Shelbourne manager has consistently pointed out that the future of the sport here is inextricably linked to the development of the league
Shelbourne manager Damien Duff pulls supporter Ciarán Harmon out of the crowd to join the team. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
He’s not far wrong, the enthusiastic youth on bouncing toes, handing out flyers. “Save Tolka Park!” “Howya bud, will you help save Tolka Park?” “We’re in a desperate state!”
The Drumcondra venue, on Dublin’s northside, nestles between the languid Tolka river on one side and a row of red-bricked houses on the other. Some would say it is imprisoned there, like a concrete Miss Havisham. The ground remains almost exactly the same as it did when we first entered its turnstiles nearly 40 years ago.
