SPIRIT FOR THE FIGHT
Dundalk and City share a history of rebirth
AS THE fallout from Cork City goalkeeper Mark McNulty’s expletiveladen song taunting Dundalk rumbles on, and reveals the true sense of antipathy between the teams heading into Sunday’s Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup final, it should be worth noting that there is plenty that binds these clubs together.
Their rivalry has been at the forefront of the League of Ireland for the last four years but there was a time, not so long ago, when both were on the periphery. Out of sight and most definitely out of mind. They have since gone from making up the numbers to setting a standard nobody else in the Premier Division has come close to matching.
And as they prepare to meet at the Aviva Stadium — the first time in the competition’s storied history two teams have reached the showpiece on three successive occasions — neither show any sign of their desire for improvement abating.
And why would it? For, Cork and Dundalk know what it is like to feel as if nobody is watching. All eyes will be on them at Aviva Stadium this weekend and they are now revelling in the rewards success has brought. The fruits of their labour taste all the sweeter because it didn’t come easy. Both have been saved from extinction by dedicated supporters and had to scrape the barrel to survive. At the heart of their renaissance on the pitch have been two men, managers John Caulfield and Stephen Kenny. The pair revived stagnant clubs clinging to proud histories. Their dormant support bases have been awoken and so, too, has the spirit of their communities as a new generation has been inspired.
On Sunday they head for the Aviva yet again and their pride will be clear to see. ‘Ambition can take you to dangerous places,’ Kenny told Sportsmail after he led the Lilywhites to a league and cup double in 2014.
The most glorious chapter in the club’s history was just being written and it came hot on the heels of a turgid period, when Oriel Park was more a wasteland than land of opportunity. In 2012 Dundalk survived in the Premier Division by the skin of their teeth by overcoming Waterford in a two-legged relegation/promotion play-off.
Only two players from that time remain on the books — Chris Shields and John Mountney — and the esteem in which they were held could not be any different. The contrast is sharp. Whereas one gym barred the squad from using its facilities because of bad behaviour — it took time for Kenny’s new breed to regain that trust — they are now seen as role models.
Local businessmen Paul Brown and Andy Connolly — whose brother Martin is the club’s general manager — have finally taken full control, following a protracted legal wrangle with the former owner, and the historic Europa League group stage campaign last year has only solidified their presence.
Whereas Dundalk players were packing bags in supermarkets for loose change to boost the coffers during one particularly low ebb, a bounty in the region of €7 million on the back of their European exploits has provided them with the sort of security and possibilities League of Ireland clubs can only dream of.
With that comes responsibility, of course, and it is something that the board at Cork understand only too well.
They suffered financial ruin as a result of irresponsible spending and were forced into liquidation, with fans’ group
Both clubs have come close to extinction
Friends of the Rebel Army Society (FORAS) taking over in 2010 and ensuring another Leeside club did not disappear without a trace.
There were two seasons of purgatory in the First Division, 2010 and ’11, and after a couple of steady years back in the top flight, the arrival of Caulfield for the 2014 campaign sparked new life into the Turner’s Cross faithful.
Although, like the appointment of Kenny up in Louth, he began the job with a cloud of scepticism hanging over him. Both had their doubters for different reasons. Caulfield may have been the club’s record appearance holder, not to mention top goal scorer alongside Pat Morley, but his background in management was confined to the amateur ranks with UCC and Avondale.
‘I’ll always remember the day I rang [assistant] John Cotter and I said “they think the two of us are bogtrotters, they think we haven’t a clue”,’ Caulfield remarked after he clinched the league title last month after three years as runners-up.
In Kenny’s case, he was recuperating at home in Donegal after a gruelling experience at Shamrock Rovers ended in an acrimonious sacking nine months into a three-year deal.
Now both men have committed their respective futures, the League of Ireland’s new order is going from strength to strength.