PASSAGE 1995

jan 1995




HAPPY WANDERERS



Passage Wanderers are not the big winners of the AUL. Indeed, it

was only last season that their first team managed a trophy

breakthrough. But the Wanderers, the second team, who have been

described as the underachievers of the Lower Harbour, are a happy

lot and reckon they could do the business this season in either

the Saxone Cup or AUL 2.



John "Bird" Murphy is the Passage manager and his assistant is

his brother Pakie. While most of the Wanderers have endured

nothing but frustration in the search for trophies, Ger Hanlon, a

valuable striker in the team, has had a string of success at

schoolboy level and manager Murphy is hoping that his luck will

rub off on the rest.



Thirty four year old Murphy, a vice-chairman of the club, has

been with Passage for 17 years and has spent five years as

manager of the Wanderers, promoted to League 2 at the end of last

season. He has three players, Adrian and Mervyn O'Connor and

Michael O'Sullivan in his charge, not just for the past five

seasons, but also at underage level for the previous 12.



John Fahy is one of Bird's better known players. Fahy came to

attention as a youngster when he was runner up in the 1979 play-

off of the All Ireland Master Skills competition. He lost out,

in this Under 14 ball control event, to Ken O'Neill, the same Ken

who later signed for Stoke and played with Waterford. Utd.



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AUL SOCCER 9

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HAPPY WANDERERS CONTINUED:



Jamesie Jordan, popularly know as ZZ top, is the team's captain

and also one of its best known characters. Jamesie's flowing

beard is his trademark and has been, even since his schoolboys

days when it gave many an opposition manager "probable" cause for

objection.



At 38 years old, Brendan "Bags" Murphy is the veteran of the

squad but also emblematic of its lack of success. Brendan has

runners up tokens from the President's Cup (twice), the AOH, the

Corinthians, the St Michael's, the County, Two B, and One A. He

missed out on last season's double by the first team, having just

stepped down to the second.



But he enjoys the game nonetheless and his passing and experience

are valuable assets. He has represented the AUL juniors on quite

a few occasions, starting with a scoring debut against Kerry DL

back in 1986.



Though Brendan and John are not related, one is constantly struck

by the family atmosphere in Passage, one of the friendliest

venues around. They train them young down there: Brendan's son

Trafford (no need to ask who they support) and John's daughter

Edel rarely miss a Wanderers game.



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AUL SOCCER 10

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HAPPY WANDERERS CONTINUED:



The Passage Wanderers panel is: Brian Beale (goalkeeper), Paddy

Carroll, Mervyn O'Connor, John Fahy, Brendan Murphy, Hugh

O'Neill, Adrian O'Connor, Sean Moynihan, Michael O'Sullivan, John

Cronin, Martin Murphy, Sean Kind, Ger Hanlon (top scored to date

with 14 goals), Johnny Coughlan, and Jamesie Jordan (captain).