A Bohemian Sporting Life: Recent Episodes
Gerard Farrell
A podcast focusing on the history of Bohemians Football Club but also branching into the wider story of Irish and World football. Find more at https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/
The League of Ireland is commonly seen as a development league, one whose best players are signed at an early age, usually by larger, wealthier clubs from Britain, following a pattern established more than a century ago. But in this set of four case studies from the 1920s through to the twenty first century another narrative is examined: the stories of footballers who have come into the League of Ireland from outside.
Recorded live in the Joyce Tower museum during the Joycenight festival, host Gerard Farrell chairs a discussion on the events that took place in the Sandycove Martelloe tower that fractured the friendship of James Joyce and Oliver St. John Gogarty, gave rise to Stately plump Buck Mulligan and what all this has to do with Bohemian Football Club.
With expert guests Des Gunning, Graham Hopkins and Brian Trench
Conor Curran is the guest on this episode talking about his new book Soccer and Society in Dublin, charting the history of the sport in the capital as far back as the 1880s.
Fergus Dowd chats to Matthew Collins about football and the far right, the new book and TV drama based on his experience, and his fondness for Cork Cork.
A chat with Sam Robinson about Glentoran's 1914 tour of Europe and their triumph in the Vienna Cup and what happened to the footballers who returned to Belfast with War just months away.
Interview with Outside Write host Chris Lee about his new book "Defiant - the history of football against Fascism" covering everything from Italy in the 1920s, World War 2, the Balkans and Eastern Europe as well as football in South American under the dictatorships of the 1970s and 80s.
We chat to Dietrich, a prolific German author on football, about football history, Johann Cruyff, his time living in Ireland and the Bundesliga among other subjects
Fergus chats with actor Maxine Peake about her role playing Anne Williams, campaigner for the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster.
Fergus talks to writer Adrian Tempany about the Hillsborough disaster and the search for justice.
We chat to former referee Keith Hackett about taking charge of an FA Cup final, UEFA matches and bribery in Europe, the dawn of the Premier League and what we can learn from modern rule changes such as VAR.
We chat to Pat McGibbon about Old Trafford under Fergie, the social skills of Roberto Martinez, Windsor Park in 94 and how dealing with tragedy has led him to the work he does today.
For more on Pat's work visit train2bsmart.com
Fergus chats to stats expert Marshall Gillespie - he's on Twitter @NIStats - about working for the IFA, his passion for football and the growth of statistical analysis from a minority pursuit to becoming central to the running of modern football.
We chat to Michael Ganley about the Football fans museum in Sunderland which began from his own extensive collection of football memorabilia.
For more visit https://fansmuseum.org/
An interesting and amusing chat with former Middlesboro and Liverpool forward David Hodgson about the Anfield bootroom, playing in Japan, Spain and France, and why you don't want to take a wrong turn with a cattle truck in Buenos Aires.
Fergus chats to Kieron Brady about a hugely promising career cut short, playing in a Cup final for Sunderland, choosing Ireland over Scotland and facing personal challenges after his career was over.
We chat to former Cork City striker Roy O'Donovan about his career in England, Scotland, Brunei and Australia. Including what it was like to play under Roy Keane at Sunderland, the Scottish Cup final, and playing for a Sultan.
We chat to Tony Dorigo about how an Australian teenager ended up in 1980s Birmingham, about playing for England, Italia 90, rooming with Gazza, success at Leeds, the dark side of Italian football and much, much more.
We chat to Warren Feeney about his footballing family, his playing career in England and the route that led to his to a managerial role in Bulgaria.
We chat with former Ireland international Paddy Mulligan about his eventful playing and coaching career which included stints at Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Chelsea, West Brom & Crystal Palace as well a spell playing in the NASL and coaching in Greece.
We chat to Dominic Foley about appearing in two Belgian Cup finals, being signed by Stephen Kenny but never playing for him, coming up against a young Vincent Kompany, and the unusual trajectory of his international career.
Alan talks about his fascinating career in Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Scotland from playing under John Giles as a teenager to helping teach Quique Setien English and who was tougher Dermot Keely or Andoni Goikoetxea.
We chat to Lawrie Sanchez about managing in the League of Ireland and the Greek top flight. Scoring the winning in the Crazy Gang/Culture Club cup final, and his experiences of playing for and managing Northern Ireland.
We talk to former Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves, Man Utd & Southamption player Jim McCalliog. Jim tells us about a possible Ireland call-up, playing and coaching in the USA and Norway, two epic cup finals that took place 10 years apart and much more...
I chat with Bohs fan Eric Lalor about his family's generations-long connection with Bohs, going to games in the 70s and 80s. His career in entertainment, and showbiz Bohs fans.
We chat to Cillian currently playing his football in Poland for Wisla Plock, about his globetrotting career. From growing up as a wanabee basketballer to his early days at Celtic and his travels to Bulgaria, Cyprus & New Zealand.
We talk to former Man City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan about becoming a club legend, winning in Europe with City. The end of the NASL, learning from Bert Trautmann and Harry Gregg and coaching at Liverpool and Celtic and his less well known GAA career in Roscommon!
I chat with Bohemians finance director John O'Connor about club, league and global football finances, what goes into preparing a budget and keeping a League of Ireland club afloat, the importance of Europe, the dark days at Dalymount and much more.
We chat with former Ireland player and manager Eoin Hand about his time in the League of Ireland, at Swindon and Portsmouth as well as his time coaching in South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
We chat with former Ireland international Terry Conroy about growing up in Cabra, trips to America with both Home Farm and the Cleveland Stokers, chosing Glentoran over Shamrock Rovers. His spell in Hong Kong and scoring in the League Cup final for Stoke City.
We speak with John Conway about his career with Bohemians and Fulham and becoming the first Irish player to play in Switzerland.
We talk with former Spurs centre back Paul Miller about playing in Norway, , where the nickname "Maxi" came from, enjoying success with Spurs and life after football.
*Be advised that there is some swearing in this episode
In the second in our "Road less travelled" series, we chat to Fran O'Brien - from a famous Dublin footballing family Fran started his career with Bohemians before moving to play in the NASL for Philadelphia Fury, Montreal Manic & the Vancouver Whitecaps.
In the first of an occasional series Gerry Farrell and Fergus Dowd chat to Gerry Armstrong about his time in Spain with Real Mallorca, playing against Maradona, his time growing up in Belfast, his spells at Spurs and Watford, parties with Elton John and of course THAT goal in Valencia in 1982.
For more https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/
In conversation with former Bohs winger Kaleem Simon about his time at the club, playing football in England during the pandemic and his recent international call-up for Montserrat.
Ryan Clarke returns to the programme (@RyanCIarke) with his documentary about the work of the Bohemian Foundation with the inmates of Mountjoy prison. This episode also features contributions from Tommy Hynes and former Bohs players Oscar Brennan and Scott Allardice.
Fergus Dowd of the Patrick O'Connell memorial fund is guest host these week and he discusses the connections which like the struggle for workers rights faced by Patrick in his early career with similar struggles faced by workers today.
Also a guest on the podcast is actor and writer Tom Watt who talks about his football documentaries for BT Sport and his role with Arsenal and working with the local community.
Fergus recently contributed this article to the blog https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/2021/01/24/thomas-blackstock-and-the-outcasts-the-story-of-the-pfa/
I speak to Aodhán O'Ríordáin and Gary Cooke about how a TD and an actor ended up running a football walking tour in North Dublin during a pandemic.
For more info on the tour email footballwalkingtour@gmail.com or follow on Twitter at @FootballTourDub
Charting Bohs European adventures through the 90s to the turn of the Millennium and featuring fan and player recollections of games against Aberdeen, Kaiserslautern, Dinamo Minsk and Ferencvaros.
Be advised there is some bad language used in this episode
Welcome back to season 2 of a Bohemian Sporting Life where we discuss Bohs European adventures from the 90s all the way up to the Aberdeen and Kaiserslautern games.
Joining the pod are former players Dave Tilson, Tony O'Connor and Dave Henderson as well as supporters and board members to share their memories of Minsk, Budapest, Bucharest and Bordeaux.
There is some occasional bad language in this episode
In conversation with Brian Trench recreating a walking tour that he led in 2015 of the graves of Bohemians players & administrators.
Lists of the graves featured with grid references where available:
Joseph Wickham, 1890-1968, A04313, ZC, 69, South New Chapel
Dr Lewis J Farrell, 1875-1938, IC29 South (unmarked)
Hamilton J. Bell, Sr., EA 52.5 South (unmarked)
Major-General Emmet Dalton, 1898-1978, Republican Plot
Gerard O'Sullivan, 26 March 1909 – 5 April 1931, 394485, CI, 155, St Bridget's
Richard Hooper 1882-1931, aged 49; buried AH, 175, St Bridget’s, record 394996
Jeremiah (Sam) Robinson, d. 23 December 1985, A34512, VH, 112.5, St Bridget’s
Paddy Andrews, 1906-1981, A27869, IH, 91.5, St Bridget's
Patrick (Paddy) Walsh 1920-85, TJ 93.5, St Patrick’s
Bert Kerr 1893-1973; Kevin Kerr, 1914-2005, KL 281, St Patrick’s
Dudley Hussey, 1872-1944, FC10, St Paul’s
Harry McCue, 1927- 2005, St Paul’s
Joined again by Brendan and Fred we discuss our favourite matches, stadiums and fan experiences, which feature matches across three Continents.
Warning: some infrequent strong language.
The Bohemian Foundation is the charitable and community arm of the club. In this episdode I speak to Bohs director and Foundation President Tommy Hynes, first team player Promise Omochere, Paul Gannon, Dr. Ian Marder and Ryan Clarke about the good work undertaken by the Foundation.
In conversation with PRO Declan Farrell, Head of youth development Pat Cleary and Board member Conor Emerson about the work being done in the Bohemian FC youth system.
This episode focuses on the events surrounding the death of Samuel O'Brien after an altercation during the football match in the Phoenix Park in 1924.
The subsequent inquest and court case are examined as well as what happened to Samuel's family in the years after his death.
There are some descriptions of violence in the episode.
Chatting to journalist Ryan Clarke (follow him on @RyanCIarke ) about the history of Dalymount Park, home of Bohemian Football Club, and for many years the Irish national team.
In conversation with Mark Keane, Bilko Kacar and Ian Fallon about the Bohemian Futsal team, the differences from 11-a-side football, the origins of the team and the future of the sport in Ireland.
For more email futsal@bohemians.ie or follow @SCBohemian on Twitter or bohemianfutsal on Instagram.
Jimmy Dunne died tragically young aged just 44 but he managed to pack a lot into such a short life. A record breaking footballer at international level and in his club career he was one of the most profilic goalscorers in British football. He also coached both Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers.
Being a naturally quiet, laconic man couldn't hide his passionate side, he was interned as a teenager, faced death threats and wouldn't take an insult lightly. Here I try to tell the story of his life and career. You can read more here https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/the-life-and-career-of-jimmy-dunne/
The story of the life and career of Paddy Ratcliffe - who starred for Bohs during the two spells with the club. He also was a RAF gunner who survived being shot, crash landing and a Nazi POW camp.
Ratcliffe also had a successful career for Plymouth Argyle before relocating to the United States.
More on Ratcliffe here https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/2018/08/29/the-tail-gunner-at-full-back/
Brian Trench presents his new research on some of the key figures in the foundation of Bohemian Football Club including the Bell brothers, Dudley Hussey and others.
We talk about who they were, their lasting influence, where Bohs came from, how the club was very nearly called "Rovers" & also explode a few myths about the early days of the club as well.
The life and career of Harry McCue, star centre-half for Bohemians in the 1950s and later a league winner with Limerick - in discussion with Harry's son, Ken.
We also discuss Harry's part in the creation of an early player's union and his role in uncovering Paul McGrath.
The story of the life and sporting career of John Curtis - an early footballer for Bohemian FC who became a missionary, and later a Bishop in China during a tumultuous period.
For more see https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/tag/john-curtis/
Ciaran is secondary school language teacher and has completed a History PhD on 'Local Experience of the 1798 Rebellion'. He has published one book on this topic and numerous articles on the early development of football in Dublin and Bohemian FC in particular. He is married with two children, a cavalier king charles & a large collection of football memorabilia.
Ciaran's early history of Bohemian FC can be found in pdf here https://bohemianfc.com/?p=15364
In conversation with Bohemian FC member Stephen Silke about groundhopping, visiting every team who has won the European Cup having League of Ireland footballers living in your house and why "It's there for us".
In conversation with Aaron Ó'Maonaigh about the numerours association football players who had significant roles in Ireland during the revolutionary period, including Oscar Traynor, Sam Robinson, Charles McAllister and Emmet Dalton.
More of Aaron's research can be found here https://spd.academia.edu/Aaron%C3%93Maonaigh
While there is further discussion about the career of Joe Stynes in episode 4 with Michael Kielty
This is my second discussion with Brendan Ziegler and Fred Elesbao about their experience of German fan and ultra culture, terrace politics, and the tensions around club ownership and the 50 + 1 rule in Germany.
I chat with the founder and editor of View Football Magazine Darren Norton about his experiences in football fandom, the British non-league scene and his views on the explosion in quality football writing in recent years.
Follow @viewfootballmag on twitter issue 3 is out this month.
I speak with my good friend Stephen Walsh about supporting Bohs, his relationship with British football and his experiences of football at all levels while living across Britain.
You'll find him @bohemianstephen on Twitter
The story of the visit in 1979 of the League of Ireland side that took on the first Basque XI to take to the pitch since 1937.
Guest contributer Stewart Reddin discussing the political, historical and social background against which the match took place. A time he has described as "The years of lead".
The story of the tour, including a long forgotten tournament in Valencia, is based on research as well as conversations with LOI manager Billy Young and former Bohemian FC player Terry Eviston.
In conversation with Brendan and Fred about their experiences of football in Ireland and Germany (and Brazil and Japan) and comparisons with fan culture, ownership models and the Uruguayan precursor for Barry.
In conversation with Michael Kielty about early Irish footballers and their patterns of migration across the world, including the early Irish professional footballers in the United States and the story of the New York Bohemians Football Club. For more see https://abohemiansportinglife.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/from-dalymount-to-new-york
The story of Bohemian FC - their European tours and challenge matches against international opposition. Winning trophies, taking on German battleships and getting duped by the Dutch.
Recorded in Liberty Hall, Dublin in December 2019 as part of a Blizzard football event.
The story of Ray Keogh, one of the first black players in the League of Ireland, from his humble beginnings to playing against the likes of Bayern Munich.
Ray played for Shamrock Rovers, Drumcondra, Ards & Drogheda among others. This talk took place in January 2020 and also features contributions from former Drumcondra player Alf Girvan.
The story of the FK Austria Vienna tour of Scotland and Ireland and their match against Bohemians in 1936.
The match took place just weeks before Vienna won the Mitropa Cup and their side featured one of the world's greatest players, Matthias Sindelar - the Paper Man.