Niall Quinn pays tribute to Buckley
Credit:
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has heaped praise on Sporting Fingal
manager Liam Buckley at the launch of the Sporting Fingal Community
Trust. The scheme is devised to use football as a way to address and
prevent social problems in the Fingal area such as alcohol and drug
abuse amongst adolescents.
Buckley and Quinn, who scored 21 goals in 92 appearances for Ireland, were both players at the underage schoolboy team Manor Town. Quinn said that the duo tried to establish a similar scheme when Buckley was in charge at Shamrock Rovers. “Liam and I talked about doing this over in Tallaght when he was at Rovers but we found it a mire to realise who actually owned the club at the time. We went our separate ways and Liam said he would try and have a go to set up a club (Fingal) here. I though it was an impossible job but he did it”.
The Dublin club have been in existence since 2007, finishing third in their debut season in League of Ireland First Division as well as reaching the FAI Ford Cup Quarter-finals. The chairman at the Stadium of Light had nothing but admiration for their manager. “Liam Buckley is one of the great unsung heroes of Irish football. He has done everything from the heart. He did an amazing job at Rovers and he rally wanted to bring them up the level that he wanted but he couldn’t achieve that. We both failed in that plan but it’s great to come back today and see his success.”
Quinn took charge at the Stadium of Light in July 2006 and sees similarities in what his friend has done at Morton Stadium. “In some ways it humbles me to see what he has done with Fingal. There is a little bit of me that says what he has done is far more noble than what I have done at Sunderland.”
Sporting Fingal host Limerick on Friday night.
Buckley and Quinn, who scored 21 goals in 92 appearances for Ireland, were both players at the underage schoolboy team Manor Town. Quinn said that the duo tried to establish a similar scheme when Buckley was in charge at Shamrock Rovers. “Liam and I talked about doing this over in Tallaght when he was at Rovers but we found it a mire to realise who actually owned the club at the time. We went our separate ways and Liam said he would try and have a go to set up a club (Fingal) here. I though it was an impossible job but he did it”.
The Dublin club have been in existence since 2007, finishing third in their debut season in League of Ireland First Division as well as reaching the FAI Ford Cup Quarter-finals. The chairman at the Stadium of Light had nothing but admiration for their manager. “Liam Buckley is one of the great unsung heroes of Irish football. He has done everything from the heart. He did an amazing job at Rovers and he rally wanted to bring them up the level that he wanted but he couldn’t achieve that. We both failed in that plan but it’s great to come back today and see his success.”
Quinn took charge at the Stadium of Light in July 2006 and sees similarities in what his friend has done at Morton Stadium. “In some ways it humbles me to see what he has done with Fingal. There is a little bit of me that says what he has done is far more noble than what I have done at Sunderland.”
Sporting Fingal host Limerick on Friday night.
