As you may all be aware, myself and my good friend Joe Doherty, have published a new book, that features every player to have played a competitive game for Finn Harps. The Book was launched earlier this year and is now only available on Amazon. UK & Northern Ireland buy off amazon.co.uk; Ireland & EU buy off amazon.de; and finally Worldwide amazon.com.
This snapshot in time was taken on 17 August 1969. It was taken before Harps first game in the League of Ireland, a shield game against Shamrock Rovers. It is a picture I obtained from the Journal when publishing my first book “The Finn Harps Story” in 2008. The photographer worked for the Derry Journal and may have been Larry Doherty or Cecil McGill.
The photo shows Harps captain John Young along with Charles Courtney from Sligo. Courtney was the Chairman of the Football Association of Ireland of Ireland at the time, and the guest of honour at the game. John is introducing the Harps players to the guest of honour and Courtney is shaking the hand of the late Brian Wright, with Jimmy Barclay watching on.
John Young played for Foyle Rovers and Derry City. Understudy to legendary keeper Jim Stallard so never got to establish himself. He first played for Harps against Valeview, during the Junior Cup win of 1968. “I was at the match as a spectator when Patsy got injured. Never a good keeper turned his back and got a whack on it. Tony McCallion was down on the card as the 12th man and they asked me to strip and go on in Patsy’s place. At the time I used to strap little finger to next finger cause it had been broken and Fran Fields said “We cannot put him on he has a broken finger”.
After Harps won the cup John signed for Distillery in the Irish League. While with Distillery he played for the Irish Amateur team against England, alongside Peter Hutton (then of Coleraine) who would turn out to be one of his team-mates at Finn Park a season later. Distillery also got to the Irish Cup final that year but were defeated by Ards by four goals to two in a reply. Even though he was an amateur John recalls “Harps paid £700 or £800 for me to get Distillery to allow me to leave. I was signed on semi-professional contract and Patsy made me club captain.”
John led the side out for the first game in the league of Ireland not realising what lay ahead. Harps were soundly beaten by Shamrock Rovers. Asked whether anyone reminds him of it today, he says “my daughters have made it a standing joke in the house. When they are over they would ask me the time and I would always reply 10 to 2. They will laugh and say, ‘good he hasn’t forgotten!’”
John went on to say that he began to dread playing at Finn Park “Away from home it wasn’t a problem, but the crowd at home were always moaning. They weren’t used to soccer and were more of a GAA Crowd I would always hear them when going out to narrow the angle ‘Get back into net you useless keeper’. They didn’t know what they were talking about.
Jonn once scored direct from a goal kick against Waterford, in Kilcohan Park, the Waterford goal keeper was Peter Thomas, he was one of the best keepers at the time. John finished with Harps at the end of the 1970/71 season and moved to Derry City until they went out of the League in 1972.
John made thirty three appearances, scoring one goal and keeping five clean sheets.
