FAI Cup victory over Rovers caps memorable week for Dundalk FC

THERE are certain matches as supporters that live long in the memory and Sunday’s FAI Cup victory for Dundalk FC against rivals Shamrock Rovers definitely fits under that category. Shamrock Rovers have dominated the domestic scene in recent years and travelled to Oriel Park looking to bounce back from their European disappointment a few days earlier when they were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers.

Rovers fell behind midway through the opening half when Hayden Muller scored his first ever goal for Dundalk FC after reacting quickly to poor clearance from a Ryan O’kane corner. Oriel Park erupted as Dundalk looked to make it back to back victories against the Tallaght side having beaten them last month in Oriel in the league.

Just past the half hour mark it was the visiting fans who were cheering when when midfielder Paul Doyle was shown a second yellow card by referee Robert Harvey. Dundalk were now faced with playing the champions for over an hour with ten men and even the most optimistic of Lilywhite supporters couldn’t have been confident of their chances of progressing to the second round at that stage.

Dundalk went into the dressing rooms at the break with every player knowing that they faced a huge shift in the second half. Rov- ers threw everything they had at Dundalk in the second period but the Dundalk defence and goalkeeper Nathan Sheppard in particular stood tall and repelled all attacks as the clock began to inch towards the 90 minute mark.

The home fans began to believe that victory was possible but loud groans greeted the fourth officials board which indicated that seven minutes injury time would still have to be negotiated before a famous win could be celebrated.

Dundalk’s defence marshalled by the excellent Andy Boyle refused to wilt however and after what seemed like an eternity the final whistle was blown as celebrations both on and off the pitch began in earnest.

The only sour note on a great week for the club was accusations that a racist comment was made to one of the Shamrock Rovers players by a Dundalk supporter. A statement from Dundalk FC condemned the actions and said they had identified the individual who was accused of racism.

“Dundalk FC has been made aware of an incident that took place following our Sports Direct FAI Cup match with Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park on Sunday when a racist comment was allegedly directed towards an opposition player.

“We have made contact with Shamrock Rovers and are currently investigating the incident. We would like to thank the Dundalk supporters who contacted the club quickly to report it. We have identified the individual involved and would encourage anyone with information to come forward.

“Dundalk FC has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism. Racist or discriminatory behaviour towards any player, official, staff member or supporter is completely unacceptable and has no place in our game or wider society. These people are simply not welcome at Oriel Park. There will be no further comment at this time,”

28% of average earnings.

The Government themselves have said the minimum pension rate for basic pension adequacy is 34% of average earnings.

“Pension adequacy and income security should not be too much for older people to expect — these are the people who have worked all their lives and given of themselves to help build the strong economy we have today, and they are the generations who paid the highest taxes and the highest interest rates.

“To now be shut out of the benefits of that economy and live in such financial hardship is just not good enough.

We know from the CSO’s Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) 2022, published in February this year, that one-in-five people aged 65 and older are at risk of poverty in Ireland, increasing to one-in-three for older people who are living alone.”

The Active Retirement Ireland members’ consultation further found that 90% of re- spondents would like to see a State pension of at least 34% of the average median wage and that 94% of respondents agree that the pension rate should rise in line with inflation and wage growth. ings. First proposed 25 years ago in 1998, the Government made this commitment in the ‘Roadmap for Pension Reform 2018–2023’ and the ‘Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025’. For more information about Active Retirement Ireland, go to www.activeirl.ie.