Saints Rising

Sarah Tynan

In late 2022, a new book on St Patrick's Athletic was launched. The first time our early club history has ever been documented in a book, Saints Rising by Dermot Looney is a captivating tale of the opening years of our club. Sitting down with Dermot, who has written on the club's history in this programme for several years, I got to ask him a few questions.

What brought you to the decision to write the book?

There’s never been a history book about the club, so four years ago, I set out to write a history of the club. It's really important for a club like ours to have a properly researched written history for the generations to come, as well as the current generation.

Can you tell us about the process of researching?

75% of the work was researching newspaper archives. I went online and into the National Archives, reading through the newspapers, and archives. The other 25% of the work was going through the club archives. We had a small selection of minutes of meetings, old photographs, magazines. I then had to edit it down into something that was readable.

When did you start going to the games, and how did you become interested in the history of the club?

My first Pats game was around 1990, but I’ve been regularly going since 1995. I think all football fans are somewhat interested in their club’s history. I always had an interest in local and social history and being a Pats fan I’m interested in what the story of the club is. It’s great to be able to get that down on paper. I’m interested in Pats history, local history, and Dublin’s history. It’s been a really interesting angle to take while learning the history of the Saints.

What was the toughest part of the writing process?

Getting going is always hard, but there was a lot of editing required for this book. I was writing, editing, and publishing the book with the backing of the Pats fans. When it came to reducing the word count, making it readable, it was a tricky process. I got through it with a lot of help and support. All the tricky things were made a lot easier with the support of the Patron Saints, volunteers from the club, people helping to design and sell the book.

How long did it take for you to produce it?

It was a four year project I did in the Summer and evenings. I started in the Summer of 2018, and finished September 2022. It was a really enjoyable process, but it certainly took a long time.

What is the importance of the history of the club?

‘’We’re only minding the club.’’ That’s a phrase that Pat

O’Callaghan uses, it’s a really good phrase to use. We have been passing the club through the generations, minding it. Knowing the history, stories, mistakes and glories of what the club has achieved over the years is important for us to know. It’s important to have something that’s been researched, fact checked, written down, and being able to pass that down to the next generations. In 50 or 100 years time if there’s still a St Pats, they’ll have this as a base document.

What was the most surprising thing you learned?

The foundation of the club wasn’t a story I really knew before I spoke to Pat O’Callaghan and sat down to research it. I knew we had some links to the railway works, but I didn’t know that we are a railway works team, founded by young lads who worked up there. The foundation story really shows our roots. I found a rise through junior football really interesting as well, how we rose from the very bottom, playing in the Phoenix Park, to becoming this concrete club that had to be admitted to the League of Ireland. There are still some mysteries to be solved, about the who and where of things, and what happened in

1929 when we didn’t play competitively, but it’s our foundation date. That stuff is really interesting.

Did you manage to meet any key figures in the book?

The main guy I interviewed was Johnny Cassidy. I had a brilliant chat with Johnny and he features quite heavily in one of the chapters. In my younger days I met some of the players who have since passed away, like Harry Boland, Ginger O'Rourke, and I was able to tell their stories, because they had been recounted in the program. Tom Hanley did a series with some players who played in the sixties, so we had those and I was able to tell their stories too. My own Dad played for Pats briefly and was a fan, so I was able to tell his stories. Unfortunately most of the players have passed away but I was able to tell some of those stories.

Did you have much help from people in the club?

Pat O’Callaghan is such an important person in the club. He set me on the road by giving me photos, archives and programs. John Owens has given programmes and stats. This was a club wide effort, I did write it but people around the club have been so helpful in getting this off the ground. I do pay tribute to the likes of Marty and Betty Moran who were helpful with the interviews they gave. There was a personal touch to the book, it wasn’t just newspaper articles.

Are you happy with the response?

We’ve got a brilliant response, around 1000 copies have been sold. There aren't many left, it goes to show the level of interest and support. We had an hour long on Newstalk’s Off The Ball, we got some nice coverage in some papers and podcasts. This week we’re going up to Áras An Uachtaráin to present the president with a copy. It's a nice tribute that we’re getting recognised by the president in the Phoenix Park, a couple of hundred metres away from where the team started playing.