUN

u n

u u u u u

u1 tu

t u u

u

20 Aaron McCAREY

t

t1 u

18 Will PATCHING

17 Nathan ODUWA

16 Seán MURRAY

15 Darragh LEAHY

2020_08KI60_56_57.qxp_DFC: Matchday Magazine 29/09/2020 21:50 Page 2

Statistics Goals scored Total goals 145 (average: 2.30) Home goals 82 (average: 1.30) Away goals 63 (average: 1.00) Results Home wins 29 (46.0%) Draws 13 (20.7%) Away wins 21 (33.3%) Over/Under 2.5 goals Over 24 (38.1%) Under 39 (61.9%) Note: Players: Squad numbers not used in pre-season matches Starting: n / Not used: l / Player in: t / Player out: u / Captain: © Order of substitutions: 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5 and subsequent Goals: Listed by quantity (1, 2, 3, etc) Venue (H/A): N: Aviva Stadium, Dublin H*: Tallaght Stadium, Dublin H+: Aviva Stadium, Dublin

2/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 2/0

5/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 5/0

0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0

DUNDALK OIL CALL: 042 9334081 Heating oils - Road diesel/petrol Agri diesel - Fuel cards Lubricating oils 67

�

1/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 1/0

Other player/venue data Fri 17 Jan: Dundalk 7-1 University College Dublin t Gabriel Sava Wed 22 Jan: Dundalk 1-2 CFR Cluj N*: Played at Oliva Nova, Spain t Gabriel Sava Fri 24 Jan: Dundalk 0-2 CSKA Moskva N*: Played at Hotel Campoamor, Spain Thu 30 Jan: Dundalk 2-0 Drogheda United t Gabriel Sava / t Mark Hanratty Mon 03 Feb: Crusaders 1-2 Dundalk t Mark Hanratty / t Ronan Kilkenny / l Jamie Barry Tue 04 Feb: Dundalk 0-1 Longford Town t Mark Hanratty / t Gabriel Sava / t Ronan Kilkenny l Jamie Barry Fri 10 Jul: Dundalk 1-1 Derry City l Jimmy Corcoran Tue 14 Jul: Dundalk 4-1 Bohemians l Jimmy Corcoran Fri 17 Jul: Dundalk 1-0 Drogheda United l Jimmy Corcoran Mon 20 Jul: Dundalk 4-2 Athlone Town n Christian Jones (4) / n Jarlath Jones (21) / t Ronan Kilkenny (22) t Thomas Daly (16) / t Jeff Nwodo (15) / t Luke Hennessy (7) Tue 21 Jul: Dundalk 2-1 Longford Town l Jimmy Corcoran / l Ronan Kilkenny Thu 20 Aug: NK Celje 3-0 Dundalk N**: Played at Ferenc Szusza stadium, Budapest +Thu 24 Sep: Sheriff 1-1 (3-5) Dundalk Played at Stadionul Sheriff, Tiraspol Penalties: Čolović, Hoban, Hoare, McEleney and Shields all scored Sun 27 Sep: Dundalk 0-4 Shamrock Rovers l Jimmy Corcoran (30) / l Mark Traynor (13) l Mark Hanratty (25)

EXTRA TIME

THE SPECTATOR WE’VE COME A LONG WAY BABY! Andy Boyle leads the Lilywhites out against Jeunesse Esche from Luxembourg in our Europa League tie in 2014

Now it’s somehow apt in this strangest of strange seasons that The Spectator is taking the opportunity to not welcome you to our third choice home ground because the

champions of the 50th ranked country in Europe, with a rookie management team. GUBU. Grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre, unbelievable.

It’s strange times in Faroe Islands football too. Make no mistake, Faroese football is seriously on the up. The WHATEVER ABOUT THIS SEASON Faroes have won their two OF INSANITY IT’S BEEN A BARELY recent Nations League BELIEVABLE ROLLERCOASTER games, with half a dozen OF A DECADE AT DUNDALK. THE KI players involved. KI may ORIEL PARK LOVE AFFAIR WITH have ridden their luck with EUROPEAN FOOTBALL HAS GONE a walkover against Slovan, TO ANOTHER LEVEL. DURING JUST but their 6-1 thrashing of Dinamo Tbilisi in the last SEVEN SEASONS WE’VE EMBARKED round raised more than a ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY few eyebrows.

METAPHORICALLY, BUT ALSO Elsewhere in Europe this LITERALLY. season, B36 progressed through three Europa League rounds and Runavik other two aren’t up through one round. (We’ll to the standard required to ignore HB who endured the host zero fans, for a Europa ignominy of defeat to Irish League playoff tie against the League opposition.) Faroese

“

In October 2019, when the Lilywhites sealed a fifth league title in six years, which feels like a good decade ago at this stage, the suggestion that we’d be played a Faroese team in an empty Aviva Stadium for a place in the UEFA Europa League groups, with Vinny Perth and John Gill departed would have seemed far fetched.

“

Back in the early 1980s when Dundalk were a force in European football - some things never change, eh? the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey gave rise to an infamous acronym used to describe a particular political scandal of the time, GUBU- Grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre, unbelievable. It’s an acronym that could have been coined for Dundalk’s extraordinary 2020 season.

68

2016: Robbie Benson pulls the trigger in Warsaw

football is on a high, KI will be full of confidence, and let’s face it, they could hardly dream of a better opponent than the champions of the 37th best country in Europe at this rarified level of competition.

Whatever about this season of insanity it’s been a barely believable rollercoaster of a decade at Dundalk. The Oriel Park love affair with European football has gone to another level. During just seven seasons we’ve embarked on an extraordinary journey metaphorically, but also literally.

We’ve travelled from the

verge of the Arctic Circle to the Middle East, via Imperial Russia, the Pyrenees and the Caspian Sea, taking into Luxembourg, Croatia, Belarus, Iceland, Poland, Russia, Israel, Holland, Norway, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Andorra, Moldova, and Hungary to play a Slovenian side and now we’re hosting Faroese opposition for the first time in our unofficial home-away-from-home-awayfrom-home (that’s the Aviva as distinct from Tallaght as distinct from Oriel.... please try to keep up).

It’s tempting to say that 69

whatever happens tonight it’s been an amazing season in Europe, with the stunning and utterly deserved win last week against the experienced Sheriff a highlight, but we all know that failure to progress tonight would be an enormous opportunity lost. With Shamrock Rovers disappearing with half a league title under their oxter, we have an incredible opportunity to rescue our season in spectacular Hoops-eclipsing style.

Let’s be the first Irish club to qualify for group stage football twice, shall we? Forza Dundalk!

HALF-TIME CHALLENGE

THE QUIZ

2

5

6

Dundalk 1. Dundalk faced a Faroese international goalkeeper during their 2016 European run. What was his name?

2. From which club was Jordan Flores signed?

3. Which former Manchester Utd and Everton forward wore the number 12 jersey for Dundalk in 2018?

4. In what year did Dundalk play Hadjuk Split?

5. BATE Borisov were defeated 3-0 in 2016, who scored the third goal?

Europa League 6. Which side did Roy Hodgson lead to the 2006 Europa League Final?

7. Where did Zenit play Rangers in their Europa League Final?

8. Martin O’Neill’s Celtic lost to which José Mourinho outfit in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final?

9. Fred Friday played with which side against Dundalk in the 2016 RL Group Stages?

10. What nationality is former Zenit midfielder Giuliano?

Mixed Bag 11. Where are Tigres based?

12. Who is the manager of Derby County?

13. Which motor company are sponsors of Wolfsburg?

14. Mauro Icardi plays for which French side?

15. Michael O’Connor recently left Waterford to sign for which SPL side?

1. Gunnar Nielsen 2. Wigan Athletic 3. Sam Byrne 4. 2014 5. Robbie Benson 6. Fulham 7. Manchester 8. Porto 9. AZ Alkmaar 10. Brazilian 11. Mexico 12. Philip Cocu 13. Volkswagen 14. PSG 15. Ross County

15

ANSWERS 70

Anglo Printers Limited, Mell Industrial Estate, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, A92 FFH9.

Email: sales@angloprinters.ie

www.angloprinters.ie

Lo-Call: 1890 624 624

71

DUNDALK

KI KLAKSVIK

1 GARY ROGERS

1

KRISTIAN JOENSEN

2 SEAN GANNON

2

DAVID LANGGAARD

3 BRIAN GARTLAND

3

ISAK SIMONSEN

4 SEAN HOARE

4

DENI PAVLOVIC

5 CHRIS SHIELDS

5 JESPER BRINCK

6 JORDAN FLORES

6

DAVID SKRBEC

7 MICHAEL DUFFY

7

PATRIK JOHANNESEN

8 JOHN MOUNTNEY

8

JAKUP ANDREASEN

9 PATRICK HOBAN

9

PALL KLETTSKARD

10 GREGORY SLOGGETT

10 JOANNES BJARTALID

11 PATRICK McELENEY

11 JONN JOHANNESEN

12 ANDREW QUINN

12 LUKASZ JAROSINSKI

13 MARK TRAYNOR

13

14 DANE MASSEY

14

15 DARRAGH LEAHY

15

16 SEAN MURRAY

16 MEINHARDT JOENSEN

17 NATHAN ODUWA

17 OLE ERIK MIDTSKOGEN

18 WILL PATCHING

18 OLAVUR NICLASSEN

19 VAL ADEDOKUN

19

20 AARON McCAREY

20 BORGE PETERSEN

21 DANIEL CLEARY

21 BORIS DOSLJAK

22 STEFAN COLOVIC

22 ODMAR FAERO

23 CAMERON DUMMIGAN

23 JOANNES DANIELSEN

24 JAMIE WYNNE

24 HEINI VATNSDAL

25 MARK HANRATTY

25 STEINBJORN OLSEN

26

26

27 DANIEL KELLY

27

28

28

29 DAVID MCMILLAN

29

30 JIMMY CORCORAN

30

44 ANDY BOYLE

31

45 JOSHUA GATT

32

COACH FILIPPO GIOVAGNOLI

COACH MIKKJAL THOMASSEN

HONOURS League of Ireland Champions (14): 1932/33, ‘62/63, ‘66/67, ‘75/76, ‘78/79, ‘81/82, ‘87/88, ‘90/91, ‘94/95, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 First Division Champions (2): 2000/01, 2008 FAI Cup Winners (11): 1942, 1949, 1952, 1958, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1988, 2002, 2015, 2018 Top Four Cup Winners (2): 1963/64, ‘66/67 League of Ireland Shield Winners (2): 1966/67, ‘71/72 League Cup Winners (7): 1977/78, ‘80/81, ‘86/87, ‘89/90, 2014, 2017, 2019 FAI President’s Cup Winners (2): 2015, 2019 Leinster Senior Cup Winners (7): 1951/52, ‘60/61, ‘70/71, ‘73/74, ‘76/77, ‘77/78, 2015 Leinster FA President’s Cup Winners (9): 1930/31, ‘51/52, ‘63/64, ‘64/65, ‘79/80, ‘80/81, ‘81/82, ‘88/89, ‘89/90 Dublin City Cup Winners (5): 1937/38, ‘42/43, ‘48/49, ‘67/68, ‘68/69 Women’s FAI Cup Winners (1): 2005

MATCH OFFICIALS REFEREE: MAURIZIO MARIANI (ITALY) ASSISTANT REFEREE: MATTEO PASSERI & DANIELE BINDONI FOURTH OFFICIAL: MICHAEL FABBRI

www.dundalkfc.com