Cup win gave town back its spirit of the underdog
‘Well victory eased the pain of Ravenscraig
“When I left I did have a tear in my eye... that was our living,” says former Ravenscraig steel worker Kevin Harper, in the new BBC documentary Steelmen, which charts both Motherwell’s 1991 Scottish Cup win, and the demise of the giant steel mill.
The Fir Park club’s run to the final on May 18, 1991, gave the entire town something to be cheerful about, even amidst tales of the future closure of the steel works.
That came true a year after Motherwell’s historic cup final win, with British Steel announcing in January 1992 that they were to close the remaining steel-making operations at Ravenscraig.
On June 24 the final slab of rolled off the production line.
It can’t be overstated how much of an impact that had on Motherwell as a town – it directly led to the loss of 1200 jobs, with an estimated knock-on of 10,000 throughout Lanarkshire.
Ravenscraig’s closure signalled the end of large-scale steel making in Scotland, and the demolition of the site’s landmark blue gasometer in 1996 and the clean-up operation created the largest brown field site in Europe.
Several hundred houses, Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, a hotel and restaurant and the new site of New College Lanarkshire’s Motherwell campus currently sit on the site.
Now award-winning independent TV production company purpletv have created the Steelmen documentary, which looks at the crippling social, economic and cultural impact of Ravenscraig’s closure, telling the story through the prism steel of Motherwell’s first silverware in 39 years.
The win really lifted the town, and those captured on film tell how it gave people back their confidence and underdog spirit.
Several Motherwell legends from 1991 give their take on the whole situation, including captain Tom Boyd, Chris Mccart, Ian Angus, Iain Ferguson, Colin O’neill and hero Stevie Kirk, who scored in every game of that famous cup run.
They are joined by former steelworkers Donald Oliver and Kevin Harper, de-industrialism historian, Dr Valerie Wright from Glasgow University, Motherwell FC historian Keith Brown, and the club’s chief executive Alan Burrows, who attended the final as a young fan.
Remarkable archive memorabilia and reconstruction enhance visually.
Purpletv owner Margot Mccuaig, who wrote, produced and directed Steelmen, said: “It has been a privilege to make the Steelmen film, a story focusing on the victorious Scottish Cup winning Motherwell side of 1991.
“This documentary brings to life the voices and experiences of the people of Motherwell at such a challenging time in the town’s history, during the collapse of the Scottish steel industry.
“Against this backdrop, Motherwell FC’S success, after 39 years, in Scotland’s prestigious football competition is a significant moment in our cultural history.”
Steelmen will be broadcast by BBC Alba on Friday, January 18, at 9pm, and will be available thereafter for 30 days. footage, drama the story,