1983: LIMERICK's Football SHAMBLES | Sixty Minutes | Classic BBC Sport | BBC Archive

[@fredo1070]

This documentary is like gold dust. I used to go to the family farm in Limerick in the 1970s and 80s when Gaelic and Hurling was the game. When I returned in the 1990s Ireland was Football mad and there was a soccer pitch built across the lane from my grandfathers farm. I salute you Pat Grace for turning football from a barracks room game into a national sport!

[@johnq4951]

And now we're in the 2020s and Soccer is back to being third place in Ireland. Swings and roundabouts.

[@RB-NZ2]

@@johnq4951soccer most definitely isn’t third. Rugby has far overtaken it in the last decade.

[@johnq4951]

@@RB-NZ2 I agree, rugby would be number 2

[@johnnyk6460]

Soccer is number 4 now.

[@oliver69cork46]

​@@johnq4951no its not,the most played and supporter sport. Only professionnal sports league in ireland

[@electroid8119]

5:10 I admire the upfront honesty

[@ordetschmordet9227]

"I'll tell you who sponsored it. I can remember his name. Pat Grace! He's the guy who ran away and left his old club for a young wan." - Eamon Dunphy

[@stephengallagher2209]

"Ah now, Eamonn, you can't be sayin' dat now."

[@Kianmur]

That was Dunphy’s rant when speaking about Rod Liddle when he wrote an article about Roy Keane. "I'll tell you who wrote it, I can remember his name. Rod Liddle. He's the guy who ran away and left his wife for a young one." What Classic Dunphy 😂

[@Rasle500]

Back when shorts were actually short…

[@electroid8119]

In some cases too short 😮

[@HPLovecraftsCat87]

The audacity to consume any fried poultry in Limerick that isn't Chicken Hut.

[@hris-wv3yu]

Is Chicken Hut the big name in limerick?

[@gearoiddom]

But wasn’t Pat Grace’s the original. Chicken Hut is a Johnny-come-lately. You can buy bags of Pat Grace’s stuff now to make at home.

[@NickyHogan92]

It's one of the same, just the name over the door has changed but Chicken hut used to be Pat Grace's. The seasoning used in Chicken hut is still supplied by the Grace family and recipes are still the same as far as I know.

[@stephengallagher2209]

You stay classy, Limerick.

[@techfitguinness]

Underrated comment

[@MLSNYC88]

To whomever is uploading these - thank you! They are a wonderful reminder of why I love the BBC.

[@25pappy]

Is that an instrumental of THE BANKS OF MY OWN LOVELY LEE? If so...wrong City BBC. This is Limerick, not Cork.

[@criostoirocuinn]

0:47 & 5:54 The typical condesending BBC racism coming through there

[@TtableWhey]

Is the reporter using the word "Irish" as a pejorative? Wow. 1983.

[@Chief_Brody]

haha yes the good old days

[@Porkcylinder]

Nowhere near as bad as the word ‘soccer’

[@jamesharrington809]

"The truly Irish thing..." Condescending prick.

[@Dermot2927]

Unacceptable now, I know, but my own mother used to use that expression with me when I was growing up in Dublin. It was more nuanced than “thick”, it meant apparently confused and nonsensical but actually making sense if you dug down - you know, the cliche of the “cute hoor”, seemingly slow-witted but shrewd and sharp on the sly (see the recent dreadful Obama produced movie set in Ireland).

[@tommydowling9]

My Ma still uses it.. ironically that feels a bit Irish in and of itself given she's insulting herself 😀

[@JohnCambridge-c6t]

A real gem of a documentary

[@minihama]

"The truly Irish thing about this story." FFS. And the BBC is putting this guff online. You wouldn't see it in the Daily Mail.

[@rickrennyoneill]

It was more than 40 years ago

[@minihama]

@@rickrennyoneill Did they post it on KZbin 40 years ago?

[@gomey70]

Blind Boy should do a pod about this lol.

[@mmw4990]

He's definitely talked about the chicken shop story before

[@tomfoley4196]

He claimed in 2018 that he didn’t know limerick were in the hurling final so I doubt he’ll be doing a podcast on a soccer team

[@GP_Blend]

@@mmw4990and got it completely wrong too

[@a34rwl]

'It is unique' Yeah, apart from AC and Inter Milan ps. We met Philip on holiday in Torquay. Nice man, he sent us a Christmas card.

[@paddypenman2682]

They got the wrong chicken man for a sponsor. The Los Pollos Hermanos League, now there's a proposition

[@Thorlongus1175]

3:30 Pat Grace not a good Fried Chicken Baron, a great Fried Chicken Baron , Eamonn Dunphy

[@anfeariontach]

you have to take every fried chicken on its merits there bill

[@eddiemcgovern5352]

This chicken is a cod

[@lkrnpk]

Kentucky Fried Chicken League of Ireland :D

[@Beanbag777]

#greatestleagueintheworld

[@rossoriordan2]

Crazy to think the players were only earning £50 a week. No way should they have been getting paid that much

[@johnrockyryan]

Kentucky Fried Chicken league of Ireland? 😂 thats my country 🇮🇪

[@alancawfield6549]

This has been a problem with the domestic game in general in Ireland.Too many teams in the same area.There are 2 League of Ireland teams in Cork, 2 in the Southeast, 3 in the Northwest and there used to be 2 in Galway City as well.Really could have done with organizing the game better and having a more even spread of League of Ireland teams throughout the country.

[@Dreyno]

The teams aren’t franchises. Areas with more soccer had more teams. It wasn’t about spreading them around evenly.

[@alancawfield6549]

@@Dreyno I know that but they probably need to look for an approach like franchising and spreading the teams around more evenly in order to make the league thrive more.

[@Dreyno]

@@alancawfield6549 But places like Kilkenny and even Galway have teams. But the interest is split too many ways with other sports to sustain a soccer team at the “top” (🤭) level. Sligo is an aberration being a town of its size that is completely soccer orientated.

[@25pappy]

I'd wager the top junior teams in the locality would beat the now Senior LOI team Treaty United.

[@Dreyno]

@@25pappy I don’t know. The step up in physicality and being closed down so quickly is usually something young players struggle with when they start playing at that level. I think they’d just get bullied a bit and lose.

[@krissargent7605]

Unique apart from the Milan , Rome Genoa teams

[@TheLastAngryMan01]

This comes across as a mockumentary.

[@OscarOSullivan]

2 clubs is minor compared to the 5 major rugby union clubs at the time and still exist Shannon RFC, Garryowen FC, Young Munster and UL Bohemians.

[@Woody-Island]

Old Crescent.

[@fonz114]

And the Best underage club in the country by a mile in the 90s and 2000s Bruff RFC

[@johnathanryan2117]

Get Big Sam in....

[@jackcleary500]

He did do a solid job as player manager for promotion back to the top flight in 91/92 haha

[@subsoil007]

At this time there was a JCB driver called JP plotting his way to beat the bookies.

[@komodosp]

although £25,000 isn't much to suffer a ridiculous name like the "Kentucky Fried Chicken League of Ireland", even in 1983 money...

[@pressureworks]

So what eventually happened ?????

[@johnhehir508]

Limerick FC

[@pressureworks]

@@johnhehir508 does that answer the question ??

[@richie74wells]

​@@pressureworksLimerick United became limerick city, then it became limerick FC

[@VeniVidiVicous]

@@richie74wells and from that to Treaty United?

[@tallontedvideoandtechsolutions]

Well that wasnt confusing at all.

[@stephengallagher2209]

Wow, the KFCLI? I thought Dunpho made that chicken league jibe up when he was pushing for relocating Wimbeldon to Dublin. Pat Grace's Famous Fried Chicken League of Ireland? 😂

[@komodosp]

"... and if that sounds Irish, it is!" LOL! 🤦‍♂️

[@murtbuggy1]

Dripping in BBC mockery for 'Irish' people and the Irish Republic. Associates what is unusual or nonsensical as 'sounds Irish'.

[@TrueFilter]

Sounds Irish? Christ.

[@memofromessex]

@@lervish1966 Pipe in mouth, porter in one hand and a pig under the other ☺

[@dontevenlook]

brits at it

[@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373]

No christ was a jewnot a mick

[@eddieomahony507]

Weston villa

[@christianmccann9400]

50 pound a week per player .. wtf lol

[@80sandretrogubbins25]

Sixty Minutes eh? Crashed and burned in about 8 months.

[@Portsoffall]

KFC league of Ireland 😂

[@treatyman25]

English c&(ts

[@johnhehir508]

Limerick city is not a town ,

[@Jimbojanko17]

It's a shithole

[@HandleGF]

Limerick... the horror

[@gavintuesday4959]

The rain, the misery

[@Jimbojanko17]

Jesus relax

[@Redrooster0007]

SOCCER?????

[@HandleGF]

That's what it was most commonly called before Murdoch bought it.

[@RB-NZ2]

Ireland has its own football (Gaelic) more popular than association football. It’s called soccer here and nobody bats an eye when it’s called that.

[@donalobrien9422]

Refreshing to hear an English voice calling the sport soccer, which it was quite commonly called in England up to 50 years ago

[@thurmanmerman2720]

@donalobrien9422 Yes soccer, the name of Assocciation footbal used to distinguish it from all other forms of football. This appropriation of the word "football" by soccer fans is both disrespectful and inappropriate. Now I'm off to get some KFC!

[@gavintuesday4959]

Yep, “football” is a different sport in Ireland, Gaelic football. Same in Australia , that have their own form of football (AFL) They call it footie