IAN BERMINGHAM CAPTAINED Saint Patrick’s Athletic to the FAI Cup and his weekend was almost certainly better than yours.
“It’s probably the best feeling I’ve had in football to be quite honest with you. Obviously winning the league and the cup a good few years ago was brilliant but you might think that it happens every year but to go on the decline we did – I say decline but we went on a little bit of a slip – over the last number of years and just to come back here and captain this team…I said it to the lads before the game, that it’s an absolute honour to lead them out into the Aviva for this club in a cup final.
“It was probably the proudest day of my football career to do that. To come out on the winning side and lift the trophy with a great friend of mine, Christy O’Neill, who has been here longer than me is just special.
“To add to that, I had my first child on Friday, all of my dreams came through in a weekend. I can’t believe it to be quite honest with you, it’s the best weekend of my life.
“Me and my missus Leaha went into hospital on Friday morning, she had the baby at 5:05 on Friday evening. I was there until late Friday evening and then early Saturday morning. Then I had to sort of had to leave them then to meet up with the lads to go through everything.
“I’ve just spoken to her there, video-called her, and they’re at home. They just got out, I think they watched the game at home, and saw me lift the trophy. I’m buzzing with that and they’re all good.
“I think she’s letting me out tonight.”
Bermingham was part of the Pat’s side that won the Cup in 2014, as was yesterday’s goalscorer, Chris Forrester. Man of the Match Lee Desmond wasn’t so fortunate: he joined the day after that Cup final win with Pat’s and has been through a lengthy period of disappointment and under performance: prior to this season, they didn’t finish higher than fourth in the league and hadn’t returned to the Cup final.
Everything has changed under former Dundalk captain Stephen O’Donnell, who led the club to second in the league and then to silverware.
“I signed the day after they won it in 2014″, said Desmond. “Bermo and Chris. I was sitting up here in the stand with my Dad and I said, ‘Right, I’ll sign for Pat’s’ and I met Liam Buckley the next day and I signed. I’ve said to a lot of people…some people want to win the league but the cup is the bigger occasion. Through all the tough times, today’s the day that keeps you going.
“Even through lockdown last year for four months, you’re out of work and you’re running every day and you need motivation. Today is the day you’re thinking of. You have your doubts is it ever going to happen. I think the lads will agree, when Stephen came in the club just got turned upside down, well the first team squad did anyway. And he’s brought us on and up a few levels and yeah, it hasn’t settled in yet.”
At that point Bermingham interjected.
“Can I just add to that, if anyone deserves a medal in this country it’s him. The work he puts in that I see every day, he came in and when the thing happened and I used to say the way he trains, the way he conducts himself off the pitch, he’s a proper leader and he’s an ever better fella and a great friend. I’m delighted for him because I can’t tell you how much work he puts in, it’s frightening.”
Desmond also had to battle back from a horror injury, which is still betrayed by a crescent-shaped scar around his right eye. A heavy collision with his own goalkeeper in the dying minutes of a league season left him knocked out cold, briefly unable to move or speak when he regained consciousness. Desmond was transferred to hospital but his condition improved from there, and after a couple of false starts as he went through concussion protocols, he was back in time for the semi-final win against Dundalk.
“Well, I knew that I’d be back for the semi-final, that was my goal. Not once did I think ‘Awh, you deserve this because you have been through a tough injury’.
“I wanted to win this cup long before that. The injury happened but it was only a six -week injury. John Mountney is out for eight or nine months.
“People like him are invaluable in the squad, coming in every day and the loudest person in the dressing room. So we can not forget about lads who were in the squad, they have had a massive contribution.”
Bermingham, meanwhile, is 32, but says his career has been reinvigorated by O’Donnell.
The manager coming in has revitalised me. I was getting a bit… I’m not saying I wasn’t happy but certain things in the club, it just wasn’t working, every season you go in thinking you are going to win the league and the cup, no matter what team you are playing for, but we weren’t doing well, really. I was getting frustrated more than anything.
“The manager came in and immediately there was a change in mentality, it was great, something that I loved. I am thriving on it, I love going in to training every day.
“One of you asked the manager about the tactics, he asked us the other day if we trusted him. Every single player in that dressing room trusts him. I am 32 now I thought I knew it all in football and I am still learning to this day.”
A crowd of 37,126 made this the best-attended FAI Cup final since Lansdowne Road was renovated, and the Pat’s captain hopes this is just the beginning.
“Football in Ireland is starting to capture the imagination. The national team and Stephen Kenny going in there, I just think there is a bigger interest in the League of Ireland, you see players going on to bigger and better things.
“I don’t want to big them up too much but we have a couple of young lads who can go on and get international honours, probably go on to the next level. The quality of the players in the league now, it’s a better league than the one I came into. Lads like Darragh [Burns] have no fear, they are exciting players. It’s capturing the imagination of people, who want to come and watch players like him.
“People didn’t really know Darragh until we played Dundalk in the semi-final and had a big crowd in Richmond Park, they maybe hadn’t been at games before but they wanted to come and watch a big game. I hope it keeps growing and growing, it was a great atmosphere, hopefully it’s a sign of things to come and we can keep growing the attendances as it is a quality league.”
