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Pictured at the recent special draw of Sligo Rovers 500 club were (L-R): Sean Crossan Draw committee, Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Bree, Tony Quinn, Draw committee, Tommy Higgins, Rovers Chairman, Vincent Nally, Chair Draw Committee, Peter Henry, Draw Committee, Robbie Fitzpatrick, event MC.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION TO MARK MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT

Sligo Rovers has long been showcased as a model community club, and one aspect of the club’s administration illustrates this beyond any doubt. Since it was established in 2003, the Friends of Sligo Rovers 500 Club has raised €2m for Sligo Rovers, and this hugely impressive milestone was marked by a special draw at the recent friendly match against Everton.

At half time at that fixture, 500 Club Draw Chairman Vincent Nally presented a cheque of €50,000 to Sligo Rovers, which brought the total raised for the club for Sligo Rovers by 500 Club members to €2 million.

A special draw was held pitch-side at half-time. With the Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Councillor Declan Bree in attendance, two lucky members won €1,000 each, Stephen Gilroy from Tonaphubble and William Gaffney from Ardaghowen. Vincent also made a presentation to the founding members of the 500 Club, Peter Henry and Tony Quinn.

Draw Chairman Vincent Nally said ‘It was the vision and spirit of the late Brendan Byrne along with Tony Quinn and Peter Henry that laid the foundations for the draw, and their work continues to the present day by our current team of volunteers’.

Rovers Chairman Tommy Higgins said the importance of the 500 Club to Sligo Rovers was immeasurable. “As a community owned club, we are totally reliant on the loyalty and generosity of our supporters, and we simply would not survive without the core fundraisers; The 500 Club, Weekly lotto and annual draw. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Vincent Nally and his team for their invaluable contribution over many years.’

An important feature of the Draw is its generosity, over the years 2,370 draw winners have shared almost €300,000 in prize money. Without any major benefactor, Sligo Rovers is reliant on its supporters, local community and teams of volunteers, and their loyalty lies at the heart of the enduring success of the draw.

The 500 club welcome new members, to join, simply fill out the contact form using the link below.

https://www.sligorovers.com/500-club/

In the first of an occasional series highlighting some of our local legends, Jim Gray chats with David Pugh to reflect on an iconic career.

By Jim Gray

David Pugh is one of Sligo soccer’s most iconic heroes. A local centre-half who joined Rovers from the junior soccer ranks, he is generally regarded as one of the best players ever to wear the bit’o’red and, indeed, one of the greatest of all time League of Ireland performers. He also managed Rovers on two separate occasions.

 His remarkable career included an FAI Cup winner’ medal with Shamrock Rovers in 1969 and a successful spell in the fledgling American soccer leagues. But his best years were spent as an inspirational skipper with his home-town club, during which he was honoured with the captaincy of the Irish under-23 team. A master of many trades, David also played senior Gaelic football for Sligo; was an international basketball player; an accomplished rally driver, and a top amateur golfer. He was offered the chance to play professional football, but turned down opportunities to join both Celtic and Chelsea.

In a strange twist of fate, the man associated with great soccer moments also made GAA history. When the GAA finally kicked to touch its infamous ban on ‘foreign’ sports, he was among the first soccer players in the country to play in a provincial football final, alongside another Rovers favourite, Gerry Mitchell.  For good measure, he captained an Irish under-23 international team where most of the players were cross-channel professionals. He drove a lightning- fast car at break-neck speeds at motor rallies all over the country. He played in three West of Ireland golf championships off an eye-watering three handicap. He won a Sigerson Cup and played basketball for Ireland. 

His love of sport manifested early and he was always a dual player: “We weren’t allowed play soccer in school, so it was Gaelic football in St. John’s School in Temple Street and soccer in the nun’s field, where the Cranmore housing estate was later established,” he recalls.

Later in life, those fields of dreams would become the Showgrounds and Croke Park and countless other sports arenas, but the odd thing about a lad with such awesome ability was that his natural gifts were never matched by extravagant ambition. On the pitch, he was an unbeatable goliath, but outside the sidelines there reigned a shy and introverted youngster.

He vividly recalls ‘shaking like a leaf’ in his early days in the Rovers dressing rooms. On one occasion the club’s wily trainer, James Tiernan, offered him a plastic bag into which he could spill his nerves and told him he’d be ok once the game started.  He was right. The young center-half had a blinder.

Perhaps it was that inherent shyness which influenced his decision not to join Celtic as a teenager and, some years later, to reject Chelsea’s advances. But there are no regrets.

The Celtic offer came after a month-long trial arranged by Sean Fallon when Pugh was a fourth-year student at Summerhill College. Chelsea’s approach came following a successful season with Boston Beacons in 1968.

“At Celtic, I was just a kid. I looked around at the great players they had, people like Billy McNeill and Paddy Crerand, and I decided I didn’t belong there. I asked myself what am I doing here. They asked me to sign and without hesitation I said no. Looking back, it was probably a lack of self-belief.

“With Chelsea, it was a more mature decision. I was a grown man with plenty of experience behind me. It was at the end of the season with Boston Beacons, and the manager, Jack Mansell, told me he could lift the phone and have me at Chelsea in the morning. I told him ‘I don’t think so’. He was flabbergasted, but it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t want that lifestyle.”

Instead, his Boston room-mate, Paddy Mulligan signed for Chelsea and enjoyed a prolonged career in the English First Division and with Ireland.

All Pugh ever wanted was play for Sligo Rovers. His uncle, Ray Foley, had brought him to the Showgrounds every Sunday and soon he was caught up in the frenzy which envelopes almost every Sligo town child who ever kicked a ball. As a teenager, he played for Collegians in the junior league and was good enough to win an Irish junior cap. It was only a matter of time before the senior club came calling, but it was an inauspicious start.

Rovers had just returned to senior football in 1963 after a year’s absence and their ‘new’ team was a mixture of Dublin based veterans and untried locals, but the Sligo lads were very often at the back of the queue when it came to selection. 

Pugh recalls: “I was all set for my debut, togged out in the dressing room, nervous but excited. My dad, uncles, brothers all there to see me play for Rovers, a big day for the family. Then, shortly before kick-off, the manager arrives in with a few Dublin lads off the train. ‘You won’t be needed today’, he tells me. I was absolutely devastated, heartbroken, but that’s the way it was in those days. Locals would get one game and never be heard of again once there were enough Dubs to fill the shirts. I was determined from very early on that it wouldn’t happen to me, and once I got my chance I made sure they couldn’t shift me.”

Regularly picked for inter-league teams in the following years, his stock rose significantly when he was selected to captain a star-studded under-23 international team against France at Dalymount Park in 1966.

At the start of the 68/69 season, he joined a Shamrock Rovers team laden with talent, and he slotted in comfortably alongside some of the greatest players ever to grace the league under the expert management of the legendary Liam Tuohy. A memorable season with the Hoops was capped by the club’s record-breaking sixth successive FAI Cup victory, with Pugh becoming only the second Sligoman ever to win a cup medal.

The following season he was back with his hometown club and back in an FAI Cup final, as Rovers reached the decider for the first time in 30 years. A three-game marathon was eventually won by Bohemians. In the second replay, following a collision with fellow defender, Kevin Fallon, Pugh finished the game concussed and confused. It would be two hours after the game before he realized the result had gone against Rovers.

One of the better days, however, was when he got the chance to share a field with the fabulous Pele, winner of three World Cup medals and acknowledged as the best player in the world. Pugh was midway through a one-year contract with Boston Beacons, who faced Pele’s club, Santos, in an exhibition game. 

It still feels slightly surreal: “I was casually told ‘you pick up Pele’, and I thought ‘yeah, no problem’. Just to be on the same pitch was such a thrill. All of the Santos players were Brazilian internationals, fabulous players. I would have paid in to see them and here I was on the same pitch, trying to keep Pele quiet. I actually won a few headers from him, but even to get close to him was hard enough. 

“The one regret is that I didn’t get his shirt. Our manager ran on after the match and grabbed it. I’ve never forgiven him for that.”

When the GAA voted to abolish the ban on foreign games – ironically Sligo was one of only two counties who objected – another intriguing chapter opened up for Pugh. A talented if under-utilised Gaelic footballer, he had won a Sigerson Cup with St. Joseph’s College, Belfast, where he was doing his PE teacher training, scoring a spectacular goal in the final at Croke Park. Sligo manager, Brendan McCauley, invited Pugh and his Rovers pal, Gerry Mitchell, to join the county panel in 1971. They reached the Connacht final, losing out to Galway after a replay, in which Pugh scored a goal with a bullet-like shot from a 14-yards free.

Later in his career, he would serve as Rovers manager for two separate spells, while more tangible success as a coach came during his 28 years as a PE teacher at Summerhill College, where his teams won 18 Connacht titles and five All-Irelands. More than a dozen of his proteges went on to play in the League of Ireland and further afield.

As he reflects on an amazing sporting life well lived, Pugh has only one lingering regret

“I’ve been very lucky. As a young child, I could never have imagined I’d get to do so much in so many different sports, and I’m thankful for all of that. But, if I could change one thing, it would be to have won something with Sligo Rovers.  That would have been the pinnacle.”

*This article contains extracts from the book: LOCAL HEROES: A CELEBRATION OF SLIGO SPORT by Jim Gray and Leo Gray.

Sligo Rovers jumped into fourth spot in the Premier Division after goals from Wilson Waweru and Luke Pearce on his league debut, saw the Bit O’Red beat neighbours Galway United at the Showgrounds. 

Waweru fired home a glorious first half volley to give Rovers the lead in this Connacht derby and despite United throwing everything at it, Rovers stood their ground before securing the spoils in injury time at the end of the game courtesy of Pearce whilst also keeping their tenth league clean sheet of the season. 

Seeking their first win league win in Sligo since early 1996, it was a high-pressing Galway who bossed this meeting of the provincial neighbours in the very early stages. 

Featuring six former Sligo players in their match day squad, the visitors went close through an Ed McCarthy first time volley from the edge of the area three minutes in. While Rovers goalkeeper Ed McGinty had to shift his weight in time to catch an opportunistic Stephen Walsh header on nine minutes. 

Chasing a fifth win in a row on all fronts, Rovers settled into this game and came up with the best of the chances for the remainder of the half. 

Ellis Chapman struck Brendan Clarke’s crossbar with a header from an Ollie Denham flick-on just short of the quarter hour. While there was a quick Sligo counter on 17 minutes when Simon Power’s header bounced narrowly wide of the target after a sharp Rovers attack made its way diagonally across the pitch through Waweru and Malley. 

Waweru struck his fifth in three games just past the half hour. The former Galway man struck a perfectly caught, first-time volley from the edge of the box which left Clarke rooted to the spot.

The hosts should have doubled their tally seven minutes from the interval, but Chapman fluffed his lines whilst one-on-one with Clarke. 

The First Division champions started the second period as the first, pushing Sligo back although to no avail despite plenty of possession. Karl O’Sullivan, another ex-Rovers man fired over from 18 yards, the closest Galway came to leveling proceedings at that stage of the contest. 

McGinty pulled off a smart, one-handed save from a Patrick Hickey header 12 minutes from time to keep the home side in the lead. Indeed, Sligo might have settled the game 90 seconds later but net-minder Clarke closed down substitute Pearce at the edge of his own area to keep out the league debutant. 

The Cardiff loanee was not to be denied in the fifth minute of added time when slotted past Clarke from the angle.   

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Charlie Wiggett (Jack Henry-Francis 65), Nando Pijanker, Ollie Denham, Reece Hutchinson; Niall Morahan, Connor Malley, Ellis Chapman; Will Fitzgerald, Simon Power (Owen Elding 69); Wilson Waweru (Luke Pearce 79). 

Galway United: Brendan Clarke; Jeannot Essua (Junior 82), Killian Brouder, Garry Buckley, Robert Burns (Greg Cunningham 71); Jimmy Keohane, Conor McCormack (David Hurley 82); Karl O’Sullivan (Vincent Borden 54), Ed McCarthy (Francely Lomboto 71); Stephen Walsh, Patrick Hickey. 

Referee: Gavin Colfer. 

Attendance: 2,976

David Goulden

Sligo Rovers return to league action this Saturday as Galway United visit the Showgrounds for the second time this season for the third Connacht derby of the season, kick-off 7.45pm.

Rovers will vie with their provincial neighbours for league points following last Sunday’s comprehensive three goal defeat of Cobh Wanderers in the FAI Cup. Rovers are in fantastic form, picking up four wins in as many of their previous games in all competitions. 

The Bit O’Red will be without the injured John Mahon and Conor Reynolds who remain some way off a return, while Stephen Mallon serves a ban following his red card in a recent Premier Division match with Bohs at Dalymount Park. JR Wilson will also miss this one. He serves the last of a three game suspension following his dismissal against Derry City. 

Both sides are locked on the same points with Galway sitting one spot above Rovers by virtue of a superior goal difference. Either side is yet to score against the other following two scoreless draws so far this term.

With this in mind, Rovers boss John Russell is expecting another tight tussle between two clubs looking up the table.

“Both games have been really tight between us this year”, he says. “We’ve yet to score against each other and have played out two scoreless draws and we’re right beside each other in the table. We’re in good form at the moment and so are they. They put six past Longford at the weekend in the cup and we have scored at least two goals in our last five games including the Everton game. So it feels like something might give on Saturday in terms of goal. It should be really entertaining and we’re hoping for a big crowd to come out and back us.  

“Galway have strengthened during the window and have brought in real experience so they’ll be looking to push up the ladder. They’ve been a great addition to the Premier Division so far and it’s great to have these Connacht derbies back.

“Again, our recent form means nothing once we kick-off. We’re in good form and that’s the way we want to keep it come 10pm Saturday. We are the home side in a derby and we’ll look to start on the front foot and see where that takes us.”    

David Goulden

Wilson Waweru struck a sensational hat-trick as Sligo Rovers safely progressed through to the last 16 of the Sports Direct FAI Cup, beating Cobh Wanderers at the Showgrounds. 

Waweru struck from play in each half and rounded off a good evening both personally and for his team when he slotted home an injury time penalty at the end of the game. 

Rovers manager John Russell was looking to advance the hosts through a round of the cup for the first time under his tenure and the first time for the club since 2020, when they reached the last four under previous boss Liam Buckley. 

It was the League of Ireland side who were well in charge throughout.

Ollie Denham went close nine minutes in when he nodded Will Fitzgerald’s corner inches wide of the target, seven minutes before the full-time outfit struck for the opener.

Ellis Chapman’s initial shot was saved by Power who could only spill the ball into the path of Waweru who was left with a simple finish, tapping home for his fourth goal of the year. 

The seriousness with which Rovers took this tie was evident by the fact that none of the starting eleven took part in Friday’s mid-season friendly with Everton. They manufactured further opportunities in the half through Chapman who went close twice in quick succession.  

The hosts ended the half with a Chapman header which bounced off the frame of the goal, Waweru knocking home the rebound only to be flagged offside. 

It was all Rovers again in the second period as Ed McGinty went the full 90 minutes untested. 

Waweru twice headed wide before Power held on to a speculative Reece Hutchinson drive, as Rovers switched to two up top in the hope of avoiding an uneasy finish to this tie. 

That tension lifted somewhat 15 minutes from time when Fitzgerald knocked Stephen Mallon’s cross to Waweru who slotted the ball past Power for his second of the evening. 

Waweru brought his goal total for the season to six in injury time. The Galway native sending Power the wrong way from the penalty spot after the same player was tripped by Conor Walsh inside the area. 

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Charlie Wiggett (Luke Pearce 67), Conor Malley, Nando Pijnaker, Reece Hutchinson (Owen Elding 84); Niall Morahan, Conor Malley, Ellis Chapman (Jack Henry-Francis 76); Will Fitzgerald (Kyle McDonagh 84), Stephen Mallon; Wilson Waweru. 

Cobh Wanderers: Mark Power; David Curran, Conor Walsh, Eoin Hastings, David Stack (Darragh Heelan HT); Adam Hastings-Gilley (Kevin Foster-O’Reilly 37), Nathan O’Connell, Dylan McNamara, Stephen O’Leary (David Brennan 71); George Keating (Stuart O’Rourke 71), Oisin Dorgan (Loic Nguefang HT). 

Referee: Eoghan O’Shea

David Goulden



New signings Jack Henry-Francis and Luke Pearce are available for selection as Sligo Rovers take on Cobh Wanderers in Sunday’s Sports Direct FAI Cup second round clash at the Showgrounds, kick-off 6pm.

Rovers will look to progress against the Munster Senior League side on the 30th anniversary year of the club’s second FAI Cup win, back in 1994. 

The Bit O’Red will be without the suspended JR Wilson who serves the second of a three match ban following his red card against Derry City. While John Mahon continues his recovery from a long-term achilles injury. Kailin Barlow will miss out following a knock he picked up in Friday’s friendly draw with Everton in Sligo. 

Stephen Mallon is available despite being sent off during last week’s win over Bohemians at Dalymount Park. He will serve his suspension in an upcoming Premier Division game. 

While Henry-Francis and Pearce will be in the match day squad, after recently agreeing to join on loan from Arsenal and Cardiff City respectively. 

Rovers have experience of coming up against the Cork side in recent FAI Cup history. A brace from Dinny Corcoran along with strikes from David Cawley and Raffaele Cretaro saw Sligo advance to the fourth round at the expense of Cobh at St Colman’s Park, back in 2015. 

Manager John Russell played the first half of that game and having won the cup with Rovers in both 2010 and 2011 as a player, he is aware of how much the tournament means to both the club and its supporters. Russell is also expecting Cobh to come to the Showgrounds looking to cause an upset. 

“There’s always a real excitement when it comes to the cup and the early rounds”, he says.

“I was there for two wins and was lucky to be involved. We all know how much the FAI Cup means to Rovers. We probably haven’t done ourselves much justice in the competition in the last few years but we’re going into this game in a really good place. 

“I would dearly love to bring this club to another cup final and win it but we can’t think about that at the moment. We have to win on Sunday.

“We have prepared in the same way as we would for any game. We know Cobh aren’t coming all the way to Sligo just to play a game of football. They have an experienced manager in Stephen Henderson who will know what it takes to get through and we have to be wary of them.

“We are in good form in the league the last few weeks but this stands for nothing when we kick-off. We know we have a real job on our hands on Sunday and that’s evident by the fact that we rested a lot of the lads for the Everton game.” 

David Goulden

A youthful Sligo Rovers side pulled off a remarkable result against Everton’s first team as the Bit O’Red drew three goals a piece with the Premier League side at the Showgrounds. 

With limited first team experience in the match day squad, Rovers were more than a match for their opponents who featured a host of international stars including Republic of Ireland captain and former defender Seamus Coleman.

A goal from new boy Luke Pearce and a Kyle McDonagh strike had Rovers enjoying a deserved two goal lead at the break and although Mason Holgate pulled one back early in the second period, the hosts pushed on and extended the lead back to two when Kevin Muldoon had Sligo’s third just after the hour. 

The Toffees, who featured Premier League stars such as Ashley Young, Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled back two late goals through a Youssef Chermiti brace. 

Sligo Rovers: Conor Walsh (Kyle Gabbidon 70), JR Wilson, Kyle McDonagh, Gareth McElroy (Colin Mooney HT), David Jonathan, Jack Henry-Francis (Conor Cannon 65), Daire Patton (Callum Lynch 72), Kailin Barlow (Shane Malone HT), Kevin Muldoon (Jamie O’Malley 70), Owen Eldling, Luke Pearce (James Lukau 65).

Everton: (First half) Joao Virginia, Michael Keane, Dwight McNeil, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay, Adboulane Doucoure, Seamus Coleman, Idrissa Gana, Tyler Onyango, Elijah Campbell, Jenson Metcalfe. (Second half). Billy Crellin, Mason Holgate, IIliman Ndiya, Jack Harrison, Beto,  Ashley Young, Youssef Chermiti, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, Reece Welch, Roman Dixon. 

Referee: Paul McLaughlin 

Arsenal midfielder Jack Henry-Francis has joined Sligo Rovers on loan until the end of the 2024 season.

The Republic of Ireland underage international joins the Bit O’Red on a short-term loan deal subject to international transfer clearance.

The 20-year-old ‘box-to-box’ midfielder joined the Gunners in 2016 from Fulham when he was 13 and has regularly trained with Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad. 

Henry-Francis, who qualifies for Ireland through his parents’ Mayo and Leitrim heritage, has played six times for the Irish under 19s and once for the U21s, against Kuwait last year. At the age of just 17, he featured as part of the Arsenal first-team squad which travelled to Scotland for a pre-season camp. A squad which featured a host of international stars.

Henry-Francis is the third new player to join Rovers this summer following Stephen Mallon’s move from Cliftonville, and Luke Pearce who joined on loan from Cardiff City. The London born starlet is hoping to make the most of his time at the Showgrounds, with senior football very much on the agenda.

“I’m looking to get some exposure to first-team football really and when I get the chance, I want to put in some really good performances”, he says.

“I think I can do that here. I’ve spoken a lot to John and about his plans for me and the squad for the rest of the year and it’s been very exciting. I know a fair bit about the league and have watched a fair bit of it since I knew I’d be moving over. There seems to be a lot of togetherness in the team and a lot of fight along with some really good technical players.”

Henry-Francis, who turns 21 in September, is already familiar with being around players at the very top of the game having been around the Arsenal first team. He feels this will only help him as he looks to settle in at the Showgrounds.    

“It’s always a great experience being with Arsenal’s first-team as it’s always intense as there are a lot of demands, but I feel that will stand to me at Rovers. The trip to Scotland was incredible as you were playing alongside players with lots of Premier League and international experience. The last few years, the level I’ve trained at has really made me play up a level as you’re training with players who are chasing Premier League titles.”

Speaking about the move, Rovers boss John Russell says he feels he has found a player who will easily fit into his plans for the team between now and the end of the year.

“I am delighted to bring Jack to the Showgrounds”, he says.

“He is a tenacious midfielder who plays the game with real energy and aggression. It’s important now that we continue to add real quality to the group and Jack fits that profile. We are all excited to get to work with him and I know he’s looking forward to making an impact between now and the end of the season.”

David Goulden