written for the Galway United March 2026 Match Programme
“We were delighted at the end of the game, it was a big feather in our caps as well, keeping a clean sheet against a Premiership side. Lee Carsley their captain, complimented us on the night and sent me a signed picture as well, a really nice touch of class from him.”
1990s Ireland. Glenroe, Top 30 Hits, Callcards, The Den, Jack Charlton, Aertel, Xtra-Vision, Father Ted. A golden era during which every walkman in the country was found to be spinning Oasis, Blur, Nirvana or the Spice Girls, while smartphones and the internet were the luxuries we had never thought to long for and remained blissfully unaware of.
Nostalgia aside, believe it or not the 90s was also a time in which it was common practice for Premier League clubs to frequently visit the island of Ireland for friendlies and pre-season tours, largely recognising and rewarding their loyal Irish fan bases and supporting Irish clubs by staging friendlies and events for fans to see their favourite stars up close and personal. Over the years we repeatedly welcomed the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Leeds United and Aston Villa to Irish shores and stadiums, where friendlies took place against the likes of Shelbourne, St. Pats, Cork City and Drogheda to name a few, while often a League of Ireland XI was formed to put Premier League clubs to the test as part of their punishing pre-season preparations.
Galway United were also fortunate to enjoy a piece of this fleeting pattern of visiting English clubs to Ireland. 28 Years ago this month (Thursday 19th March 1998 to be precise), Derby County, who had finished 12th in the English Premiership the previous year and who would go on to finish 9th that very same season (ahead of the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton to name a few) visited the West of Ireland for a mid-season friendly at Terryland Park in a game which attracted much fanfare at the time due to some of the notable names that featured in the late Jim Smith’s high-flying Rams side at the time.
I was fortunate to have been in attendance myself as an enthusiastic 11-year-old in wonder at the thought of seeing real-life Premiership players in action. While younger readers may not be as familiar with some of the players listed, many of these were relative household names at the time; Paolo Wanchope arrived in 1997 to become one of the most feared strikers in the league, later moving on to West Ham and Man City as he consistently showed his goalscoring ability at Premiership level. Igor Stimac had reached the Quarter Final of Euro 1996 with Croatia and would go on to finish third with his country at World Cup 1998. Chris Powell was a flying left wing-back and would go on to earn 5 England caps under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Stefano Eranio and Francesco Baiano had arrived as new signings the previous summer from Serie A giants AC Milan and Fiorentina respectively, while Derby’s Irish representation came in the form of Rory Delap and Lee Carsley, both of whom went on to become full internationals and the latter of whom now coaches the England U21 side having filled in as caretaker for the senior team following Gareth Southgate’s departure.
While the fixture was almost in doubt due to travel issues (with John O’Dowd of Fahy Travel reportedly intervening to ensure Derby were able to fly), eventually the Rams arrived at Knock Airport and enjoyed a round of golf at Glenlo Abbey before departing to Terryland Park for a 7.30pm kick off.
It’s fair to say there was a significant degree of pedigree in that Derby squad, but Galway put out a strong side which included the likes of Billy Clery, Ollie Neary, Fran Carter, Jumbo Brennan, Luther Watson and Eric Lavine, and Don O’Riordan’s side rose to the occasion on the day to grind out an impressive 0-0 draw in front of a 4,000 strong crowd at Terryland Park. O’Riordan, who himself made 6 appearances for Derby County at the beginning of his own career, described the game as “a terrific experience for both the young and older Galway players who would look back at the game as one of the highlights of their careers.”
Ollie Neary captained Galway United on that day, and recalls hearing the news that his side would be taking on Premiership opposition.
“It was great for us, a team in the Premiership, obviously it wasn’t Man Utd but Derby were an up and coming team, they played attractive football, and Paolo Wanchope up top as well he was a huge figure at the time.”
Neary is no stranger to facing big name opposition, coming up against the likes of Manchester City, Leicester City and Fulham during his time with United, and recalls coming up against some top level professionals from the Premiership era that day.
“When you play against those types of players, they make it look so easy, the amount of time and space you get on the ball, their first touch immaculate – that’s the reason why they’re playing at that level.”
Of course, nowadays things have changed greatly and the majority of Premier League clubs are drawn much further afield in their attempts to expand their brand and commercial revenue, targeting more affluent or more densely populated regions where football is a growing industry such as the USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australia. Unfortunately, visits to Ireland are now a scarcity rather than a common occurrence, but with the League of Ireland growing in strength and stature each season, perhaps Premier League priorities will turn back to their loyal neighbouring fan bases as they look to proliferate their preseason preparations in seasons to come.
Paul Madden 