U12s go free at Harps V Athlone this Saturday (Kick Off 2.30)
Finn Harps v Athlone Town, kicking off at 2:30 this Saturday, is the club’s 2001st game in senior football and accompanied U12’s go free for this game. We also look forward to welcoming Finn Harps U12s from West Derby, Liverpool who are visiting and will be our flagbearers on the day.
That the club is still here, still fighting, still building, still representing our people and our region is a quite incredible achievement. Since we have joined the league, we have seen many clubs fall out of football, some temporarily, but most permanently. To list them is to underline how unlikely this is- Cabinteely, Cobh Ramblers, Cork Alberts, Cork Celtic, Cork City, Cork Hibs, Cork United, Drumcondra, Dublin City FC, Galway United, Home Farm, Kildare County, Kilkenny City, Limerick, Mervue United, Monaghan United, Newcastlewest, Salthill Devon, Sporting Fingal, St Francis, St James’ Gate and Thurles Town have all departed the league since we joined, and yet here we are with a vibrant fan base, massive plans for the future, a proud history and of course soup that is absolutely unrivalled.
We may not have a lot of trophies in the cabinet but football clubs are about people and the people we have we would not swap with anyone.
And that’s why we want to say thank you. Thank you to the players who have represented us at every level from development squads to senior and who have given us moments that will live with us forever. Thank you to the staff who have prepared them, nurtured them and inspired them. Thank you to the founders, who set this incredible journey, this wild Quixotic notion of senior football in the tiny twin towns in motion. Thank you to everyone involved in the wild adventure of the 1968 Junior Cup win, which paved the way for our ascension to the senior game. Thank you to the volunteers, the board members, and the fundraisers who have dug deep so many times and returned to the well time after time who have kept the club alive through thick and thin, and who have stared into the Abyss enough times to be on first name terms with it but always found a way to whisper, sing or roar to the God of Football Club Death “Not Today”. Thank you to the fans, the true believers to the casual well-wishers, who have come through the gates and backed these teams with colour, drum and song from one end of this island to the other and beyond. Thank you to every sponsor and backer and tradesperson who have seen what was here and decided this was a dream worth backing. Thank you to every person be they on Navenny Street or on the other side of the world who ever bought a lotto, a raffle ticket or and of the other thousand things that represent the little wins that enable the big victories on the field. Thank you to everyone who told our story, this footballing fever dream of a club on the edge of the world who defy the odds again and again. Thank you all for being a part of this.
With the stadium project moving forward and our academy expanding our best days are ahead of us. That’s why we are inviting all accompanied U12s to Finn Park free of charge this Saturday for our final home game of the season at 2:30pm. Here’s to the next generation, and building a club that reaches greater heights than ever before.
Buy tickets via finnharps.ie/tickets