Sport History

The Gifted Fools

Yesterday Sunderland’s Nicklas Bendtner and Lee Cattermole were bailed from Northumbria police station after they allegedly caused criminal damage to cars in the Newcastle area. As a child we all aspire to become the best that we can be, we dream that one day we’ll achieve everything and hopefully look back on a fulfilling life. Too often have we all seen professional footballers who earn a ridiculous sum of money every year and still, even when they could have anything, they cause unnecessary harm to other people’s lives. Yes I understand that people are only human and some individuals have underlying personal problems that are often frowned upon so I am not … Continue reading →

Pre-Season and the Suunto M5

One torn hamstring, one ridiculous text message and almost 2 years later I finally return to Steelstown Brian Óg’s. There were a number of factors that led me to become disillusioned, but every player at some point knows this feeling. Nonetheless I have returned to the club that I started out with, and I have no intentions of leaving it. Although the season has just finished there is a long, tough pre-season ahead and to be honest I’m relishing every minute of it. For the next 3 months the training will be intense, the eating will be clean and the hunger for next season will be insatiable. Myself and fellow teammates have … Continue reading →

Gary Speed: The Role Model

Today a dark cloud looms over football as the talented, hardworking, strong and athletic Welsh footballer Gary Speed has passed away. Images of his former team mate Shay Given in tears during a game that should never have gone ahead (Swansea vs Aston Villa) filled me with great sadness. It hit home just how great the loss of Gary Speed is. One of Wales most gifted players Gary had an international career spanning over 14 years and had 85 caps to his name. News filtered through to me as I stood watching my friend Brian Devine shout instructions to his young u-12 Tristar Boys football team. People speak of poignant moments, well … Continue reading →

Exclusive Images: Darron Gibson – The History Maker

Before my incredible adventure to Hong Kong myself and fellow colleague Ciaran Roddy had been working hard on the Ulster Sporting Heroes exhibition at the Tower Museum. On 9th November, the exhibition was launched and thus far it has been a roaring success. Little did I know what was to greet me upon my return. 1 x Premier League winners’ medal 1 x FIFA Club World Cup medal 2 x Carling Cup medals Needless to say, shivers tingled down my spine. Darron Gibson had kindly loaned us his haul of incredible medals for the exhibition. Holding the Premier League medal in my hand brought to mind a flood of childhood dreams that … Continue reading →

Like Father Like Son

As you sit at your dinner table, surrounded by your loving family, laughing and enjoying each others company take a moment to think on Jimmy ‘Spider’ Kelly. Many of you will have heard of the famous British and Empire boxing champion, but what you won’t know is that Jimmy Kelly could neither read nor write. Or that on a cold winter’s morning he set off from Derry by foot to Five Mile Town (11.1 miles) for a fight that if victorious would feed his family for a week. Knowing that defeat was not an option he was victorious and the people of the Lecky Road ate handsomely for a full week. Often … Continue reading →

The Birth of ‘The’ Rivalry

  When the football league was formed in 1888, Manchester United F.C. and Liverpool F.C. never existed. Two of the greatest clubs to ever grace the green surface were both created under very interesting circumstances. When the humble club of Newton Heath was purchased by John Henry Davies in 1900, he decided the club needed a new direction, and what better way to start than by changing the name of the club. After much debate between naming the club Manchester Central or Manchester Celtic, the final name given to the club in April 1902 was Manchester United. Since then Manchester United has gone on to produce some of the greatest spectacles in the history … Continue reading →