FAI Cup Final: Memory banks of my own lovely Lee
One of my earliest footballing memories is of City’s first final against a rampaging, treble-chasing Derry City in 1989. My father brought my brother Eoin and I up on the train and into Dalymount where we watched with horror as Davy Barry hit the post only for the ball to cruelly run along the line before reaching the safety of a Derry player at the other post. That moment confirmed in my young mind the importance of small margins in football, and especially in cup finals. Derry would, inevitably, win the replay.
Three years later in 1992 City were back in the final, played at Lansdowne Road, where we were beaten again, this time 1-0 by Bohemians. If I was disappointed, my father was absolutely gutted. All these years later, even as I’m writing this piece, I finally understand why he must have been so bereft - he had been waiting for far longer than I.
