This post first appeared on cardboardshinguards>
FOR YEARS IT was all you would hear about.
Growing up as a teenager/young adult during the Celtic Tiger years I couldn’t escape it, even as I discussed Ryanair flights and binge drinking with my peers.
The grown-ups could talk about little else; location, location, location.
How long was your commute? How large was your house? How much space did the kids have to play in? How much did you spend on renovating the place?
The national obsession with property was to prove our economic and (some argue, moral) downfall with the ghost estates and empty DIY stores now standing as monuments to this obsession. Within the League of Ireland there is another legacy, one which threatens institutions with a far greater longevity than the local Woodies.
Going into the end of the season with a Premier Division club on the brink of collapse is a depressingly regular occurrence. If the precarious financial situation of Bohemians leads to relegation to the First Division through a removal of their license or even a windup and reformation, they will join the ranks of clubs to have been both champions in the 21st century and then been wound up or relegated at some point after winning. It is a fate only Shamrock Rovers have managed to avoid.
Things could have been very different of course. If Shels, Drogheda and Bohs had had their planned stadium relocations come off, they might have been in a position to challenge Shamrock Rovers financially. The booming hinterlands of north and west county Dublin, where Shels and Bohs were looking to relocate to, would have provided an opportunity to tap into a growing fan base, as Shamrock Rovers are now doing.
A look at a map of latest census figures tells the tale perfectly well, with the population continuing to decline in the inner city, where the big four Dublin clubs were founded and traditionally drew their fan base from. I have excluded UCD and St Patrick’s Athletic from the map just because both clubs haven’t had any consistent relocation plans over the past decade, or at least not ones pursued as vigorously as those by Rovers, Shels and Bohs.
The new locations (marked in by the red and black striped dots. Rovers’ location in Tallaght is the green and white dot) would have given Bohs and Shels access to the growing hinterlands of north and west Dublin.
Furthermore modern stadia and a family atmosphere have been the bedrock of rugby and GAA’s success and Dalymount and Tolka are unable to provide this without serious redevelopment.
It is perhaps fitting that Rovers are now the ones reaping the benefits of a fit-for-purpose home surrounded by a supportive community, given their nomadic struggles for so long.
For Shelbourne and Bohemians, both clubs whose dreams of profiting from the boomtime value of their homes came back to haunt them, similar spells in the wilderness may yet be in the pipeline.
Lee Daly is editor of Cardboardshinguards. For the purpose of transparency, you should also know he is a Shelbourne FC fan.
Cmon Shane .
Sky sports
Can we please know what par the hole is before he hits his first shot.
Come on Dustin Johnson and do it for the golf purists.
Lowry bandwagon will be back again soon. In the meantime break out the Union Jack and follow McIlroy in the Olympics.
But the trolling bandwagon will roll on, in its self-pitying lonely journey through the dirty slums of its pathetic existence crying out for the attention it never got from Mommy.
And so it came to pass that John realised he had no friends and that trying to be controversial did not make him cool
I dont follow golf……but I know its serious when the42 has a live blog of a golf event.Hope he comes home as a champion!
Same here Irin..it would be a ‘Yuge’ achievement.
Live blog is the best way to watch golf
Cmon Shane. We need a win this weekend!!
He’s not representing his country, Not the same.
Most reds ever.
I bet there was some amount of candles lit in Clara Church at this mornings mass.
Even more rosery beads sold in the market this morning
Come on lowry kiiiiiiidddd!!
This is an absolute outrage from the USGA!! I’m all for Lowry to win, but I certainly wouldn’t begrudge Johnson a first major either but he’s being treated very unfairly here in my eyes.
Yeah, lousy by the USGA, they should do the right thing and disqualify him! Come on Shane!!
I think it’s unfair on all the players considering they have all allegedly been told what’s happening. It’s farcical at the moment though. Really stupid decision making by the USGA.
Unbelievable!
Monday lotto?!
Unbelievable!
John Hayes I really hope you get to eat humble pie
Don’t worry-you can get off the bandwagon at the next stop with all the rest.
John, you are a pathetic human being but I presume you post these comments because you derive pleasure from people thinking of you as pathetic. Congrats chief
Pity 3 x3 putts in a row Shane doesn’t deserve to win it now,had a four shot lead and couldn’t hold it,not good enough this week to win a major,maybe another time.
Its getting painful to watch now. Hope he can finish outright 2nd
What an athlete!!!!
Shane finishing off a typical weekend for Irish sports by choking when it matters
Im going to bed cant take anymore dreams dashed,
Hold on….Hang on a mo
This ain’t over yet by a long shot…………
Needs to take the initiative here Shane.
Waiting for the pack to slip up is not a good tactic.
Seize the day.
So is DJ on -5 or -4? They should make a ruling now, nobody knows what score the leader is on, it’s crazy!!
Not looking good now with that bogey on 10
and will paddy power pay out if he does?
Poor front 9 for Shane not helped by his partner who is having a mare,hopefully he can regroup.
Johnson’s partner Westwood had as big a mare.
Lowry all too often struggles on the last day, he’s just too out of shape and is at a clear disadvantage because of it.
Achieved far more than you ever will. And has a hell of a lot more friends I’m sure.
You can see the pressure on Shane’s face in those last couple of shots!
Poor show at the 14th there.
This is stupid make a decision already! Can’t see a penalty but man up.
Settle
G’wan Shaneo
Delighted for Dustin Johnson…. After all he’s been through over the years, I don’t think there’s a soul on earth who would deny him a major!
Bar Jason Dufner of course after Johnson ride his wife
Top European,joint second, toughest course you could play be proud you have to lose one to win won .
Johnson playing at a snails pace
FFS Shane. ……what are you doing man
Bottle job.
Bottle job is a kind way of putting it.
the irish rugby team bottled it against South Africa and now shane Lowry is doing the same.
He’s thrown in the towel all right.
No courage.
Ireland did not ‘bottle’ it. They were beaten by a much better and stronger bench and at a venue where only two teams have ever been South Africa. Nowhere do Ireland play rugby at nearly 6000ft on a regular basis. 7 of the South Africans play there every week.
Shane did not choke today. He missed a few long puts which left awkward 6/7/8 footers for par.
I think we need to get beyond this ‘choke’ and ‘bottle’ mentality here. It’s self-perpetuating.
Can’t find the Shane Lowry jersey anywhere online.
Back from weekend away,planned to celebrate Ireland test win over SA,didn’t happen,hoping for a draw against Belguim ,didnt happen,come on Shane !!!!pleeease
Unfortunately Shane Bottled it..
He’s still in it. My bet a tie with a play off.
Kinda ridiculous that they still haven’t made a ruling on the penalty stroke for Johnson.
Shane Lowry and others have been informed that he is facing a possible penalty so that’s bound to colour their psychology on the run in.
Best thing Shane can do now is ignore that ‘Rumour’ and play the tournament according to the official leaderboard.
Ireland vs. Belgium in football, vs. South Africa in rugby, and vs. the ROTW in one of the majors in golf, what a horribly disappointing weekend of sport for us, especially the latter two where we blew what should have been unassailable leads.
Short of getting in the car Nd driving to Clara where can I watch it without sky sports!?
Download Mobdro off internet onto your android phone or tablet and watch away
Bandwagon running rough?
Keep it going Shane