Warm welcome home for heroes
FANS BRAVE COLD TO CHEER ON PLAYERS
Related Articles
HUNDREDS of supporters braved the cold to line the streets of Swords and welcome home the victorious Sporting Fingal football team last Wednesday.
The official team homecoming party began at the Pavilions Shopping Centre, where players and staff mingled with fans, before setting off on the final leg of an incredible journey. The squad boarded an open-topped bus and made their way down Swords Main Street, led by a band of drummers, where throngs of supporters greeted them as they entered Swords Castle.
Credit is due to Fingal County Council, who staged a magnificent ceremony, where giant Sporting Fingal flags flew inside the grounds of the historic building, as a new breed of warriors displayed their wares of battle.
Inside a giant marquee, the club's loyal fans were in fine voice, as manager Liam Buckley introduced the players one by one, paying tribute to top scorer, Conan Byrne, who is currently on an aid mission in Zambia, before introducing Sporting's captain on the day, Stephen Paisley. 'My team-mates have been fantastic all year and it's been an absolute pleasure to play with them,' Paisley told the crowd. 'I'd think you'd all agree the performances really have been excellent this year. 'What happens on a Friday night for that 90 minutes, that's just the tip of the iceberg really. There's a background team that looks after us from Monday to Friday.
'I'd like to thank Liam Buckley for all that he's done for us this year. He's obviously led us to the success we've had recently and he deserves a big round of applause.'
Paisley thanked the club's 'tremendous' backroom team, including coaches John Devine and Robbie Horgan and physio Shay Caffrey, as well as the club's sponsors and fans.
' You can just see we've had some immediate success,' he continued. 'It wouldn't be possible without the local businesses. It really means a lot to us and it means we're able to do our job on a daily basis.
' You [the fans] got behind us all season and you are really like the 12th man for us. It really does mean a lot to us when we're playing on the pitch to get such good encouragement, so we'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming out and supporting us.'
- Robin KIELY
