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The 1990’s Dermot Looney @dlooney
Turmoil & Triumph Despite the League title in 1989-90, all was not well. The Harold’s Cross exile continued as Richmond Park became a grazing ground for sheep rather than a renovated modern stadium. Financial issues came to a head in the summer of 1992 when the club was hours away from bankruptcy, only to be saved by a last-minute injection of £82,000 raised by investors and fans. By then much of the League-winning team had been scattered to the four winds. Pat’s had finished a creditable third in the League in 1990-91, as well as winning the Leinster Senior Cup and LFA President’s Cup. 1991-92 saw a seventh place finish with a weakened side, while 1992-93 and 1993-94 saw an experimental Top Six/Bottom Six split in the League, with Pat’s in the lower section on both occasions. By then, however, Pat’s were back at home in Richmond Park. The exile hadn’t been easy. Con Houlihan wrote that despite Harold’s Cross being “hardly three miles away, [the Pat’s] supporters were not happy. The local people were not friendly, the drink didn't taste right, the weather was colder.” The return came against Shelbourne in December 1993 with a new Main Stand (later to be expanded) renovations to the Inchicore End and the flattening of the pitch – the old 6’3’’ slope was no more. Patrick’s were thriving off the field too, with explayer Pat Dolan spearheading commercial drives resulting in significant investment in the club including new Chairman Tim O’Flaherty. Kerr’s squad expanded to include Eddie Gormley, Paul “Soupy” Campbell, Liam Buckley, Brian Morrisroe and Ricky O’Flaherty. At the end of the 95-96 season, Pat’s travelled to Oriel Park to exorcise the ghosts of eight years previous. Falling behind 1-0, Pat’s recovered with a Ricky O’Flaherty header and a Soupy Campbell free-kick to lift the Championship
trophy. It was the Saints’ fifth League of Ireland title but, remarkably, the first which had come playing at home in Richmond Park. Kerr’s team fell just short of a double, losing to Shelbourne in a notorious FAI Cup final replay. Kerr left midway through the 1996-97 season to take up a post as technical director of the FAI, with chief executive Pat Dolan a surprise appointment as manager. The Saints finished in fifth place that season but key signings including youth internationals Colin Hawkins and Trevor Molloy saw Pat’s in a dogfight with old rivals Shelbourne for the 1997-98 League title. More in hope than expectation, thousands of Pat’s fans travelled to Buckley Park in Kilkenny for the last game of the season. Shels needed only a draw away to Dundalk to seal the title but, remarkably, lost 2-1. With word passing through to Kilkenny, up stepped Pat’s captain Eddie Gormley to score a deflected goal ten minutes from time, giving Pat’s a 2-1 win and their seventh League championship. Similar was to follow in 1998-99 as Pat’s, now managed by Liam Buckley, and Cork City quickly emerged from the pack. Pat’s defeated Cork on all three occasions and went on to beat Bray Wanderers in the final game of the season to win the title for the first time at Richmond Park. 19992000 saw wins in the FAI Super Cup and Leinster Senior Cup, and a mediocre sixth place League finish but, without doubt, Pat’s were clearly Ireland’s team of the nineties. With so much League success, European football featured heavily in the nineties. All four ties saw defeats but there were creditable displays against Celtic and Slovan Bratislava, along with a 5-1 loss to Dinamo Bucharest and a 10-0 mauling from Zimbru of Moldova.
Honours League of Ireland Premier Division Champions: 3 (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99) Leinster Senior Cup: 2 (1990-91, 1999-2000) LFA President’s Cup: 2 (1990-91, 1996-97) FAI Super Cup: 1999-2000
2020 Season • Vol. 32 • No. 7 • St Patrick’s Athletic v Dundalk
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