Come Here To Me!

I thought I’d pop this up. It’s an article I wrote for ‘The Commune’ in the UK, when asked to give a brief overview of the beautiful game in Ireland. Some of you may enjoy it.

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The Europa League trophy is in Dublin right now. Ultras FC Porto made it perfectly clear last week that they want to come here and get it.

A little different from the Shed End Invincibles and the Irish groups normally featured here!

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I truly feel a broken man after last night, though I’m not sure if the cause is merely down to the result. I’m pretty sure that a fabled “dodgy pint” was consumed somewhere along the way, because my body feels as if it was hit with a tonne of bricks. I would have taken a draw before the game, as would the majority of Bohs fans, but to have victory stolen in such  a fashion is heartbreaking.

Red and Black Pride. From FMCPhotos.

It really is immensely satisfying to see something you’ve had a hand in roll out across the crowd. Myself and JayCarax spent many an hour working on the above with the good men of the NBB (rumours of their demise are GREATLY exaggerated,) so to see it come off was a thing of beauty.

"We have a distaste for Rovers" went the chant. Credit, Paul Romanista on Flickr.

Man of the match? More like men of the match. O’Connor, Heary, Burns, Price, O’Brien; Buckley, Bayly, Rossiter, Brennan; Traynor and Flood, all played their hearts out for the ninety minutes. That 18 year old Buckley scored in his home debut for Bohs, before being replaced around the 80 minute mark, seeing out the game from the dugout before racing to the dressing rooms, getting changed without a warm down and legging it back into town to work as floor staff (I won’t sully him with the term “lounge boy”)  in a city centre bar says a lot about the current squad, but grants the lad a heroes status in the eyes of many.

I just cant get enough. From FMCPhotos.

One point that could, and maybe should, have been three. What can you do only say roll on next Friday, Sligo away, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Come on Bohs.

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While the northside faithful entertained Shamrock Rovers, a far less glamorous ‘derby’ of sorts was taking place in Inchicore. UCD and Saint Patrick’s Athletic. Every bit as exciting as it sounds. It ended one a piece, with the students grabbing a last-minute goal to level it. Talk about a sickener.

I got down quite early for a browse in the shop, and had to laugh at this one. Europe- We’re Always There On A Technicality.

One of my favourite things about the League of Ireland is the manner in which ‘the local side’ is a very real thing. Rather than picking the team with the nicest jersey or best odds of winning something, you tend to ‘get’ a team rather than pick one.

Cherry Orchard, Palmerstown, Tallaght, Bluebell, Inchicore, Rialto and more besides are all represented by personal flags at Richmond Park. The same applies to other clubs and neighbouring areas of course.

The Shed End has played home to away support in recent seasons, the sight of a steward keeping the peace down there tonight raised a smile. The UCD travelling army didn’t materialise.

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Something I’ve done some research on lately (more on it later) is the southern response to the bombing of Belfast during the second World War. One of the most remarkable aspects of that response was the decision to send firefighters from the south across the border on two occasions.

This match day programme comes from 1945, and highlights the relationship that existed between the fire services in Dublin and the services in the north of Ireland. No doubt such a relationship was cemented and prospered as a result of shared experiences in war struck Belfast.

I can’t find a result for the game online, using all the various newspaper archives. I’d love to know how it finished. It is an early enough example of such cross-border solidarity.

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Have you seen this picture yet?

What an embarrasing sight ‘The Aviva’ was on telly last night, with more green seats than green jerseys on the television, in fact I could still make out ‘AVIVA’ written in the seats of one stand.

I have made one visit to the new Lansdowne Road, and that was for an encounter between the two S.R.F.C’s, a great clash between Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers. With low-cost tickets, the F.A.I managed to bring a respectable crowd there but more importantly they managed to bring an atmosphere, as low prices make games more appealing to younger fans, often the most passionate.

There was no passion in that stadium last night at all. Why would there be? My job brings me into contact with tourists who are visiting this city, and this match was not the first time sports-mad people from abroad, who would normally take in a game on any trip, told me they just couldn’t stomach the F.A.I’s ticket charges.

The F.A.I needs money of course. Would they rather charge fewer people more than fill a stadium via cheap tickets? Perhaps, but there are long-term advantages to making these friendlies more accessible, not least introducing many to live football.

There is no need for the national team to play even a friendly out in a half (and that’s being optimistic) empty stadium. Last week I attended a clash between Saint Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk. With ticket sales evidently slow, why did the F.A.I miss the opportunity presented in Inchicore, Dalymount and stadiums like them last week? League of Ireland fans are the diehards who take in football every week and truly love the game- lowpriced tickets to national clashes should be on offer at League of Ireland clashes before friendlies like this one. It would bring more people not only to the Aviva, but also the local game.

Many League of Ireland fans do not attend the national games owing to the unaffordable nature of it. It costs a family (an adult and two children/students) about €40 to take in a match in Dublin any given Friday. The F.A.I can rely on many of these people to come out rain, hail or snow. Yet evidently, the F.A.I aren’t particulary good at getting people into either the Aviva or the local game. What a pity that is.

In my household, we’ve handed over money to attend football matches in Turners Cross, Dalymount, Tallaght, Dundalk and a host of other Irish grounds. Why do the FAI not reward families who feel a passion for the game and generate some revenue by opening the new stadium to domestic football fans on nights like this one?

Image from thescore.ie, taken at 8:57pm

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Irish Ultras Movement have just posted a great interview with the Shed End Invincibles over here. It’s worth a read, and is hopefully just the first in a series of interviews with various groups. The IUM site was excellent last season, with frequent updates from all over the island.

Last week the lads were based in the mainstand and managed to generate a wonderful atmosphere, with flags waving for 90 minutes as you frequently see abroad but sadly is quite unusual at home.

I remember the SEI of old when I was younger as being one of the main reasons I’d demand to be taken down to Richer every Friday my dad was off work. Now, more and more youngsters will be drawn into the game by “the flags and the flares…”

Returning to the shed is something that we have looked into but at the moment it’s not possible. We all grew up during the days of the shed and know how special it used to be. Currently clubs with larger away support are put in there. It’s also important to remember that the SEI have been located in every part of Richmond Park since 2001 and not just the Shed End. We’ve also brought up the possibility of getting a roof on the West Stand but it’s just not possible at this time. Perhaps in the not too distant future we can get back into the shed but it does need improvement and is not likely to happen anytime soon.

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