WHEN THE BBC journalist Eric White was tasked with sourcing a coach to support Letterkenny Rovers’ first-team manager late last year, he had a decent contacts book to flick through.
It had been a position filled by the Ulster Senior League side on a rotating basis, with former Donegal GAA boss Jim McGuinness one of a number of coaches to lend a hand.
White, the experienced broadcaster and reporter who is also the club secretary, then chanced his arm with someone he had not seen much of over the previous year.
Declan Devine had kept a low enough profile around the Ryan McBride Brandywell since his departure as Derry City manager by “mutual consent” in March 2021, but was still abreast of promising talent emerging in the region as a scout for Norwich City.
“I rang the number I had for him from covering the club but it wasn’t working, it must have been a club number,” White recalls. “So I just fired him off a message on Facebook, probably wasn’t expecting a positive response.”
Initially, Devine was unable to commit because of commitments with Norwich, but after a re-think 24 hours later he decided to scratch the coaching itch.
“He embraced it, typical Declan he was full of passion,” White says, citing how as well as first-team duties he also got involved with the seconds. “The enthusiasm he had, players loved him and also because he was able to do things to a high standard with different ideas. The place was buzzing.
“I was sitting there watching thinking ‘Jeez, this will never last’.”
He was right. By the middle of October Devine was a late bolter to become Bohemians manager after the protracted recruitment process to replace Keith Long saw a number of the frontrunners drop out.
Ten days before his appointment, Alan Reynolds turned down an offer from Dalymount Park and remained as assistant to Ruaidhri Higgins – the man who replaced Devine at Derry.
Former Ireland international Richard Dunne was another who withdrew while Ian Ryan, then of Wexford, had also been courted before he eventually ended up at Bray Wanderers in the First Division.
It was only late in the process that Devine and Bohs met, but club sources insist that he won them over instantly and that following chats on Zoom as well as in person both north and south, the contract was signed.
Devine was able to get to work during the remnants of the 2022 season, a crucial period which saw his personal touch persuade Ali Coote to remain at the club, as well as finalising the return of former captain Keith Buckley, with academy graduate Paddy Kirk also signed following a spell with Sligo Rovers.
Goalkeeper James Talbot agreed a new contract and another stalwart, Derek ‘Detser’ Pender, was added to Devine’s coaching staff.
It was a co-ordinated plan to rediscover some of the spirit that had ebbed away, and by the time the players re-grouped for pre-season at their training base in DCU – a top class facility which they invested €1.5 million in as part of an 18-year partnership, using the sell on clause money from Matt Doherty’s €15m transfer from Wolves to Tottenham Hotspur, it wasn’t just the atmosphere that had changed, a new full-time schedule with morning training was also finally introduced with the club on a solid financial footing.
“Players were going around the place feeling 10 foot tall again,” one source adds. “The manager was the one responsible because he is such a personable fella, he knows how to speak to people and if he saw someone with their head dropped he would be the first one over to ask what’s wrong and try to help.”
His ability to connect with supporters was also evident at Vicar Street in November, when he attended a special memorial for Derek ‘Mono’ Monaghan, a Bohs volunteer who died in tragic circumstances prior to his arrival at the club.
As a result, Devine was at first reticent to feature too prominently on the night, preferring to hold back, but after some persuasion he took part in a Q&A with fans and then shared some drinks and stories.
“Even some of the more mad ones from our support who were there were impressed,” a source joked.
It’s another example of his nature.
Devine had not yet turned 40 when he became Derry manager for the first time ahead of the 2012 season, making the leap from Stephen Kenny’s assistant to being the one making decisions.
Naturally, he was far from the finished article, but the characteristics which were evident then remain now, backed up by an added maturity.
“He brings enthusiasm, he brings a happiness to the changing room because he is a players’ manager,” Paul Hegarty, part of the management team alongside Devine more than a decade ago, explains.
He is just a good fella, a good human being with a way about him. If there is a bad performance it isn’t something he will hold against them, he gives players a fair crack. Players don’t fall out with Deccie.”
Former striker Rory Patterson is one noticeable exception, as he made perfectly clear during the FAI Cup final at the end of that season.
He had been left out of the starting XI against St Patrick’s Athletic due to an injury which had hampered him since needing to be replaced in the semi-final win over Shelbourne.
For Hegarty, the week of the showpiece at Aviva Stadium was already enough of a struggle following an accident in his day-job as a lumberjack.
“A tree fell on me, aye. I wasn’t in great shape at all,” he chuckles.
When Patterson was sprung from the bench and scored two goals, one of which was the winner in extra-time of a 3-2 classic, he made a beeline to the bench. Hegarty is laughing again as he remembers the message.
“‘You fuckin’ should have started me!’ Ah, I saw Rory only a few weeks ago and he was still going on about it. A wild man.”
The image of Devine dropping to his knees when the full-time whistle went in that final gives an idea of the depth of his love for his hometown club, which is why the disappointment of how his second spell in charge from 2019-21, during which Covid-19 had a grip on the world, took a toll.
He still ensured qualification for Europe in both stints – a third with Bohs is certainly within reach now – but attempts to maintain some old magic only had fleeting success by the end.
One notable occasion came in August 2021, when the documentary Different League: The Derry City Story was aired on RTÉ. Devine made it mandatory watching for each of his squad and when they hosted Dundalk in a tense encounter that same week, it became apparent why.
With crowds still locked out of stadiums due to the pandemic, Devine’s message came through loud and clear, as someone in attendance that night recalls his roar from the touchline to encourage his players. “Remember what youse watched last night!”
At Dalymount Park tomorrow, third-placed Derry come to Bohemians with Devine’s new side one point clear of Shamrock Rovers at the top of the Premier Division.
Considering events that have led him to this point, whatever happens next in Devine’s story will be another enthralling tale in this League of Ireland season.