Oh My Word!
Ronan O’Flaherty
Ronan O’Flaherty
@ronanoflaherty
I sometimes think about Derry City Football Club. There is much to ponder. To start, it’s not your average football club. Persecuted in a previous life, they were forced into the wilderness before re-emerging on a different stage, where they felt more at home. People often mention the crowds that Derry City attracted to matches from the mid-eighties to earlynineties. These aren't stories that have been beefed up through the ageing process of nostalgia. They really did bring huge crowds, both home and away. Sellout attendances at the Brandywell were not uncommon and any Pat's fan present on April 1, 1990, will have marvelled at the away turnout for a Sunday afternoon league match – albeit a very important one – at Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium. Newspaper reports estimated that, in a crowd of between 7,000 and 8,000, Derry City fans filled half the ground. These supporters had an extra incentive to attend games. For many of them, it was about more than football. In the five years proceeding their admission to the League of Ireland, the terraces at most Derry City homes games resembled a celebration-of-sorts. To understand why they were partying, it is important to retrace their journey. Derry City had joined the Irish League in 1929, achieving sporadic
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success over the following decades, with three Irish Cups and one league title. However, it was that league triumph of 1965 that paved the way for others to see that this club was being treated differently. Drawn against Lyn of Norway in the preliminary round of the following season’s European Cup, Derry City recorded a famous 8-6 aggregate victory. In doing so, they became the first Irish League club to negotiate a round of European competition. Being a success story did the club no favours. In the first-round proper they were paired with Anderlecht. The Northern Irish FA put a blockade on the home leg taking place at the Brandywell, citing farcical concerns about the condition of the pitch. With the football authorities unwilling to change that stance, Derry City withdrew from the competition and the home leg was deemed a walkover. By 1972, they would have little choice but to leave the Irish League. A year earlier, in 1971, the Royal Ulster Constabulary ruled that the area surrounding Derry City's home ground was unsafe for rival supporters. A ban was placed on games at the Brandywell. In order for Derry City to somehow keep the show on the road, they had to play
Jim McLaughlin’s Derry City line up before the 1989 FAI Cup Final
elsewhere. The Showgrounds in Coleraine would be their new home away from home. Located 48km from the Brandywell, supporters largely stayed away. Distance wasn’t the only issue. The location of the ground, in a loyalist part of Derry, served as a further deterrent. St Pat’s fans can relate to the uupheaval caused by temporarily moving out. From 1989 to 1993, the team played home games at Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium. Despite bridging a 34-year gap in 1990 by winning the Premier Division title, the impact of the move was that St Patrick’s Athletic came perilously close to extinction in 1992. Harold’s Cross wasn’t 48km from Richmond Park – it was a walkable 4km – nor was it an environment hostile to the mere presence of St Pat’s fans. After a year of playing home games in front of small attendances, the club found itself on life support. The only thing that could prevent it from flatlining was a return to the Brandywell. The matter went to a vote, where rival clubs marginally decided that Derry City would not be allowed to play home games at the Brandywell. Out of options, Derry City withdrew from the Irish League in October 1972. They joined the local Saturday morning league,
2021 Season • Vol. 33 • No. 2 • St Patrick’s Athletic v Derry City
essentially to keep the club and all it stands for in existence. Over the next 13 years, several attempts were made to rejoin the Irish League, but they were all knocked back. There was a sense that they would never be readmitted so, in 1985, Derry City entered the League of Ireland. Despite starting out in the second tier, the crowds returned almost immediately. The team didn’t achieve promotion at the first attempt, but did at the second. They then took as long to win the Premier Division as they did the First Division. Derry’s 1989 title triumph was extra impressive because it was supplemented by the League Cup and the FAI Cup. The footage of Jim McLaughlin’s treble winners being cheered on by
supporters during an open-top bus tour needs to be seen to be believed. In this context, a 20minute video called “Derry City FC 1989”, which is available on YouTube, comes recommended. Viewers receive a true, if at times see-sawing, insight into the zealots who inhabit the terraces. We see the supporters packed into the Brandywell for a game against Drogheda United, and it’s a party from the first whistle – this was the game after which they would be presented with the Premier Division trophy. Viewed now, 32 years removed, it is a curious thing to witness the outpouring of joy from the supporters during that game and the open-top bus tour. This was more than a celebration of an outstanding season, it was a
2021 Season • Vol. 33 • No. 2 • St Patrick’s Athletic v Derry City
celebration of simply having a club to support. The success of Derry City’s move to the League of Ireland is illustrated by its continued endurance. Thirtysix years now, and counting. There have been times when they messed with our dreams. For Pat’s fans, the 2006 and 2012 FAI Cup finals were painful experiences. Thankfully, the 2014 instalment brought healing. There are plenty of good reasons to find yourself thinking about Derry City. They’ve come through a lot and are still here. That, in itself, should resonate with the League of Ireland community. Ronan O'Flaherty
Any views expressed in this article are the contributor's own.
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