‘Sheer and utter pity’ becomes Brian’s obsession

THERE is no doubt about it. Brian Kennedy is totally and utterly fanatical about his team. Such is his devotion to his side, he’s re-mortgaged his house twice to fund his obsession.

But it’s not from his hometown Waterford United football team that he gets his kicks. He prefers to regularly make seven-hour return trips overseas to watch his side play.

His devotion is all the more remarkable as he doesn’t follow a Premiership side. Neither are they in the three lower divisions. Exeter City are in fact playing in the Conference.

A radio documentary taking a light-hearted look at the devotion shown to Devon-based Exeter City by the passionate soccer fan has won a prestigious national award for Waterford-based radio station, WLR FM.

Produced by the station’s head of news and sport Liz Reddy, Confessions of an Exeter City Nut examined the Ferrybank-man’s devotion to the unfashionable team - a support that has seen him re-mortgage his home to convert his garage in to a shrine to the club.

But the 36-year-old, married father of one also regularly makes the trip to Devon to attend the Grecians’ home games. His wife, Sandra, and four-year-old daughter, Leanne, have no option but to also follow the side.

“I stumbled across the team really,” Brian explains. “I was in the North of England, in Hull, visiting a cousin of mine 12 years ago. Hull were playing Exeter City in a game we went to watch. It was the worst 90 minutes of football I ever watched. They were beaten 6-1.

“It was out of sheer and utter pity that I began to follow the side. They have gotten better since - the only way was up really. That was back in 1992. I kept an eye on their results over the next few years and in 1996 I got a mad notion to go over.

“It was the night before the game and I was sitting in a pub and noticed a guy with a certain accent sitting next to me. It turned out he was the commercial manager of the club. It was pure accident.

“I told him my story and he brought me to the grounds and I sat in the director’s box. They played 89 minutes of terrible football that day and scored two goals in injury time. The joke that day was that it was the luck of the Irish. I’ve been with them ever since.”

Brian has written a book on his obsession with the club and it is now in its second run. He’s now three-quarters of the way through a second book.

His daughter, Leanne, will be the mascot for Exeter city in one of their December games.

The amusing documentary on Brian and his obsession has won WLR FM a PPI Radio Award for Best Sports Programme.

As she received the award at a ceremony in Dublin, Ms Reddy said Brian’s sense of humour shone through on the programme as did his genuine passion for Exeter City.

“As I think anyone who knows him will confirm, Brian’s a very amusing chap and he brought a great light touch to the programme. It was also clear though that his support for the club is something he takes very seriously,” she said.