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North Dublin were crowned the champions of the 2017 Irish Senior Cup in Bangor this past weekend. As rank outsiders, the lads pulled off the unthinkable and clinched the title after an extremely entertaining final against St. Vincents. Our first win since our only previous win in 1994. 

 

The tournament took place in Bangor and there was a slight change to the usual 8 team format as Setanta withdrew from the tournament a couple of months back. This meant that North Dublin were drawn into a group of 3 teams alongside perennial winners, Half Moon, and current holders and league champions St. Vincents. Definitely a group of death this one.

 

Up first was Half Moon at 08:30 on Saturday morning. A win in this game wouldn't guarantee passage to the semi finals but would go a long way to getting the winners there. North Dublin took off like a train. a 6-1 lead at one point in the 2nd quarter was pegged back to a 6-4 lead. However, a mistake from the Half Moon keeper gave captain Stevie Nolan the chance to extend the lead. With the clock ticking down to Half Time the keeper swam out of his goal and launched a pass up to forward Gerard Wilkes. It was wayward and Stevie intercepted it and launched it from his own 5 metres straight into the net. 7-4 and advantage North Dublin.

 

The 3rd quarter saw Half Moon grab 4 unanswered goals to take a 7-8 lead into the final quarter. However, the lads dug deep, Egor played an absolute blinder against his former club and we won the game 12-9. One foot in the semis. Up next was favourites St. Vincents at 14:20. Not much rest but the lads knew a draw would be enough to guarantee a first semi since the last tournament played in Bangor in 2014. Vincents were fresh and ultimately it showed as the lads succumbed to a tough 14-7 loss. However, Vincents would go on to beat Half Moon heavily on Saturday night so our lads were through.

 

Second favourites Cathal Brugha were the reward. A tough, well drilled team with plenty of experience. Our lads went in as underdogs but you wouldn't have believed that if you saw the game. It was back and forth throughout but in the final quarter, the lads just turned it on and in a huge way. With Jamie pulling saves out of absolutely nowhere and the lads doing the business up top, we emerged 8-5 winners. Our first final in 14 years! The reward? A final against St. Vincents, who only a day previous hammered our boys by 7 goals. But that was in the past.

 

And so to the final. There was a large North Dublin presence in the stands throughout the weekend but after the semi, the call went out and a convoy of North Dublin fans travelled to push our boys over the line. The boys took to the line up to the sound of "Back in Black" by AC/DC which is definitely fitting considering the Club's colours and tradition. Game faces were on and they had to be. This Vincents team haven't lost a game in over a year and have been the best team around for some time. The crowd was partizan. St. Vincents had their supporters, but North Dublin seemed to have the backing of every neutral in the stand. Everyone loves an underdog. Coach Sean Kenna had previously coached St. Vincents and his last game in charge was here in Bangor in 2014 at the semi final stages. He had a point to prove and he had readied his charges for the battle.

 

The game itself was a tense affair. A slender 3-2 lead was taken in at Half Time after some inspired goalkeeping by Jamie, some expert defending by captain Stevie Nolan and a man marking masterclass by co-captain James Mangan who nullified the threat of Vincents Spanish superstar.

 

However, the 3rd quarter saw Vincents emerge with a 4-5 lead going into the final quarter. Thoughts turned back to the Half Moon game. A goal down going into the last quarter, dig deep and put your bodies on the line to earn the win. And unbelievably that is exactly what happened. Two goals put us 6-5 up. David Sadlier, who takes a lot of stick from the boys for doing it in training and not in matches, stepped up and banged the ball into the top corner from a man-up right when it counted. It really did typify the weekend. 6-5 and only 2 minutes to go. Steady the ship and the cup is ours.

However, it looked to be undone when Paul McMenamin was excluded with 30 seconds left on the clock to give St. Vincents one last chance to tie it up and bring us to penalties. However, our man down defence was solid as a rock, they rushed a pass into the middle and captain fantastic, Stevie Nolan stepped in and took the ball. 20 seconds to go. Hold the ball and the cup is ours. Stevie gave it to Egor, he drew the foul, got a man up and gave it to co-captain James Mangan on the halfway line. One look at the crowd, a point to acknowledge the support and then bang! 7-5 right on the buzzer. In truth most people missed it go in as they were already celebrating. What a moment! 23 years to the day after our last and only triumph as a club. The 30th of April is now officially a club holiday!

 

More incredible is the fact that the Nolan brothers, Barry, Stevie and Gavin had only lost their grandmother a few days previous and missed the funeral on Saturday with their familys blessing to win it for her. And it meant a lot to the Cope's as well. Tom Cope was a stalwart of this club and his passing in February hit us all hard. His son Mick and grandsons Brendan and Jamie embraced at the end and it was clear what it meant to that family. You all did it for them and you did them proud.

 

It was this groups first final together and they produced. After years of underachieving and disappointment, they got it together and lived up to all of the potential. A true some of its parts. Paul McMenamin and Mick Cope have also become the only players to win 2 Irish Senior Cups with North Dublin and there isn't two more deserving people. Paul and Brendan Cope also made the Team of the Tournament to cap off a great weekend. The celebrations continued into Monday in Dublin where we had members show up to the Goblet in Artane to congratulate the boys.

 

To Coach Sean Kenna, Team Manager Thomas Reeves, Assistant Manager/sub goalie Mick Cope, Jamie, Andy, Stevie, Karl, Barry, Mangan, Shagger, Egor, Paul, Brendan, Sadlier, Gavin, Luka and Mick O'Kane, to a man you were all excellent and represented this club with distinction. Well done boys an excellent achievement! Up the Skull and Bones!