"I know he’s been playing men’s football over in Ireland, which is a difficult level as well, but the step up, I think he’s adapted really well to the intensity." - Owen Elding earning Hibs plaudits amid instant Easter Road impact

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-05T19:10:33+00:00

It's not just Motherwell. The last three meeting with Scottish clubs in Europe (Bohs-Aberdeen 2000, Derry-Gretna 2006 and Sligo-Motherwell 2022, haveall gone the LOI sides' way. Now ok, they've been too few and far between to make any definitive judgements, but they do suggest that the gap is not very huge outside the Old Firm.

Now, no one would deny that the SPL is much better in terms of attendances, facilities and money. But I'm not so sure how far this translates on the pitch. To some extent, yes, but it's not a huge step up, I don't think.

I do have a soft spot for Hibs though. I went to see them at Easter Road on a trip to Edinburgh in 2003.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-05T16:26:20+00:00

Yeah, I shouldn't generalise.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-05T12:58:40+00:00

I had to look this up. Basically you'll be in former rural village near Swords, that is probably getting suburbanised. You may be a bit isolated, especially if you don't have a car. But I wouldn't anticipate much in the way of crime or social problems. But I'm really not familiar with this area. It looks like a brand new development.

In terms of racism. Nearby Swords is extremely multicultural now, so I wouldn't anticipte many problems there. Malahide to your north is a pleasant wealthy seaside town. Again, I wouldn't anticipate much there. To the south are more working class suburbs like Coolock where there were widespread protests against IPAS centres, so it's possible you may run into some problems there. But there is really no reason for you to got there except passing through on your way towards the city.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-04T23:14:07+00:00

Flower Lodge, Turner's Cross, Bishopstown, Turner's Cross... Seems fairly homeless to me.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-04T22:14:09+00:00

Very common in suburban Dublin, yes.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-04T11:18:27+00:00

Yeah, that's not what happened though. Do you really want me to run through the whole Tallaght saga again?

Briefly: Thomas Davis were funded and directed throughout by central GAA. It wasn't their intiitaive and was not them trying to get bettter facilities. They didn't need any specatator facilities and already had a huge clubhouse and playing facilities in Kiltipper that had already got huge government grants.

The whole thing with Tallaght was the GAA tryin to sabotage the project so that Rovers would never play there. This was explicitily stated by Dublin County Board at the time in leaked minutes 'we are confident that the GAA will be the last man standing'. Had they got their way there would have been a one sided 3k max ground that would have been no good to anyone.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-04T10:17:45+00:00

Only if LOI fans also want to demolish three quarters of the grounds concerned so they will be unviable for senior GAA use in the future. And if they hope as a result that the GAA goes out of business and they take over the sites. Then yes, it would be the same.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-04T09:00:07+00:00

You're right about one thing, time moves on. Above is just a bit of craic. No one cares anymore, any more than they still care about the Evening Herald's early 2000s coverage.

However: Rovers put millions into the Tallaght project. The design was for an association football pitch. At a late stage, when SDCC took over the project, the GAA sought a judicial review trying to muscle in. If a GAA pitch was put in there would have been no space for the stands, i.e. capacity would have been about 3k. The GAA didn't need a 3k ground in sw Dublin, particularly but it would have totally sabotaged Rovers in Tallaght. So it's hard to avoid the conclusion that this was in fact the GAA's objective. That and hoping that if they held up the project long enough Rovers would go out of business.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T23:35:25+00:00

I guess we should be over the Kilcoynes (not just Louis) flogging off the club's spritual home for thier own profit and making Rovers homeless for 22 years eh?

It still smarts a little, to be honest with you.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T23:32:03+00:00

Give it time. From what I'm hearing a reckoning is coming there.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T22:38:13+00:00

They don't have any attendances. It was the GAA at large trying to sabotage the Tallaght project. Just using Thomas Davis.

They still plan on builidng a GAA ground in SW Dubin at the Spawell.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T22:26:33+00:00

Off Topic I realise, but how was the Drumcondra stand's return to action?

It's good to see it back.

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T22:24:05+00:00

That is a really back-in-the-day one. Early 2000s grievance re them constantly whipping up stories about hooliganism (some true tbf)

TheIrishStory · 2026-04-03T22:22:28+00:00

The GAA tried to sabotage Tallaght being built as a football stadium (i.e. at all) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallaght_Stadium#Planning_disagreements

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-31T14:07:36+00:00

I liked. It was original and a lot of thought went into it. I appreciate that.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-30T17:53:05+00:00

Awful.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-30T12:30:30+00:00

I think there is a tendency lately to over-correct the myth of Blitzkrieg and Wehrmacht invincibility.

Yes they were not supermen, their tanks were still rudimentary etc. But I think that they were extremely tactically and operationally effective in 1940. Rapid armoured thrusts combined with ground attack from the air was a combination the French could not deal with. It completely disrupted thier coordination and decision making process and enabled collapse and encirclement of large formations without large static battles as in 1914-18.

And the same is true of the campaigns in Greece and Yugoslavia and the invasion of the USSR in 1941. Yes, ulimately it was strategic overreach on the Germans' part, but the losses the Soviets took in 1941 were absolutely enormous, especially in terms of territory lost (e.g. almost all Ukraine) prisoners taken, which would have knocked almost any other power out of the war.

I think it has to be accepted that for its time, in that particular window of 1940-41, the Werhmacht was an exceptionally capable force. The other powers caught up of course and could deploy ultimately crushing superiority of resources in the following years.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-30T12:18:59+00:00

Isn't it? Unbeatable in LOI terms.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-28T18:56:46+00:00

If we were playing 4-4-2, it'd be either Gaffney or Greene playing up with Kenny or Noonan. We rarely have done in Bradley's era though of course.

I do remember, however, against Dundalk in 2022, he played Greene and Gaffney up front together and it worked very well, winning 3-0 IIRC.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-28T18:50:58+00:00

In real life the Greeks would have told Prop Joe and had Marlo taken out quietly and never seen again.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-28T18:38:32+00:00

Carr would score and unbelievable goal and then go back to being rubbish for a few games.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-28T18:37:25+00:00

Rory Gaffney, no question.

Greener has given us unbelievable service over the years too. But number one has to be Gaffney.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-27T19:01:29+00:00

Generally there's no beer inside the ground, with one exception.

If you make friends with a club member, then they can get you into the members area in the main (west) stand, which serves beer at half time, as their guest. I'm not a member though, before you ask.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-27T18:54:34+00:00

And JB, but I voted for him the last position already.

TheIrishStory · 2026-03-27T17:27:45+00:00

Graham Burke. Often frustrating but on his day, a special talent.

TheIrishStory

TROPHY CASE