28-07-2025
Colin Fortune chases new Athlone memories 42 years after family's European glory night at Mel's Park
He is hoping for more vivid memories when the club ends a 42-year wait.
Fortune was six in September 1983 when Athlone - with one uncle Turlough O'Connor in charge and another Michael on the pitch - hosted Standard Liege in the European Cup.
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Athlone Town manager Colin Fortune is hoping for more vivid memories when the club ends a 42-year wait
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Fortune during his playing career with Athlone in 2006
The Belgian champions won 3-2, just 16 months after they had narrowly lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the Cup Winners Cup final.
The men's team has not been in Europe since but the women's side make their Champions League debut against Cardiff City tomorrow with Croat champions ZNK Agram playing the winners on Saturday.
Asked if he was at the Standard game, Fortune said: 'I'm told I was. Listen, I lived in St Mel's Park.
'My family, we have a deep history with Athlone Town. My mother's an O'Connor. Turlough was the manager, I would have been probably on his shoulder.
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'But I remember the excitement around that time. I can never forget that. Mel's Park back then was an unbelievable place. My mother's home place was in Sarsfield Square, the neighbouring estate.
'So I have massive, massive memories from them times. I don't remember the game, but I know a lot of people talking about it. And it's been brought up a lot recently because of this game.
'It's '83 since we hosted Standard Liege. That's a long, long time for a club like Athlone. I know in recent history Athlone hasn't been in a good place, but the women's team have been.
'This is massive for our club, it's massive for the community, it's massive for the football people of Athlone.'
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Fortune - who is sweating over the availability of Jamaican international Izzy Groves and American duo Madie Gibson and Kelly Brady - followed in the family tradition of both lining out for and, briefly, managing the men's side.
And when Ciaran Kilduff left at the end of last season to take charge of his former club Dundalk, Fortune took over the reigning Women's Premier Division champions.
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He said: 'It's been fabulous. I've really loved it. The group are so honest, they're so open. They're like sponges, they take everything on board.
'I won't lie, I was a bit apprehensive at the start. I wasn't sure about what I was getting into, between the club, the potential takeover and everything else around it.'
The former midfielder's caution was understandable given the uncertainty which engulfed the club in recent months before Nick Giannotti invested in the club to fill the funding cap left by Valeo FC's withdrawal of support.
Fortune said: 'It was just a mental time. You know, there were press conferences called, there was a takeover happening, and then all of a sudden it was gone.
'We had a meeting with people taking over tomorrow and all of a sudden they've gone out of town again.
'There was wages not paid, there was food not provided. It was a messy, messy situation.'
Fortune praised the resilience of his players to keep producing the goods and hopes that the fact his side are in-season will act as a counterweight to Cardiff's advantage of previous European experience.
Fortune said: 'Credit to them because it's all on them. They are where they are because of them.
"And I keep saying that to them, 'Enjoy this occasion, you've earned the right to be here. So let's go and enjoy it but please perform'.'
Athlone are top of the table with their draws against Galway United and Treaty United viewed as a blip only because they dropped just two points in their first 11 games.
He said: 'The last two performances were not good but that's normal, you'll always get a dip.
"We all had one eye on Cardiff, we took our eye off the ball a little bit but still kept it going and to be flying the flag now in Europe is a really proud moment.'
