In welcoming new owners we should celebrate the last owners

THERE are many chapters in a football club and the history of Dundalk Football Club is brilliantly chronicled in a pair of books published by Club President, Jim Murphy, a labour of love by the way, as the books like so many which adorn local bookshops right across the country, never hit the best sellers list but are priceless to the local audience they are produced for.

Following the announcement last week of the takeover of Dundalk Fotoball Club by the new owners, PEAK6 Sports, new chapters in the glorious history of the Lilywhites are about to be written.

Currently before us are blank pages, but I wonder what kind of story will the author of this chapter tell in the years to come.

Will they be another page turner, ladened down with stories of success, on field triumphs and a trophy laden board room, or will be a Greek tragedy with the results never meeting the rich promise of their arrival.

Supporters hopes are a burden on new owners, the success of recent seasons has heightened the hopes and the arrival of such prestigious owners has lofted those dreams into the stratosphere.

The fable of Icarus springs to mind, we must be careful not to fly too close to the sun.

Before the new owners settle into their own surroundings, we should laud the previous keyholders of Oriel Park, as the Dundalk football public and indeed the Irish football public owe Martin Connolly and Paul Brown a huge debt of gratitude.

Not only did they rescue Dundalk FC from the doldrums but they helped them soar higher than ever before winning three consecutive league titles, winning a third league and FAI Cup double in the long history of the club, earning a place in the group stages of the Europa League with some glorious nights in both Tallaght and the Aviva Stadiums, not to mention some unforgettable performances right across Europe.

The duo brought Dundalk FC back from the abyss and have walked away with the club on a secure financial footing, with the ownership problems over the Youth Development Centre resolved, a new pitch installed and the League of Ireland’s best manager, Stephen Kenny secured to a long term contract.

Whatever lies ahead in the exciting new journey for Dundalk FC, the recent past has been a glorious era, speckled with stardust from some superb players who lit up Irish football and brought massive joy to the town at a time when there was little else to disperse the grim reality of a difficult economy which had affected the lives of so many.

Dundalk Football Club have made life less ordinary over recent seasons and for that we are grateful to Andy Connolly and Paul Brown, manager Stephen Kenny and his squad of players.