The first phase The Showgrounds Bit O’ Red Wall will have 302 tiles.  

As a result of a surge of interest from Sligo Rovers fans at home and abroad, the project is proving more popular than anticipated. 

Feely Stone, the Boyle-based company erecting the wall are committed to delivering it in time for Sligo Rovers first home game of the new season against Saint Patrick’s Athletic on Friday February 21st.

Tiles bought from now on will feature in the next stage of the Wall. Click here to buy.

The Wall Project is designed to give fans and their families a way to formally record their links with SFRC and its Showgrounds home. 

The wall will be erected immediately behind the Main Stand and fans attending matches will see it and be able to inspect it every time they visit the ground. 

It is sited alongside the innovative Sligo Rovers Outdoor Museum project that charts the different phases and individuals involved in the club’s history.

Each tile accommodates 16 characters, including spaces, on 3 lines.  The Wall will serve as a further reminder of the special bond between the club and its supporters. 

It is a new way of raising some of the funds that the club requires to maintain its League of Ireland status. 

But it also provides a tangible way to provide fans with a personal memento in the Showgrounds.

In the coming weeks the Sligo Rovers website will continue to feature what has become a very popular element –  Stories From The Wall.  This gives the background information behind some of the tiles that have been purchased.

A second section of The Showgrounds Wall will be erected before the end of the season.  Fans will continue to be able to purchase tiles via the website or by calling to the Showgrounds office.

The Showgrounds Wall scheme is organised by a group including Michael Clancy, Kevin Colreavy, Shane Crossan, Mark Cummins, Andy Dodd, Colin Feehily, Tommie Gorman, Rory Houston, Paddy Houze and Brendan Lacken, Sandra Healy and Frank Beirne. 

Sligo Rovers defender Regan Donelon will miss the start of the season after picking up a shoulder injury in the friendly with Ballinamallard.

Donelon will miss the game with Finn Harps and will need a couple of further weeks recovery it is expected.

Manager Liam Buckley said: “Regan went over on his shoulder after a tussle in the friendly in Ballinamallard.

“It’ll require a small period of recovery so I don’t see him being involved in the opening game or two. We’ll see where we are with it then, it could be up to a month.

“He’ll come back in when ready and make a good contribution as always.”

A friendship has been struck up between Sligo Rovers and Accrington Stanley in recent years and that will now be marked on the new Bit O’ Red Wall.

BUY YOUR TILE HERE

Accrington owner Andy Holt purchased a tile on Saturday before their 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon.

Andy has visited The Showgrounds with John Coleman and Jimmy Bell and appreciates the similarities between the club.

In particular, the visit for the friendly last summer which attracted 700 spectators was an evening where the two clubs continued their strong bond.

The Accy owner also enjoys the camaraderie and fun in Sligo with those he has built up acquaintance with and was only too delighted to buy a tile.

Former club officials visit The Wham Stadium a couple of times each year and were present last Saturday.

The tile will read

Andy Holt

Accrington

Stanley

Thanks to all over in Accrington and good luck in the rest of the League 1 season.

Click here to buy

Michael McGowan who died last week was a loyal supporter of Sligo Rovers throughout his life.

Born in March 1946, one of nine children, Michael’s family home was in Jinks Avenue, close to the Showgrounds.

He maintained a close affinity with the club down the decades.

(For information on purchasing a Bit O’ Red Wall Tile click here)

He won a scholarship to Summerhill College and while attending UCG he captained the side that won the Universities competition, the Collingwood Cup. He and other Sligo-born players, including David Pugh and Donal Mc Lynn, became leading figures in 3rd level colleges football.

He returned to his alma mater and began a 40-year career on the staff of Summerhill College, teaching History, English and French.

In his spare time he helped to manage and encourage generations of teams.

He influenced many League of Ireland players including Paul Magee, John Kent, Enda Eames, Joe Murphy, John Caulfield, Conor O’Grady and Alan Cawley.

Michael became a stalwart of Collegians FC and he and others including Fr Michael Devine, Michael Mooney, Seamus ‘Ski’ Foy, the late Ronnie Scanlon and Martin Dolan were important influences in the club.

Michael played indoor football into his 60’s. A Leeds supporter, he sometimes joked that he was more ‘Paul Madeley than Norman Hunter’. He was a great admirer of Bobby Moore and Franz Beckenbauer.

He was an active sportsman and was a familiar face in Sligo tennis club and Strandhill Golf Club. He crossed the bay to become captain of the Co. Sligo golf club in Rosses Point. 

He enjoyed social occasions built around sport and he became a regular quiz master and quiz contributor.

For five hours, mourners visited last Wednesday night, as huge numbers came to pay their respects at the family home on Cairns Road, where Michael and his wife, Mary, reared their daughters Maeve and Cliodhna.

Sligo Cathedral was packed for his funeral mass on Thursday where the congregation included generations of Summerhill College teachers and past pupils. His niece, Pauline Mc Lynn, (Mrs Doyle of the Father Ted), provided one of the two readings.

The chief celebrant of the funeral mass, Fr Pat Lombard, told how each time he visited Michael, the first topic of conversation was Sligo Rovers.

A tile on the Showgrounds Wall, purchased by Summerhill past pupils in memory of their teacher, will state

MICHAEL McGOWAN
CAIRNS RD SLIGO
TEACHER & LIBERO

BUY YOUR TILE HERE

Will Jayden Gilgan from Dromard Co. Sligo be the youngest Sligo Rovers fan to feature on the Showgrounds Wall?

BUY YOUR TILE HERE

Jayden is set to make his confirmation on March 8th and to coincide with that big event, his family members have bought loyal supporter, Jayden, his own tile.  

The first section of the wall will be completed in time for the first home league game of the season, against Saint Patrick’s Athletic in the Showgrounds on February  February 21st. 

Rovers fans will have their opportunity to see the project first the first time that evening.

Wednesday February 5th is the deadline for purchase of a tile for this first section of the Wall project. 

The work is being carried out by the reputable Boyle Co Roscommon firm, Feely Stone.

BUY YOUR TILE HERE

We’ve featured some of the exiled Rovers fans who have made their love of the club known from far away, and today is another supporter in the US.

Ronan Mulligan lives in San Francisco and purchased a tile for his family, having been home in Sligo for Christmas.

To purchase a wall tile click here

Part of the band The Hooks, along with his brother Keith, they toured the Irish circuit with Shane MacGowan and played alongside many well-known bands, recently supporting The Undertones.

They are a big name on the music scene in San Francisco.

Ronan explains that Rovers had an influence on his career.

“I bought the tile because I want to support the only team that matters to me. The Shed is where I learned my crowd-surfing techniques, surrounded by the warmth and the chants of original tunes, all within the glorious grounds with Benbulben in sight.

“There are memories of the ‘old-timers’ giving their last bits of their raspy vocal chords in the steam of the evening that stay with me when I’m on the stage, with the smell of Oxo soup wafting before half-time and the old Elvis and Beatles tunes then played.

“There was a photo on the middle page of The Sligo Champion when Tottenham Hotspur came to town of myself and my two brothers in there.  I’d love to find it again.

“I also bought the tile for the legacy of our Dad, Tony Mulligan, and The Hooks to live on for as long as the Showgrounds exists.

“To have something etched in the place my childhood memories reside is amazing. One of the best moments I can recall is hearing our album being played through those Showgrounds speakers when home for a game in the last couple of years. It was very special.

“I also wanted to say to all the greats that have built the spirit of the place and who have since passed on, thank you all and rest in peace. There are so many.”

The tile will read

Tony Mulligan

The Hooks

SRFC Forever

To purchase your tile in time for the new season, the deadline is this Wednesday. Click here to buy.

Sligo Rovers will play their final friendly of pre-season this Friday against Cabinteely behind closed doors in Dublin.

Information will be reported on our social media channels during the game on Friday night.

Rovers then begin the new season on 14th February away to Finn Harps.

The 2020 Sligo Rovers Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 11th February at the Clayton Hotel, Sligo at 8pm.

The AGM will see the election of the 2020 management committee, a presentation of 12 months of club finances and the chairman and secretary’s report.

Notices have been posted to members, including nomination forms to join the committee. The meeting and nominations for the committee are only open to members.

Meanwhile the Annual Voluntary Member Contribution of €100 can be made on the night if desired or here for members or non-members.

For more, email administrator@sligorovers.com

Sligo Rovers can confirm defender John Mahon has suffered a fractured tibia. 

The injury was sustained in yesterday’s friendly with Athlone Town and he will be out for the “foreseeable future“ according to his manager.

Manager Liam Buckley said: “It is a fracture of the tibia. We’ll support John over the coming weeks and months and he will be back. 

“He will recover in the right manner in accordance with the medical staff. The break is being assessed at the moment.

“He’s having further scans and in time the picture will be clearer. We’ll be without John for some months but we know he will return later when the time is right. 

“We’re all disappointed but setbacks are to be overcome and we will do that together with John as a group.”

Due to a surge of interest in the Bit O’ Red Wall at The Showgrounds, the deadline for purchasing a tile has been extended.  Feely Stone of Boyle have agreed to accept new applications up to 6pm Wednesday next, February 5th. 

Get your tile here

https://srfcdirect.com/fundraising/bit-ored-wall/

This first section of the wall will be ready to coincide with Sligo Rovers first league home game of the new season against Saint Patrick’s Athletic on Friday, February 21st.

The ‘Bit O Red’ wall project has attracted interest from Sligo Rovers fans in Australia. 

It is the home from home of Ailbhe Cunningham and her husband, Frank.  Ailbhe’s late father, Tommy Curran from Grattan Street, was a committee member at the Showgrounds for many years.

Eight years ago Tommy Curran’s daughter in law, Olga, presented a very special memento to Sligo Rovers.  It is the League of Ireland Championship flag,  given to the club after it won the title for the very first time in 1936/37.  It was retained by Tommy Curran’s family after his death and they passed it on the club during the golden League and FAI Cups run eight years ago.

From Australia Ailbhe has ordered three tiles  – one on behalf of her family in Australia and the others in remembrance of her late father and her brother, Liam, who died in 2011. 

Another Sligo Rovers Australia-based supporter, Frank Gannon, has purchased a tile in the Showgrounds Wall.  As an eminent scientist, he has worked in many countries, including the US, France and Germany.  He is about to retire from his position as chief executive of a major cancer research centre in Australia.

His tile will state

FRANK GANNON

REDS FAN 4EVER

HOME AND AWAY

Three Sligo pubs, renowned for football discussions, will feature on The Wall.  Foleys of Castle Street, Connollys, Markievicz Road and Cahenys of Mail Coach Road have a long, unbroken link with the Showgrounds.   Foleys have been loyal sponsors of Sligo Rovers for many years.  The same applies to Connollys – its owner, Gerry Nicholson served as a committee member member in The Showgrounds.  

When the FAI Cup was brought home to Sligo after victory over Bohemians in Dalymount Park in 1983, the trophy had a stop-off at Cahenys and the celebrations featured in a colourful report on the RTE television programme, Ireland’s Eye.

The Cahenys tile will state

CAHENYS

MAILCOACH ROAD

UP THE LOCALS