Tolka Park holds some great memories for Bobby Ryan. The FAI Cup? Not so much.
But the former Galway United man hopes to put that right when his Bluebell side takes on his former club at the Drumcondra venue on Sunday afternoon.
Ryan is on manager William Nicholson’s coaching staff at the Leinster Senior League giants, who take up residence at Tolka Park when they host the Tribesmen.
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He scored a league-winning header there as a Bohemians player 19 years ago, before moving to Shelbourne.
And now his two sons Cillian (Under-14 National League) and Logan (Under-10 DDSL) are in the Tolka Park side’s academy.
As for the FAI Cup, while he played for some of Irish football’s top sides, with a spell at St Patrick’s Athletic also on his CV, he never made it past the semi-finals.
"I was at Bohs at the end of Stephen Kenny’s first season there and we got to the final," Ryan recalled, "but I was cup-tied after playing for Galway.
"So I ended up sitting in the stand and we were beaten by Dundalk.
"The furthest I ever got was two semi-finals. Shamrock Rovers beat us in Tolka Park the next year and St Pat’s beat us after a replay.
"Cup finals just weren’t my thing. When I was at Dunfermline, I missed the Scottish Cup final against Celtic through injury. I had an operation on my knee.
"I got to a League Cup final with Bohs but we lost to Longford, I lost a Scottish Challenge Cup final with Dunfermline against Dundee and I was beaten in the Setanta Cup final at Tolka Park against Linfield.
"Hopefully Sunday will bring a change of luck when it comes to cup competitions."
As for the switch to Shelbourne’s home ground, he said: “It’s a bit of a disaster in terms of losing home advantage.
"But we will take it on the chin and we can still do our thing at Tolka Park.
"I have great memories from there. Obviously there was the goal for Bohs that won the league and then I signed there and won another league.
"I’ve been down to Tolka Park a few times watching games with the kids involved.
"You can see Shels are trying to build something with their underage structure, the DDSL set-up and the National League academy under Collie Barron."
Bluebell don’t return to competitive league action until mid-August, so their only action so far has come in a handful of pre-season friendlies.
"We started back four weeks ago and it’s gone well," said Ryan. "We have put a decent squad together. Killian Brennan has joined.
"The Galway game is a bonus. It’s a day out, but it’s a day out where we can be competitive.
"And if we nick a result, then great. Anything can happen in the Cup.
"(Galway boss) John Caulfield has put together a super team. People talk about the budget, but he still has to get the best out of them.
"They will challenge Cork all the way to get back to the Premier Division this year.
"You look at them and you see Alex Murphy going to Newcastle, and you think this is a club that’s doing things right on and off the pitch."
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