IT PROMISES TO be a massive season at Tolka Park in 2019, as 13-time League of Ireland champions Shelbourne look to return to the top-flight of Irish football for the first time in five years.
The Airtricity League giants have been shackled in the First Division since 2014, but following an off-season of major investment coupled with the excitement brought by their new 31-year-old manager Ian Morris, this could be their year.
To whet supporters appetites for the campaign ahead, the Reds have produced a stirring promo video which pays homage to the great days of the club’s past with players like Wes Hoolahan, Tony Sheridan and Stuey Byrne.
“We’ve come a long way since 1895,” the compilation produced by Simon Crowe and narrated by Shane Dawson begins.
“The Reds… we’re an old institution. Thirteen leagues and 11 cups — it’s not a bad haul. We’ve had a few decent memories here.
“Dublin, it’s red and white. A city famous for it’s legends: Johnny Fortycoats, Ronnie and Luke, Joyce, Beckett and a little magician from Portland Row.”
It captures some of the incredible memories enjoyed by Shels fans in decades past, including Sheridan’s lob against St Pat’s in the 1996 FAI Cup final, as well as a young Hoolahan who starred in the club’s Champions League ties with Deportivo de La Coruna in 2004.
It promises to be a pivotal 2019 for both men’s and women’s teams in Drumcondra, with Shelbourne Ladies seeking a first Women’s National League title since 2016 as they try to topple the dominance enjoyed by double winners Wexford Youths last year.
“The aul reds, well it’s a special kind of home,” the video concludes. “One club unified by a common goal of success. We’ve been through it all, highs and lows good enough for Joycian prose.
“The highs, euphoric. The lows… catastrophic. But this is a new era, a time for new ways. When heroes emerge and bring back the glory days.”
If our clubs keep up this trend of trying to outdo each other’s promo vids, one of you is going to end up with an Oscar yet. This is superb stuff 👏👏👏 https://t.co/wbQjwCeM2J
— Shane Keegan (@ShaneKeegan81) February 27, 2019
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