Legendary ’keeper Richie claims Dundalk Hall of Fame Award

Goalkeeping legend Richie Blackmore was presented with a Hall of Fame award by his beloved Dundalk FC at their game against Shelbourne at Oriel Park on Friday, May 1st.

A gentleman of the game, League of Ireland great Richie made over 400 appearances for Dundalk, winning no fewer than 13 honours, including three league titles and three FAI Cups, and was twice named Player of the Year.

His other claims to fame include wearing the captain’s armband in European Cup ties against holders Liverpool and Spurs in the early eighties. He also made several League of Ireland representative appearances.

The Dundalk club kindly asked the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association to co-sponsor the award, which we gratefully accepted.

IPFBA chairman Harry McCue, who was at Friday’s presentation, said: “We’ve asked all clubs at their AGMs in January to initiate a Hall of Fame/Legend award for ex-players. Hopefully there will be more clubs coming on board with this great concept.”

Read below all about Richie’s remarkable career — in his own words.

• Richie’s profile and statistics from the Dundalk FC Who’s Who site

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From Birmingham to New York Cosmos to the Bernabéu of Baghdad — and Oriel of course!

In March of this year, Richie’s fascinating story was featured by the brilliant ‘Humans of Dundalk’ Facebook page run by photographer Darren Rafferty.

“I was born in Birmingham in 1953 and attended school there. At the age of 16, I left school to join Bristol City as an apprentice footballer. However, when the time came to offer professional contracts, I was released. After leaving Bristol City, I played in a number of pre-season games with Walsall. It was during this time that I first met John Smith, who was playing for Walsall and later went on to play for Dundalk. Unfortunately, Walsall also decided not to sign me.

“At that point, I began to think that a career in football might not work out. My father owned a garage, so I planned to work with him and assumed that would become my profession. However, things changed when I received a phone call from Birmingham City, who asked if I would like to come and play for them as a backup goalkeeper. By that stage, I had had enough of trying to fix cars and I think I was getting in my father’s way more than I was helping!

“I played with the reserves at Birmingham City for a while and then, quite unexpectedly, received a call from Gordon Bradley, the manager of the New York Cosmos. He was looking for a goalkeeper as the club was preparing to compete in the newly formed North American Soccer League. It was the summer between the English football seasons and for an 18-year-old, it proved to be an incredible experience and something I simply couldn’t turn down.

“So in 1972 I arrived in America and it felt like a completely different world. Because the country is so vast, we travelled by air to all of our away games, while our home matches were played in New York. I was very well looked after. The team included players from many different countries, which truly opened my eyes to the wider world. That season, we won the league and I played in all 16 games.

“When the season ended, I flew back to play for Birmingham City at the start of the English league, and New York had expressed their interest in having me return for the following American season. Unfortunately, shortly after returning to Birmingham, I suffered a serious injury and was sidelined for eight months, so I never went back.

“The following year, New York signed Pelé, so I could have had the opportunity to play alongside him, but it never worked out like that unfortunately.

“After my injury healed, I still wasn’t getting first-team football with Birmingham and that’s when I heard from John Smith, my old teammate at Walsall. He was now the manager of Dundalk F.C. and called to tell me they needed a goalkeeper for the upcoming League of Ireland season and asked if I would be interested in coming over. My cousin Jimmy Dainty had followed John over to Dundalk and was playing in the team, so I thought I’d go over and give it ago.

“I’d never been to Ireland before and at that stage I hadn’t even heard of Dundalk. I came over by boat and unfortunately, I got a bit seasick on the way over. Upon arrival, I was collected by the club. One of Dundalk’s directors owned a restaurant in Blackrock and I stayed in digs above it while I settled into the area. I was quite homesick at first and it took me some time to adjust. I went straight into the first team so it was very much a baptism of fire.

“I was still only 20, having played in England and flown around half of the United States and now I was settling in the north-east of Ireland. But the players, coaching staff and most importantly, the fans took to me and Dundalk went on to win the league that year, which made everything a bit easier for me.

“That season, after home games at Oriel Park, the team would often head across the road to the Derryhale Hotel for a few drinks. It was there that I first met my wife, Gerardine. I had noticed her a few times and she had caught my eye. I made my move, but at first she didn’t want to know anything about me. I didn’t give up, though and over the next few weeks, I asked her out until she finally gave in and we have thankfully been together ever since. I had travelled all around England and the United States, but I knew I needed a Dundalk girl to settle down!

““In the summer of 1975, after the season in Ireland had ended, I received a phone call from the manager of the Denver Colorados, who asked if I would come back to the United States to play with them for the summer. By that stage, I had a bit more experience and I also had a girlfriend, so Gerardine and I left Dundalk for the summer and headed to Denver. While we were there, we decided to get married and at the end of the summer, when the American season was over, we came back to Dundalk as husband and wife.

“Over the years, I went on to make 292 league appearances for Dundalk, winning three league titles and three FAI Cups and was named Player of the Year in two separate seasons.

“I was also in goal for the famous Dundalk vs. Linfield match in 1979. The atmosphere was extremely tense even before kickoff, with fights breaking out, stones being thrown and flares ignited.

“Their fans called me a ‘Fenian,’ and the situation escalated when Linfield supporters tore down an Irish tricolour and set it on fire. Stones were thrown between fans and both supporters and Gardaí were injured. The clashes led to 25 arrests and damage was caused inside Oriel Park and throughout Dundalk town. I’ll never forget that night.

“I also had the honor of captaining Dundalk in the European Cup in 1981 against Tottenham Hotspur and again the following year at Anfield against the reigning European champions Liverpool, where we narrowly lost 1–0. It was an incredible experience to lead Dundalk out in such a famous stadium. I still have the pennants from both of those games proudly displayed on the wall at my home.

“But it wasn’t all glitz and glamour. As part-time players, we all had to find jobs to make ends meet so I got a part-time position with McGee Sports Shop upstairs in the Old Shopping Centre. I worked there for a while and when the owner decided to retire, I took a chance, took over the shop and renamed it Richie Blackmore Sports. I was about 25 at the time.

“I was working in the sports shop one Friday in 1986 when the manager of Bohemians F.C., Billy Young, called me and asked if I would be part of a League of Ireland XI traveling to Iraq, but we had to leave first thing on Monday morning!

“At first, I thought it was a joke and was sure one of the lads from the club was winding me up. So I hung up, found the number for Bohemians and called back to ask for Billy Young. When he answered, he said, ‘See, I told you it was me. Are you free on Monday? We’re going to Iraq.’

“The game was part of a series of sporting events held to mark the 49th birthday of the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. We flew to Milan first and then on to Baghdad, arriving at 5 a.m. We were treated very well and put up in a hotel with marble everywhere and an abundance of food and fruit.

“The next day, we played against Iraq in the middle of the day in 110-degree heat. We were narrowly beaten 1–0. Saddam Hussein was supposed to be in the crowd, but I can’t say I ever saw him.

“At the time, I was playing for Galway United, but I was still based in Dundalk, where my family and shop were. I found it difficult to travel back and forth all the time. On some days, I had to close the sports shop early and then make the long journey to Galway and the roads certainly weren’t what they are today. Then Lifestyle Sports moved in downstairs in the shopping centre and I simply couldn’t compete with them. The writing was on the wall.

“After closing the shop, I got a job at the post office in Blackrock before moving on to work in the Ecco factory. I made a lot of friends during that time and I still meet up with some of them when I’m out walking the dog along the Navvybank.

“Dundalk became home for me, both on and off the pitch. The club, the fans and the people took to me and made it easy to settle and it was here that I met Gerardine and built my life.
Between football, running my shop and raising a family, I put down roots and stayed. I’m very glad I made Dundalk my home.”

With thanks to Darran Rafferty for sharing Richie’s story (add your appreciation here)