Stuart Byrne: Duff pictures were not mortifying for the league, and here's why

Irish Daily Mirror

23-05-2025

When it comes to social media, I live in a cave but make no apologies for it. I don't need nonsense in my life.On Monday, I stepped out of my dark hollow to watch the Shels v Drogheda game, and noticed how everyone was talking about 'the Damien Duff picture'. The pic was from Friday night and I was only hearing about it on Monday, so that says more about me than anything but, again, no apologies.Still, with the pundits discussing it, I guessed it had gone viral so I took out my phone to google it. They were brilliant pictures to be fair.They also sparked the usual stuff you hear about facilities not being up to scratch and how mortifying it looks for the league. Duff said as much himself. He was embarrassed - not of how he looked, standing on the grassy knoll, but for how it portrayed the league. He later said that football figures around the world were texting him about it, laughing.But none of this is new news. Certainly not for anyone who has attended League of Ireland games in the last 20 years. The desperate state of our grounds is not the story. Results are not even the story a lot of the time. It's people who make headlines and, in this case, Duff.
Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
As time passes, that picture will be laced with nostalgia. It may even be iconic. He feels it's a terrible reflection on the league, but it's not, and I see a positive here.Our stadiums have been crumbling for two decades, and longer in some cases. We moan about them, but there's never any movement for change. People running Irish football present us with facilities plans and presentations and they talk a good game, but it's all hearsay and rumours.
Poxy stadiums themselves won't cause uproar and demonstration. People do that. I'm always amazed at the lack of public protest over the dire housing crisis in this country. And yet thousands of people will join anti-immigration marches, protesting about people coming to Ireland who need our help?
That seems to get people off their arses pretty f****** quickly, even though immigrants actually need compassion, support and shelter. I'd hazard a guess that there's football fans - League of Ireland supporters - joining in those marches. Would they not be better rallying behind a better ideal than that shallow, hollow cause they think they're fighting?But I guess the League of Ireland has always been a fractured community. I stand to be corrected but apart from the Deportivo game, I don't recall fans coming together in unison to better the game here.Dalymount is falling down and while the redevelopment has been delayed a little, the money is there to see it through. But not enough pressure is being put on the Government to get the wider football projects completed on time.This is the people's game and it's where we should be focusing our efforts, rather than complaining about the optics of one man on the hill in a dilapidated ground. It's low hanging fruit and a tired, old argument because nobody disputes that the grounds are kips. Change the narrative, think bigger and actually do something about the slow progress that Government and bureaucracy itself is showing Irish football.Pat's in perspectiveI felt too much was being made of St Pat's ahead of the season. They won their last nine league games in 2024 and it was certainly an impressive surge up the table. But there was no pressure on them and they were flying under the radar. Suddenly they were being talked up as title contenders going into this year and I just felt it was premature.They've had a roller-coaster week, snatching an injury-time win from the jaws of defeat against Cork City before getting smashed 4-0 by Shamrock Rovers three days later. But take the Cork game last Friday. 1-0 up and then 2-1 down with a minute to play, the crowd were turning. They were on Stephen Kenny's case midway through the half, when the team looked flat and having played for Pat's, you hear every word coming from the stands.It's such a tight pitch, there's no hiding place when your supporters want to dish it out but they got behind their team when they mounted the late, late comeback. But the feel good vibes evaporated in Tallaght on Monday and I think St Pat's are at a crossroads.They're experiencing what Bohemians were going through earlier in the season. And you could say Shelbourne are too. St Pat's are in a position now where people expect them to challenge for the title and that means having to win every week.That's not easy and you don't develop habits like that overnight. You're talking about young men dealing with something they're not used to and that's pressure. We're seeing that play out at the moment and while I do think St Pat's will recover, inconsistency will bring them down if they don't snap out of it quickly.Rebels on the rise?I've no idea how Gerard Nash will do as Cork City boss. Anyone who says they do, is talking through their hoop.But while I knew nothing about him a week ago, I like that they've gone for someone young (38).Cork City is a hell of a job to get - a one-club city, a cracking pitch and a proper ground. Someone has to get it right as the Rebels are a sleeping giant. But that's also the new manager's biggest problem.
Cork people are a fiery bunch and they're a bit fond of themselves. Nash will have to get it right pretty quickly and he'll soon realise that.His playing career at Ipswich was cut short after cruciate injuries and he had to retire early, and went straight into coaching. As a Stella Maris man, I won't hold it against him that he played for Belvedere but I wish him well and hopefully Cork have unearthed a diamond.Put it awayYou know me. When I'm irritated by today's societal norms, I tend to keep it to myself because I'm not the pass-remarkable type. But I'm also a liar ….. so anyway, back to my expanding book of pet hates and this week it's a two for one bonus.I was walking around town the other day, on my lunch break, enjoying the glorious weather and people watching.What's with the throngs of office folk who swan around in gangs with their work lanyards around their necks? They may as well be carrying a flag saying 'I work for (insert company name here).' Put it in your pocket like a normal person.Secondly, people who wear sunglasses to work. You're up at 6am and that's your priority? Silicon Valley wannabees.