SPECIAL MEMORIES
The day O’Connell’s League of Ireland side ran riot against England’s finest...
SIXTY years on, Tony O’Connell’s recall is as sharp as the dribbling skills that lit up Dalymount Park on a famous night for Irish club football and left Jimmy Armfield, the world’s No 1 right-back, in a tizzy. ‘The first time I got the ball, when I went to go by him (Armfield), everything worked out. I was gone by before he knew it. That gave me the confidence to think it may be my night,’ he remembered.
Now 82, O’Connell was a groundbreaker in Irish football. A man of many firsts. The first Kerry native to play for the Republic of Ireland, the first professional to play for Bohemians, the first shirt sponsor of a League of Ireland club.
Those feats skim the surface of an astonishing football casebook.
O’Connell won the FAI Cup on four occasions, the League of Ireland twice, played under Malcolm Allison in North America, managed the Irish schoolboys and scouted for Manchester City.
‘Tony Book was with Allison at the time. He was a bricklayer. Playing against him was like running into a brick wall too,’ quipped O’Connell.
Often enveloped in cigar smoke, O’Connell spent 10 successful years managing Crusaders, led Ashtown Villa to FAI Cup giant-killing exploits, while running Jodi, a successful soft furnishing business in Duleek, Co Meath, and raising a family.
‘You ask me how I got through from 50 to 60? I don’t know but I loved it,’ he grinned.
Before all that, let’s step back to October 2, 1963, a date forever stencilled into the fabric of the League of Ireland, whose 40th anniversary was marked with a glamour fixture against the English League’s finest.
Alf Ramsey, the England manager, was building towards the 1966 World Cup finals. He took the Irish fixture seriously.
‘I knew from my experiences here in the past that we would get a hard game and we never took the opposition lightly,’ said Ramsey.
No less than four of his starting XI – Bobby Moore, Ray Wilson, Roger Hunt and Martin Peters – would rule the world at Wembley. A fifth, Ian Callaghan, was picked in the squad.
All five were humbled by the part-timers as the home guard, prepared by Sean Thomas, sprang a huge shock and ‘put the League of Ireland on the map.’
‘Sean was one of the first who went to England who got his badges,’ said O’Connell. ‘He was very astute and aware. He could look at detail and help you before a game. He was a gentleman, held in respect from the players at the time.
‘The effort put in by Seanwas very professional while the performance that night was unbelievable. Everyone played to their full ability and by doing that we nullified the gap between full-time professionals and part-time.’
Ireland were a goal down at halftime, scored by John ‘Budgie’ Byrne, the West Ham forward of Irish ancestry. But in front of 25,000 fans, they roared back to win with goals from Eddie Bailham and Ronnie Whelan Snr, later chided by his employers at Unidare for taking the day off work to play.
‘For us to be 1-0 at half-time and in with a shout was a good result but to go and do what we did in the second half was unbelievable,’ said O’Connell. ‘We took the 45 minutes over. It could have been more than two goals. I hit the post, Paddy Roberts hit the bar.
‘I remember Sean Thomas before the game saying to Eddie Bailham, who never headed the ball but had some shot, “Eddie you stay out at the edge of the box and if anything comes out, smack it.”
‘And that’s exactly what happened. The players had the freedom to express themselves and we did. I never saw a happier crowd. We don’t often beat England. That was the only time that we did win in those inter-league games.’
‘When the Irish players played to their ability they were as good as the full-time English players. The gap wouldn’t be as big as it is now.’
‘We’d a very good side. The players
were all class. A lot of them could have gone to England, only the wages over there weren’t great. It didn’t hit the highs until after the World Cup in 1966.
‘If you worked at home here and had a part-time wage, you were ok.’
One of the Irish heroes, Shelbourne’s Paddy Roberts, was a chef in the Gresham and helped prepare the pre-match meal for England before heading up to Dalymount.
As for O’Connell, then of Shamrock Rovers, he was up against Armfield, voted the best right-back in football after the 1962 World Cup. ‘I just went out and played. He didn’t try and kick me over the stand. He was a class act.’
That month in 1963 was extra special for O’Connell as he married his beloved Ailish on October 19. They recently their diamond wedding anniversary.
Of the historic Irish XI, Freddie Strahan of Shels and John Keogh of Shamrock Rovers are still here today, along with O’Connell.
‘Twenty five years on from that night they had a ‘do’ in Kilmainham. For the 50th year, they had another. Sadly, most of the team has passed away.
‘Beating the English League was so important for the League of Ireland.
‘It was great to be a part of it.’