A long way from Clare to here

TALK of history is unavoidable in the run-up to Sunday’s FAI Cup final between Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic, what with this being the last soccer game at the old Lansdowne Road and also an opportunity for the Dublin club to land its first FAI Cup in a staggering 45 years.

And then there are the personal circumstances which can lend another special dimension to one of the biggest days in the domestic football calendar. In the case of Pat’s goalkeeper Barry Ryan, it’s bound to be an especially emotional occasion.

“I’m the first Clareman to play in an FAI Cup final and that’s another bit of history,” he points out. “But it’s also the day of my Dad’s mass on Sunday; it’s two years since he died. My Dad used to play for Cork Celtic as a centre-forward. I started out at centre forward and in midfield myself but we had no goalie one day so I ran in and it just took off from there.