Volunteer Corner
Credit:
Finbarr O'Sullivan catches up with Bray fan Stephen Murtagh who also volunteers in the club shop on match-night at the Carlisle Grounds.
When and how did you become a Bray Wanderers fan?
Well, my dad began taking me to the odd match when I was a kid. I have a couple of match programmes from 1994. It was the 2000/01 season when I became an actual supporter. I had watched the team win the cup on the TV in '99 and went to a fair few games the next season in the First Division. 2000/01 was the season we finished fourth, the football at the Carlisle was very entertaining and there was a real buzz about the place. The sky was the limit.
I remember we missed out on Europe on the last day because Ollie Cahill scored the winner for Cork in a 1-0 win over Shels at the Cross, costing Shels the title, before leaving Cork for Shels that summer. It was a three horse race for the final European spot between Cork, Pats and ourselves and we thumped Pats 4-1 at the Carlisle on that last day. It was disappointing not to be in Europe but we were dreaming of a title challenge for next season.
Barring the year I spent abroad last year, I've only missed a handful of home games since the start of that 2000/01 season and I've been all over the country supporting the lads. When you start going regularly, you get hooked. You see how dependent the LOI clubs are on their small fan bases, you get a view of the game that you can't get through a TV screen and you really feel like a part of the club. No matter how many defeats you have to swallow, it's not as simple as saying: "That's it, I'm done with this." You're a part of the club and the club's a part of you.
Why did you begin to volunteer?
It was the year of my junior cert and I had had a summer job the year before but I didn't really enjoy it. I wanted to contribute more to the club and I knew I was going to have a few months free, so it just made sense to me to get more involved with the club rather than get a summer job I wouldn't enjoy. I was also thinking about work experience in fourth year and I was excited about getting involved.
How did it come about?
I just approached General Manager Jack O'Neill at one of our home games and told him I was interested during the summer holidays. He was happy to hear that and asked me if I could come down the day after the match and help with the clean-up and get my first taste of volunteering. As it happened, the next morning was lashing rain so we put off the clean-up but I had months of better weather to look forward to.
What have you done for the club?
For a couple of summers, I was mainly cleaning up after matches - cleaning up after fans, emptying bins, tidying the dressing rooms and stuff like that. Other than that, I was moving things from A to B, any little things Jack or Ger Mahony, our groundsman, needed done. They were always keen to stress that I take it easy and not to work too hard. Compared to the work they put in, I didn't do a great deal.
I would occasionally help with match-day set-up - putting up signs and security railings and I had one poor attempt at selling programmes but I was pretty shy at the time and didn't do a great job
One of my favourite bits of work was sticking up flyers with Wes Charles one day. He was one of my, and everyone elses, favourite players and it was great to hang around him. I would have been 15 at the time and it made my day. Was was well-known by many fans in the league and he was like a celebrity around Bray. Everyone would say "Hi" to him and loads of people stopped to chat. He was Mr. Popular and a real cult hero among us fans.
I got back into volunteering this year after a couple of years of inactivity and a bit of travelling. I help out in the shop now, selling bars, crisps and cokes.
What is your typical match-day routine?
I get to the ground around seven and work in the shop until around nine when we close up. If there's a bit of stock coming in, then I come in a few hours earlier to help Simon set things up. Simon took on the responsibility of running the shop this year and I just help out with Ailis and Claire. The bulk of the work was done when we had a bit of a clear-out and re-structuring of the shop.
It's great to be involved again. The club really has a community feel to it but I feel that I should point out that I only put in a small amount of work compared to other volunteers. I won't list a load of names but there have been a lot of people who have put a lot of hours into the club over the years. Jack O'Neill was a volunteer long before he was an employee and you can tell that he sincerely appreciates every bit of help the club gets.
Who has been your favourite Wanderers player and why?
Colm Tresson. Amazing player and a great pro. He's one of those guys, a bit like Matt LeTissier at Southampton, where you know he could have won more honours had he left the club but you also know he doesn't regret staying.
He joined in 1990 and left us in '92 before ending up back with us in '98 and, for the past 12 years, he's been an immense player at the club. Five-time Player of the Year and he was our top-scorer in our best ever league season - despite playing at centre-mid and right- back, as well as anywhere else he was needed.
Honourable mentions go to Jason Byrne and Maurice Farrell. Jayo is a match winner. Mo was like a man possessed at left-back. He would tackle, harass and run up and down that left-hand side all day. He didn't seem to get tired, just more determined!
What has been your favourite Wanderers moment?
That 4-1 win over Pats in 2001 stands out. There was also a couple of games in 2005. The last two games of the season we beat Bohs 3-1 at home and Harps 4-2 away in our first season back in the top flight after a few years in the First Division.
And your worst?
The 2-1 defeat to Drogheda in the 2005 FAI Cup semi hurt, but losing out on promotion to Dublin City on the last day of the 2003 season is the worst moment.
You often hear fans moan about "being robbed" and the ref is used as a scapegoat. But on that day, the lads were robbed. Dublin City got a very dubious penalty. Robbie Farrell looked shocked that he'd gotten it.
We had a clear peno turned down ourselves and Anthony Buttimer's decisions the entire game were enraging. We drew 1-1 but needed to win to go up, the players looked absolutely shell-shocked at the final whistle and couldn't recover for the play-offs and we crashed out to Finn Harps. Thankfully, we went up the following season.
There was a horrible 2-0 home defeat to Dublin City shortly before they went bust in 2006. We were so poor, I remember the feeling "this is a new low".
What are your hopes for Wanderers this season?
We've got a good footballing side with plenty of good, young players. I think we have the smallest budget in the league and we're relying heavily on youngsters. It's a pretty new squad as well with so many new faces. Up until a week before the season started, we were gearing up for the First Division and it's all very different when you're then a Premier Division side again.
I think with a young footballing team, we're likely to see some good performances but the results are another issue. Most teams in the league are experienced and physical and it could be a steep learning curve.
There are three games gone and we've got no points, whereas if games were decided on the balance of play, we'd probably have four points. But the table doesn't lie. It could be a long, old season but I'm glad that the club are living within their means and ensuring that there will be a club there in years to come. We all dream of trophies and European football but, right now, survival is the name of the game. My hope for the season is that we finish it as a top flight club.
If you could sign one player for Bray from within the League of Ireland, who would it be and why?
Jason Byrne. He started his career with us and is a league legend. It's a shame that he only has one international cap, but he was part of that Shels team that got the nation's attention with their European run. Jason lifted the FAI Cup with us in '99 and I think every Bray fan would love to see him play for us in another final.
When and how did you become a Bray Wanderers fan?
Well, my dad began taking me to the odd match when I was a kid. I have a couple of match programmes from 1994. It was the 2000/01 season when I became an actual supporter. I had watched the team win the cup on the TV in '99 and went to a fair few games the next season in the First Division. 2000/01 was the season we finished fourth, the football at the Carlisle was very entertaining and there was a real buzz about the place. The sky was the limit.
I remember we missed out on Europe on the last day because Ollie Cahill scored the winner for Cork in a 1-0 win over Shels at the Cross, costing Shels the title, before leaving Cork for Shels that summer. It was a three horse race for the final European spot between Cork, Pats and ourselves and we thumped Pats 4-1 at the Carlisle on that last day. It was disappointing not to be in Europe but we were dreaming of a title challenge for next season.
Barring the year I spent abroad last year, I've only missed a handful of home games since the start of that 2000/01 season and I've been all over the country supporting the lads. When you start going regularly, you get hooked. You see how dependent the LOI clubs are on their small fan bases, you get a view of the game that you can't get through a TV screen and you really feel like a part of the club. No matter how many defeats you have to swallow, it's not as simple as saying: "That's it, I'm done with this." You're a part of the club and the club's a part of you.
Why did you begin to volunteer?
It was the year of my junior cert and I had had a summer job the year before but I didn't really enjoy it. I wanted to contribute more to the club and I knew I was going to have a few months free, so it just made sense to me to get more involved with the club rather than get a summer job I wouldn't enjoy. I was also thinking about work experience in fourth year and I was excited about getting involved.
How did it come about?
I just approached General Manager Jack O'Neill at one of our home games and told him I was interested during the summer holidays. He was happy to hear that and asked me if I could come down the day after the match and help with the clean-up and get my first taste of volunteering. As it happened, the next morning was lashing rain so we put off the clean-up but I had months of better weather to look forward to.
What have you done for the club?
For a couple of summers, I was mainly cleaning up after matches - cleaning up after fans, emptying bins, tidying the dressing rooms and stuff like that. Other than that, I was moving things from A to B, any little things Jack or Ger Mahony, our groundsman, needed done. They were always keen to stress that I take it easy and not to work too hard. Compared to the work they put in, I didn't do a great deal.
I would occasionally help with match-day set-up - putting up signs and security railings and I had one poor attempt at selling programmes but I was pretty shy at the time and didn't do a great job
One of my favourite bits of work was sticking up flyers with Wes Charles one day. He was one of my, and everyone elses, favourite players and it was great to hang around him. I would have been 15 at the time and it made my day. Was was well-known by many fans in the league and he was like a celebrity around Bray. Everyone would say "Hi" to him and loads of people stopped to chat. He was Mr. Popular and a real cult hero among us fans.
I got back into volunteering this year after a couple of years of inactivity and a bit of travelling. I help out in the shop now, selling bars, crisps and cokes.
What is your typical match-day routine?
I get to the ground around seven and work in the shop until around nine when we close up. If there's a bit of stock coming in, then I come in a few hours earlier to help Simon set things up. Simon took on the responsibility of running the shop this year and I just help out with Ailis and Claire. The bulk of the work was done when we had a bit of a clear-out and re-structuring of the shop.
It's great to be involved again. The club really has a community feel to it but I feel that I should point out that I only put in a small amount of work compared to other volunteers. I won't list a load of names but there have been a lot of people who have put a lot of hours into the club over the years. Jack O'Neill was a volunteer long before he was an employee and you can tell that he sincerely appreciates every bit of help the club gets.
Who has been your favourite Wanderers player and why?
Colm Tresson. Amazing player and a great pro. He's one of those guys, a bit like Matt LeTissier at Southampton, where you know he could have won more honours had he left the club but you also know he doesn't regret staying.
He joined in 1990 and left us in '92 before ending up back with us in '98 and, for the past 12 years, he's been an immense player at the club. Five-time Player of the Year and he was our top-scorer in our best ever league season - despite playing at centre-mid and right- back, as well as anywhere else he was needed.
Honourable mentions go to Jason Byrne and Maurice Farrell. Jayo is a match winner. Mo was like a man possessed at left-back. He would tackle, harass and run up and down that left-hand side all day. He didn't seem to get tired, just more determined!
What has been your favourite Wanderers moment?
That 4-1 win over Pats in 2001 stands out. There was also a couple of games in 2005. The last two games of the season we beat Bohs 3-1 at home and Harps 4-2 away in our first season back in the top flight after a few years in the First Division.
And your worst?
The 2-1 defeat to Drogheda in the 2005 FAI Cup semi hurt, but losing out on promotion to Dublin City on the last day of the 2003 season is the worst moment.
You often hear fans moan about "being robbed" and the ref is used as a scapegoat. But on that day, the lads were robbed. Dublin City got a very dubious penalty. Robbie Farrell looked shocked that he'd gotten it.
We had a clear peno turned down ourselves and Anthony Buttimer's decisions the entire game were enraging. We drew 1-1 but needed to win to go up, the players looked absolutely shell-shocked at the final whistle and couldn't recover for the play-offs and we crashed out to Finn Harps. Thankfully, we went up the following season.
There was a horrible 2-0 home defeat to Dublin City shortly before they went bust in 2006. We were so poor, I remember the feeling "this is a new low".
What are your hopes for Wanderers this season?
We've got a good footballing side with plenty of good, young players. I think we have the smallest budget in the league and we're relying heavily on youngsters. It's a pretty new squad as well with so many new faces. Up until a week before the season started, we were gearing up for the First Division and it's all very different when you're then a Premier Division side again.
I think with a young footballing team, we're likely to see some good performances but the results are another issue. Most teams in the league are experienced and physical and it could be a steep learning curve.
There are three games gone and we've got no points, whereas if games were decided on the balance of play, we'd probably have four points. But the table doesn't lie. It could be a long, old season but I'm glad that the club are living within their means and ensuring that there will be a club there in years to come. We all dream of trophies and European football but, right now, survival is the name of the game. My hope for the season is that we finish it as a top flight club.
If you could sign one player for Bray from within the League of Ireland, who would it be and why?
Jason Byrne. He started his career with us and is a league legend. It's a shame that he only has one international cap, but he was part of that Shels team that got the nation's attention with their European run. Jason lifted the FAI Cup with us in '99 and I think every Bray fan would love to see him play for us in another final.
About Finbarr O'Sullivan
Currently working in Brazil, Finbarr will be giving his take on Brazilian football in his regular Extratime.ie column. Finbarr peviously studied in Spain and worked in the Czech Republic and had regular column pieces on … View Full Profile