General
- Wednesday April 29th, 2026 @ 22:00
They Called It Saintmania - 30 Years On
By: Dermot Looney
A reunion of the 1995/96 title-winning squad organised by the History St Pat's project and the Patron Saints takes place on Saturday May 9th at 8.30pm in McDowell's. All welcome!
Across the 97 years of St Patrick's Athletic's proud history, a handful of iconic images are etched into the collective memory of Saints' fans. Trophies lifted by Tommy Dunne in Dalymount and Damien Byrne in Drogheda. Christy Fagan's second in 2014 FAI Cup Final. Eddie Gormley's 'screamer' in Kilkenny, Jeff Clarke and Bisto Flood netting in Richmond Park. But there are none more iconic than Paul ‘Soupy' Campbell's postage stamp free-kick in Oriel Park on April 19th, 1996.
It was a goal which secured the Premier Division title for Brian Kerr's Supersaints, just a few years after the club almost toppled out of existence. Few victories felt as hard-fought or well-earned in Irish football history. And as the 30th anniversary of the remarkable title win approaches, it's fitting and timely that true tribute is paid to the players, staff and officials who brought Saintmania to Inchicore and beyond.
The road to success was far from straightforward. The Saints had followed up their 1989/90 title win with a third place finish in 1990/91. But, as the move to Harold's Cross continued far beyond the planned-for single season, financial difficulties hit hard. Kerr's squad was decimated, various board members came and went, and, as Mrs Ward in McDowell's lamented, you could have wallpapered the pub's back room with all the bounced cheques.
Somehow - just - the show was kept on the road. 1991/92 saw a mid-table seventh place finish, creditable given the circumstances. The following two seasons, 1992/93 and 1993/94, saw the League of Ireland experiment with a Top Six/Bottom Six split in the Premier Division. Pat's fell just short of the Top Six on both occasions and were required to play out dead-rubbers with the relegation fodder. It did little to improve morale or finances, but at least the club, saved from the verge of bankruptcy, were now back in Richmond Park.
1994/95 saw a return to a standard round-robin League season. There were improvements for the Saints on and off the pitch. The renovated Richmond Park was abuzz under the Friday night floodlights, and with the energy of Commercial Manager Pat Dolan, a host of new sponsors were adding to the coffers. After so many chairmen had come and gone in recent seasons, Tim O'Flaherty's backing in the boardroom was crucial to an improved squad. Coaches such as Noel O'Reilly and Cyril Walsh were fine-tuning a team with huge potential. The side fell just short in the League campaign, finishing six points behind champions Dundalk, and losing out on a place in the Intertoto Cup on goal difference by just a single goal. But the foundations were already built for a title tilt in 1995/96.
League winners Paul Osam and Johnny McDonnell had returned, as had another ex-Saint in Paul Campbell. Eddie Gormley and Dave Campbell were among the key new signings made, with veteran former Irish international Liam Buckley brought out of retirement as player-assistant manager. Goalkeeper Gareth Byrne nailed down a starting spot. The Galway trio of Noel Mernagh, Peter Carpenter and Johnny Glynn had been integrated into the setup, while striker Jason Byrne had netted 13 times in total.
For the 95/96 campaign, Kerr promoted midfielder Brian Morrisroe to the first team, after a spell in the reserves and occasional substitute appearances. In came full-back Willie Burke, who had spent three seasons at Shamrock Rovers, and speedy forward Martin Reilly from Leinster Senior League side Ashtown Villa. But perhaps the most significant signing was striker Ricky O'Flaherty. The former Irish dancer had first played for Galway United as far back as 1983, and had several spells at Terryland Park before agreeing to a move to the Saints (not to mention a car-share with Mernagh, Carpenter and Glynn). The stage was set for a momentous season to come.
Pre-season matches against English opposition including Peter Reid's Sunderland and York City were followed by a stuttering League Cup campaign with a win, draw and loss in the group stages. The beginning of the League season was similarly mixed. Defeat in the first match came at Bishopstown versus Cork City, and while a 1-0 win at Richmond over Shamrock Rovers settled the nerves, two draws followed away to Sligo Rovers and at home to Derry City.
Consecutive wins against Athlone Town, Drogheda United, UCD and Bohemians seemed to put the Saints on course for a title challenge, but October and November saw mixed results. December 10th was an unlikely watershed - a 1-5 hammering away to Derry City. For many teams, such a pasting would have rocked morale. For Brian Kerr's Saints, it was the turning point of the season. They didn't lose a single League game afterwards, going on a 25-game unbeaten streak in all competitions until the Cup Final replay in mid-May.
The remarkable run came in spite of long-term injuries at different points to key players. “At one stage we had six of what would be considered our best twelve players out,” Kerr later told RTE. Gormley and Carpenter both missed eight weeks through injury; Osam was out for 13 weeks in total. Squad players such as Mark Mulraney, Christy McElligott, John Byrne, Alan Kane and Eddie Meier came in at different times to shore up the side.
As the second half of the season approached, narrow wins and late goals were the order of the day. There were five League draws in a row between early February and mid-March as the title charge slowed, but never halted. With the end in sight, home wins over Drogheda United (3-2), UCD (2-0) and Galway United (3-0), combined with a creditable away point against title rivals Bohs, left the Saints requiring just two points from their final two matches to clinch their fifth League championship.
“Several thousand” Saints fans travelled to Oriel Park on Friday, April 19th in hopeful expectation for the penultimate game of the season versus Dundalk. Typical April weather greeted them. In between spells of evening sun, heavy showers soaked the pitch. Within the first ten minutes, Lilywhites' defender Richie Purdy was shown a straight red card. But it did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the home side, who were keen to deny Pat's their title ambitions. Just moments later, Stephen Napier blasted a volley towards Gareth Byrne; the Saints' custodian attempted a spectacular save but could only parry the ball onto the post, with it rebounding across the line to give Dundalk a shock lead.
It didn't take long for the Saints to respond. With the rain now pouring down, a sweet cross delivered from deep by Peter Carpenter met fellow Galwegian Ricky O'Flaherty some 15 yards out from goal. O'Flaherty's placed header was a thing of beauty, sailing past keeper John Connolly and into the net. It was the forward's 20th goal of a hugely successful campaign, and it set up a thrilling second half.
There were chances galore for both sides. Paul Campbell hit the bar with a header, with Paul Osam's rebound finish ruled out for a questionable offside. Gareth Byrne saved a close-range shot from Brian Byrne with the ball trickling towards, but not over, the goalline. Buckley (twice), McDonnell and substitute Glynn went close as the sides traded chances, although ten-man Dundalk were tiring as the game entered the final stages.
A foul on Noel Mernagh close to the edge of the home side's box provided a match-winning chance. Paul Campbell was not the usual set-piece specialist, but with Eddie Gormley out for the game, the man they called ‘Soupy' stepped up to float in a stunning free kick to the top corner of Connolly's goal. Queue wild celebrations, a pitch invasion, the still-rare sight of a flare lighting up Oriel Park, and a glorious sideline jig from Brian Kerr.
The photos and footage of Soupy's goal remain iconic to this day. The scenes were famously soundtracked in an RTE end-of-season montage alongside one of the hits of the year, Children by Robert Miles. Celebrations lasted long into the night in Dundalk, Inchicore, and in between. The Pat's players bus passed by Tolka Park and Dalymount en route home, with a late night on Emmet Road for players and fans alike lasting well into Saturday.
More was to come. The following Tuesday evening saw an FAI Cup semi-final second replay at Dalymount against Bohs. Pat's had been fortunate with early round draws, and dispatched Workmen's Dunleary, Fanad United and Wayside Celtic before a marathon three-game semi against their Northside rivals. A Ricky O'Flaherty brace helped the Saints to a 2-1 win and, after their final League game against Shelbourne, the Cup Final and a potential double beckoned. Inchicore was electric in the run-up, with the club producing a Cup Final song, Saintmania, on a three-track release which also included Paddy's Tribute to Pat's and Trip to Inchicore.
The double was not to be, however. The 30-year Cup hoodoo continued in 1996, but was perhaps even crueller than all its predecessors. About 15,000 were in attendance at Lansdowne Road to witness a dramatic final. Shels' keeper Alan Gough was sent off after 18 minutes, with midfielder Brian Flood replacing him in goal. Pat's struggled to break down ten-man Shels. Dave Campbell eventually netted for the Saints with 14 minutes remaining, but Tony Sheridan equalised with a stunning lob just minutes later. Stand-in keeper Flood notoriously walked the ball over his goal-line when removing a streamer from the netting, but none of the officials spotted the error, and the game went to a replay the following week at Dalymount.
With the replay poised at 1-1, Eddie Gormley's late penalty was saved by Alan Gough, with Stephen Geoghegan netting an even later winner to win it for the Reds and deny Kerr's men the double. It marked the first defeat since that loss in the Brandywell more than six months before.
Cup heartbreak aside, the 1995/96 season marked the start of a glorious era for St Patrick's Athletic, with two more titles to follow in 1997/98 and 1998/99. But the tight-knit squad which had won the League in 1995/96 quickly disintegrated, with a host of players and staff moving on, including the departure of Brian Kerr to the FAI. But a new generation of heroes quickly emerged in Inchicore alongside the few who stayed, including midfield mainstays Gormley and Osam. Liam Buckley and John McDonnell would later manage at the club, and all four would be included in the club's Harry Boland Hall of Fame alongside Ricky O'Flaherty and Brian Kerr.
Thirty years on, it is fitting that we recognise all of the legends of 1995/96 with a reunion event in the newly-renovated McDowell's Pub. We are delighted that most of the squad and off-field team will be joining us and we hope to see a big crowd in attendance to show our appreciation on Saturday May 9th from 8.30pm.
