.....BBC2 Tomorrow 9pm.....Documentary about how a football club make their comeback in the league of Ireland. Seen a preview of this and it looks and sound a really good watch . A city with a massive religious and political divide even to this day . Be interesting to see how it has an effect on the sporting side of the city

Yes I spotted this doc myself meant to post but it slipped my mind. Should be a good watch, and I'm curious how sport is impacted by the long political and religious troubles, or if it's immune to it all, and it can act as a uniting force.

tiger76.....my thoughts too mate . Think it will be a really good watch

Recently read Johnny Crossan's autobiography 'The Man They Couldn't Ban' where his early career at Derry covered the political and sporting problems that affected the city

Yep Derry great bunch of lads just love the fans .

Try and get to watch this tonight if anyone ever wanted to to visit the city it really has a lot to offer .

Hey sure Derry on here can tell us all about it with crowds of 10,000 plus which is massive for the when they first joined the league of Ireland .

What a great documentary . Just goes to show you what our beloved game can do . I hope the "big six" and the rest of the ESL mercenaries were watching that

very good programme.

What a brilliant story and documentary this was.

I watched and it was interesting their take on McGuinness. I also remember our player from Derry, Danny Lafferty.

Very good indeed i must say .
Love the older lad who was watching the FAI Cup Final on the tablet then got all tearer , just love the passion i must say .
Maybe wrong here but when they said 19,000 went to the 1/4 final in Cork have to say it could be wrong as where they played the game only held 14,000 .

Have recorded it - will be watching it

Certainly very well worth watching .... a great story, which if someone had made up, you simply wouldn't believe, especially given the years in which it is played out. Some very interesting interviews/anecdotes and great football footage.

I played soccer at the Brandywell ~ an Irish Cup game v Oxford United Stars (the team that Danny Lafferty played for as a youth) - in 1984. That was the year before Derry City was allowed to re-enter senior football (but in the Republic of Ireland rather than Northern Ireland) and during the peak of the troubles. The game was a draw after normal and extra time and went to penalties. I was standing in the centre circle along with my team mates from Coleraine as the penalties were taken when one of the opposition players came over to me (he must have realised I was English from my accent) and pointed to a row of houses overlooking the ground. "There's a sniper in one of those bedrooms with his rifle trained on you". Fortunately I never did find out whether he was being serious.....

Cheers for the heads up Srg1882, enjoyed it, great football story.

Aclaret

Was a brilliant documentary wasnt it. Just goes to show what football can do . The way it galvanised that community was unbelievable. Thoroughly enjoyed it

Worth a watch. Interesting history.

Saw Glentoran v Derry City in Belfast late 1960s. Derry greeted with “away home yee Fenians” by the Glens fans despite Glentoran being Belfast’s premier Catholic side.
I never did understand Ulster politics/religion and still don’t!?

As an aside, has anyone been round the Bogside? Interesting area, along with the museum of Free Derry.

'Gunshots & Goalposts' by Benjamin Roberts is an enlightening book. A look at football in Ulster and the origins of sectarianism within the game.