This Town and country have come a long way
A good contingent of contented Dundalk fans made their way to their usual haunt, Kennedys after Saturday night’s impressive win over struggling St. Patrick’s.
There they reflected on the quality of two outstanding individual goals from Patrick McEleney and after the recall button had been played time and again, helped by the obvious lubrication, the words genius and ‘Messi’ were starting to enter the conversation in relation to the Derryman.
But just as such comparisons were starting to reach the inane in walked a posse of even more blissful and possibly slightly more lubricated Irish rugby supporters who made Kennedys their first stop having exited the Dublin train.
They had shared in a glorious occasion in the Aviva when England were denied the ‘Grand Slam’ and a new world unbeaten record, and were in no mood for home, seeking - as all fans of winning teams - to prolong the day for as long as possible.
They too, like the Dundalk fans, were extolling the contributions of some Irish players, Sexton, Payne, Henshaw and the others, and inevitably got a little carried away when predicting the potential for the team.
Contained in their midst, enjoying the craic and their drink, were half a dozen England fans who had made Dundalk their base for their few days in the country.
Proudly they wore their English shirts, mingled contentedly with Irish and Dundalk fans, exchanging good natured banter about the game in a perfectly normal manner.
Afterwards, when the opportunity to reflect arrived, it brought home the reality that the country, and Dundalk in particular, has progressed, and is all the better for it, since the days when no English support would venture into a Dundalk pub wearing the red rose shirt, nor would they contemplate staying in the town.
Ironically within the group was a former policeman, who readily revealed that Dundalk was chosen for their stay because the hotels were much cheaper than Dublin, were blissfully unaware of the town’s previous reputation, and added that they experienced such warmth and hospitality that they would have no hesitation about returning.
One note of discord was however expressed by one of the group concerning their visit to Down Royal for the racing. He offered the good natured opinion that on the circuit of the track the view of race goers was obstructed for a short time by a large mound. “I think that when they go out of view the jockeys decide among themselves whose going to win the race” he joked.
No one ventured to challenge that conclusion, but a number of the English fans, having asked about the supporters in the bar wearing Dundalk colours did reveal that they had heard of the team’s European ventures last season and even watched their goals on TV.
That European odyssey was rightly recognised at the FAI Awards night on Sunday night, screened live on RTE2 when the team received a special merit award and manager, Stephen Kenny spoke with his usual eloquence and passion about his team’s achievements.
He didn’t complain about the unfair fixture congestion that denied the team the League and Cup double last season, and expressed great confidence that his team can challenge for honours again this season, with Europe again a priority.
A big test of that prediction will come on Saturday when Dundalk travel to meet top of the table Cork City, and again the FAI have done the League no favours by staging the match the day following Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Wales.
Many would like to attend both games, but distance and cost has to be taken into consideration for many who will have to sacrifice one of the games.
Cork will be buoyant having beaten Dundalk in all of their recent matches, but the champions will be up for the challenge.