GREENMOUNT RANGERS 84-85

GREENMOUNT RANGERS 1984/85


Greenmount Rangers have had many great season but 1984/85 wasn't one of them. Indeed, Rangers were relegated at the end of it but that says as much about the high standard of the AUL Premier League at the time as it does about Greenmount’s weaknesses that particular year. Midleton and AOH joined Greenmount in the drop.



Temple United won the league, with their great rivals St Mary’s in second place. That rivalry had boiled over earlier in the season during the area final of the FAI Junior Cup at Flower Lodge where referee Joe O'Keeffe sent off three players. Ten man Mary’s scored twice in extra time against their nine man opponents to reach the last sixteen on a 3-1 scoreline.



Despite their poor league form, Greenmount came very close to making that FAI decider. They played a dreary scoreless draw with Mary's in the semi-final but surrendered an early goal to lose the hard fought Kilcully replay 1-0.



Plunket Carter was one of the three selectors of the Greenmount team and recalls: “The panel was large. There was regular chopping and changing and much transferring. The league was ultra competitive and Temple won it for the first time.”



“Bernie Browne and Pat Mulcahy were the other selectors. We had some handy players. Sean Cotter, for instance, scored a hat trick for Crofton Celtic in the FAI intermediate cup final of the following year. John Crowley was a tricky winger and Ger O’Brien had skill to burn.”



Greenmount skipper that year was Harry Speight, a top class defender. Pat Cahill is still involved with the club while Alan Ramsell was another who gave long service to Greenmount. John Lyne, now a referee, managed Greenmount in the mid nineties.



Keeper Ger McGreevey, who you'll find nowadays looking after Greenwood schoolboy teams, played with quite a few clubs while Neil Hannigan, Ber Tobin and Timmy Hewitt all became involved with neighbours Dunbar Celtic in the following years. Speight, Cahill, Ramsell and Mulcahy had all played for Rangers when they lost the 1980 AOH final to Bosco's.



Our photo, from January 1985, was taken before Greenmount’s 2-0 loss to Ballincollig in the Munster Junior Cup. Paul Coomey scored a smashing opener for the winners and Anthony Hogan converted a spotter midway through the second half to send Ballincollig into the fifth round.



The photograph (back row, l to r): Bernie Browne (RIP) selector, Harry Speight Captain, Pat Cahill, Ger McGreevey, Neil Hannigan, Alan Ramsell, Pat Fitzgibbon, Ber Tobin and Timmy Hewitt. Front row: John Crowley, Ger O'Brien, Richie Kenny, Sean Cotter, John Lyne and Pa Mulcahy.