Lilywhite legend is relishing Oriel return
IT has been a long road back to Oriel Park for Bray Wanderers boss Dave Mackey - one that spans more than 26 years.
The newly appointed Seagulls manager takes charge of his first competitive league game against Dundalk this Friday night but while his position in the dug-out will be a new one, he is no stranger to the Carrick Road venue.
The 57-year-old made 95 appearances for the Lilywhites and scored five goals during a six season spell from 1988/89 to 1992/93.
A real favourite at right back during his time at Oriel, Mackey is sure to get a superb reception on Friday night from those lucky enough to remember the Turlough O’Connor era and, in particular, that glorious title triumph which was secured courtesy of a 1-0 victory away to Cork City at Turner’s Cross in April 1991.
While his playing career was effectively ended by a leg breaking challenge by Paul Doolin in a match against Shamrock Rovers in the RDS in January 1992, rather than sulk about it Mackey threw himself into coaching.
Over the past quarter of a decade or more he has gone from coaching in the Dublin and District Schoolboys’ League to honing the skills of some of the country’s top talent - including current Dundalk pair Chris Shields and Dane Massey - during spells at Bray, Shamrock Rovers, UCD and Cabinteely.
Now, finally, he has a top job of his own and is determined to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
As he reflected back on the journey to his current position with The Argus last week, Mackey admitted his time at Dundalk was the best of his career.
‘They were fantastic memories,’ he said as he reflected on his days at Oriel.
‘They were the best group of players that I’ve ever been involved with. We had a terrific manager in Turlough O’Connor and a terrific backroom team with the likes of Tommy Connolly. It was just a brilliant group of players and a privilege to have played for Dundalk with that group over that period of time.
‘Winning the league was absolutely a highlight. On a personal level, my dad (Gerry) had won league championships with Rovers in the ‘50s so to have the opportunity to do that and then play in Europe was superb. I was fortunate enough too to be capped at inter league level so my memories of playing with Dundalk are very positive.’
Mackey was part of a legendary back five that included James Coll, Martin Lawlor, Ronnie Murphy and goalkeeper Alan O’Neill. It’s only when you look back at their performance in that 1990/91 title-winning season that you realise just how good they were. A total of 23 clean sheets in 33 matches remains a League of Ireland record.
‘We conceded 17 goals in total that year but five were conceded on the first day of the season at home to Shelbourne when we lost 5-1. That means we conceded 12 goals in our remaining 32 games and then went down and beat Cork in Turner’s Cross to win the league. That was a tremendous group, not only for being good players but they were mentally very strong as well.’
Tom McNulty’s 73rd minute winner at Turner’s Cross to secure the title is now the stuff of League of Ireland legend. What is perhaps not remembered as well is the chance Mackey had to wrap up the win shortly after that when he fired wide.
There was a tense finish to the game afterwards with O’Neill having to make a save from Mick Conroy but Mackey said he never doubted Dundalk would get the job done.
Of his chance, he said: ‘My priority at that stage of the game was to try and get the ball to the far end of the pitch as quickly as possible but I think I ran with the ball maybe 30 or 40 yards and by the time I stopped I was in a position to shoot.
‘I haven’t seen the clip in a while but I think I should have done better in actual fact. I was in a good position but maybe tiredness was kicking in at that stage as well.
‘Having said that in the last 10 or 15 minutes, and we can only say this in hindsight, we were very strong and organised defensively and we were in control from a defensive point of view. I don’t think we ever felt overly concerned. We were strong as a group. That was a great day.’
There were others as well. He was part of the Dundalk squad the following season which took a 1-0 lead through Ricky McEvoy away to Budapest Honved in the European Cup. Unfortunately an error led to Adrian Negrau equalising eight minutes from the end with the Hungarians going on to win the second leg 2-0 at Oriel courtesy of an early double from István Pisont.
Mackey believes had that Dundalk side had the structure of today’s there could have been far more to come from them.
‘We were leading 1-0 in Budapest with less than 10 minutes to go. That was unfortunate because we had done particularly well that night but there was just one lapse of concentration on our part and we were punished for it
‘ In the second leg we actually played quite well but unusually for us we had a couple of lapses of concentration in the first 20 minutes or so of that game and two quick goals for them put the game out of reach for us.
‘We felt we had every chance of progressing but I think that’s maybe where Stephen Kenny’s group have learnt a lot. It was effectively a difference of fulltime football against part-time football. I think that if we were on a more full-time professional basis back then I think there would have been more to come from that particular team.
‘I think that’s where the improvements have come in the last few years, in terms of training and strength and conditioning. The season now being a calendar year has also helped. The players are much better equipped now to perform in Europe.
‘Even from the point of view of when I finished. I broke my leg against Shamrock Rovers in the RDS in January 1992. I was probably playing the best football of my career at that particular point in time but in terms of recovering from serious injuries in those days, there just wasn’t the rehabilitation and the medical support that the players have now.
‘I got back okay but I didn’t get back to a level I would have liked to be at. Richie Purdy was challenging strongly at right back and when he got the opportunity he was terrific. It was a question then given the age I was at at the time, I just didn’t feel I could get back to the level to be good enough so I finished playing.
‘That’s when I decided to take up coaching to try and put something back into the game and I got involved in grassroots football. I coached in the Dublin District Schoolboys’ League with Leicester Celtic in South Dublin and then I coached the Kennedy Cup team. From there I started to do my coaching badges and other opportunities then arose. I worked with the Shamrock Rovers under 21s after Damien Richardson asked me to come on board. Then I went on to work with Pete Mahon and Eddie Wallace in UCD, then I was asked by Eddie Gormley and Eddie Wallace to come into Bray in 2008.’
It was there he worked with current Dundalk stars Shields and Massey - two players he has nothing but praise for.
‘At Bray at the time it was important for us that we had two or three players each season coming through to the first team. Everybody was working toward that particular goal. It was no surprise to me to see players like Dane Massey and Chris Shields to go on to do what they have.
‘Kieran Marty Watters, Jake Kelly, Dave Webster, Ismahil Akinade, all these lads got their opportunity during that time to play first team football at Bray Wanderers and I’m delighted with the progress they have all made in their careers, particularly Chris and Dane because they have done tremendously well.’
Mackey, of course, will be hoping to get one over his old side on Friday night and while Bray are a relegation tip for many, he has ambitions to build on the form that saw them pushing for Europe midway through last season.
‘Most of the lads have come back on board so we have the basis of last year’s squad. That gives us an opportunity to build off that.
‘The first target is to stay in the Premier Division and that will be the target for a lot of the teams in the Premier Division. The next goal is to build on the performance of the team last year. We’ll be trying to do that
‘We’d like to be competitive and we want to see can we match the performance of the team last year.’
Mackey would no doubt give anything to see Bray repeat their 3-1 victory at Oriel Park from last season.
Once the first whistle blows on Friday night, it will be down to business for him.
Before then he’s happy to be starting a new chapter in his life in a place that gave him so much joy in years gone by.
‘Dundalk is a fantastic football town,’ he said.
‘I was up at the Jim Malone Cup. There’s still the same feel about the place. Oriel Park has a unique feeling. While people give out about it, some of the things they give out about is actually part of its charm.
‘It has been a long journey back to Oriel but it has been an enjoyable one.’
Dundalk supporters will no doubt wish Mackey well, even if those wishes aren’t fully extended until after the full-time whistle on Friday.