Everton V Finn Harps 1978
Everton V Finn Harps, UEFA cup first round 2nd leg.
Tuesday 26th September 1978.
I got this programme in a batch of programmes I bought on Ebay for a song. The centre pages in this are missing (as was specified) which unfortunately means half the feature on Harps is missing but I'll reproduce what I can.
TEAMS:
EVERTON
Royal Blue shirts, white shorts
1. George Wood
2. Terry Darracott
3. Mike Pejic
4. Mike Lyons
5. Billy Wright
6. Geoff Nulty
7. Andy King
8. Martin Dobson
9. Bob Latchford
10 Mickey Walsh
11 Dave Thomas
FINN HARPS
White Shirts, Green Socks
1. Eddie Mahon
2. Declan McDowell
3. Peter Hutton
4. Tony O'Doherty
5. Jim Sheridan
6. Pat Healy
7. Joe Logan
8. John Minnock
9. Tom McGuinness
10. John Duffy
11. Charlie Ferry
EVERTON WELCOMES FINN HARPS
The Story of Finn Harps is as near as you would excpect to find a fairy-tale in the fiercely competitive arena of European football.
For the 1,800 inhabitants of Ballbofey in County Donegal, North West Ireland, it is a source of pride to find their local club in the UEFA cup draw alongside such household names as the former European Champions, Ajax, Benfica and AC Milan.
For visitors to their ruggedly beautiful part of Ireland, it is hard to imagine how Finn Harps managed to navigate a path from junior football in the fifties to a place in the league of Ireland in 1969 and then to European entry in 1973.
"We just had a field to play on 25 years ago" says their inspiring chairman Fran Fields. "Everything has been a problem all along the way. But we had directors who were prepared to work hard. And we had a supporters club who raised subscriptions from all around the country and from loyal businessmen."
Fran has his own way of expressing Finn Harps' climb to a European meeting with a club such as Everton. Oddly enough, his story is connected with a famous occasion when the Republic of Ireland defeated England 2-0 at Goodison Park in 1949.
After a word-perfect run through the Irish team of the day, Fran told us: The well-known English journalist Henry Rose, said before the game that anyone expecting Ireland to win should have his head examined. It was the same when I tried to develop our club. People said I should have my head examined.
"We had no moneyat all in 1969, but I was in the plant-hire business and this helped when we began to build up the ground. But with a lot of people working hard, we became the most consistant club in the League of Ireland.
Everton's visit to Ballybofey was just what we dreamed of from the start. I shall never forget their gesture in agreeing to switch the legs and play first at our ground. When we met Derby, we lost heavily over there and that ruined interest in the home game.
But Everton's gesture has set us up for the season. There has always been a great deal of goodwill between Everton and Ireland. It is now stronger than ever. They gave us a tremendous boost and the people here appreciated it."
Finn Harps first achieved national prominence in 1967 when they won the FA of Ireland Junior Cup from an entry of 1,000 teams. Since joining the League of Ireland, they have never been out of the top half of the table and have finished runners up three times. They won the Irish FA Cup in 1974 and the Dublin City Cup in 1972.
Their geographical situation dictates that they are the most travelled club in Ireland. Their nearest rivals are Sligo Rovers 60 miles away and for a season of 15 away matches, they reckon to log 8,000 miles.
By overcoming so many handicaps, Finn Harps have earned great respect at home and it was a tribute to Fran Field's energy and enterprise when he was elected President of the League of Ireland last season. That meant devoting less time to his trade as a wholesale butcher, but as they say in Ballybofey, he only thinks about business when football activities permit!
Harps manager is Eunan Blake, a Donegal man from Letterkenny. In the fifties, he played in a junior team which also included Fran Fields and Harps' present secretary, Tom Furlong. Eunan went on to play for 20 years, serving Harps, Sligo Rovers and Derry City, and was an automatic choice for the League of Ireland team. On retirement, he had a spell as trainer and then acting manager of Athlone Town.
The Harps team is made up solely by part-timers and cost just £5,200 to assemble. The record fee of £4,000 was spent in 1972 to buy Tony O'Doherty from Coleraine, where he had won three Northern Ireland caps, including one at Wembley in 1970. Tony, a clerk, refused many offers to play in England.
