40 years fly by when you spend them with a club like Bohs – Lynn O’Neill

Lynn O’Neill admits she has shed some tears and that she will shed some more ahead of tomorrow’s testimonial in honour of her 40 years’ service to Bohemian Football Club.

Tickets, priced at €10 for adults and €5 for children/concession, are available from tickets.bohemians.ie.

Tomorrow’s game, which kicks off at 7.45pm, will see two teams of Bohemians legends from Lynn’s time at the club face-off.

The management teams will see Ireland boss Stephen Kenny in charge of one team alongside Keith Long, while fellow former Bohs managers Pat Fenlon and Turlough O’Connor will be in the opposing dugout.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Lynn, who said: “I am really looking forward to it. It is just so real now, and it is such an honour for me.

“I have been stopped in the street by people wishing me luck, players from decades ago texting and emailing me, sending me lovely messages. It has just been fantastic and means a lot to me.

“When we started putting the legends teams together, it really started to sink in. To have 40 club legends coming to Dalymount means so much to me, and I’m dying to see them all.

“I have shed a few tears and I’ll shed a few more! But it’s the right time for me to retire.

“I have been so lucky to be a part of this club all my life. But 40 years can fly by when you spend them with a club like Bohs.”
Lynn finished up working with Bohs last Friday and has reflected on her remarkable four decades working with a club she holds dear.

She said: “I wouldn’t change anything. I have had some great days, and we have always got through the bad times.

“The two doubles we won in my time I’ll remember forever. The first, in 2001, was fantastic as it was the first time the club had won a league in 23 years. I often sit with Tony O’Connor, Toccy, in the stand now and he goes with his grandson. It’s great to see legends like that still coming to our games. Stephen Kenny’s team in 2003 really stands out as well when we won the league in Tolka Park. They were great days.

“The second double we won in 2008 was special too, so I can’t wait to see Pat Fenlon and Owen Heary and all those players tomorrow, and I will always remember that FAI Cup-winning game in the RDS; the penalties, Brian Murphy’s saves, Glen Crowe’s goals. The trip we had to Salzburg in 2009 when they were at the club was one of our most memorable trips and performances.

“But when we were in Salzburg, I was reminded about how special our own club is. They had a brand new stadium but one of their directors said to me ‘I have been to your stadium, and there is so much character in your stadium and in your supporters. We turn up at Red Bull, but it is not our club. You have your club, you all own it, and you cherish it’.

“And he was right. We are a special club. Bohs means so much to so many people, and we have always had people who will do everything for our club. We all think of Mono and it is hard to think it has been over three months now since we lost him.

“I think of Elayne, his wife, and the Monaghan family, and all of Mono’s friends. They simply couldn’t get through what they have been through without their Bohs family.

“That whole week after Mono’s passing summed up Bohs. Everyone came together to comfort each other because we really are one big family.

“And I have so many people at Bohs to be thankful to too. Between my own family and my Bohemian family – I’m not going to tell you how old I am – but they have always been there for me throughout my life.

“Bohs has always been like that and has always had people who cared for it. There is a photo in the Jackie Jameson Bar from 1929 of the then committee – some of them remortgaged their homes for the club they loved.

“That just goes to show that we have always had ups and downs throughout the decades, but I feel that is in a solid place now. I feel like I am leaving working for the club with it having really solid foundations that will hopefully only get stronger.

“We have had tough years for the committees and volunteers trying to build the club back up. The members that we had in those years; we have so many new members now and we have built the whole thing up so much that it is easy to forget how the membership in the dark days saved the club.

“Now you walk down the street and someone will bump into you and ask you ‘when can I buy a membership?’ and you have to tell them there’s a waiting list. I couldn’t have imagined that back then. It took time, but everything takes time.”

Lynn has been better-placed than anyone to witness the rebuild of the club: From the dark days of struggling for survival a decade ago to the growth, sustainability and return to European football under the guidance of Keith Long, and that is now looking forward to building further under Declan Devine.

For decades, so much of the day-to-day running of Bohemians fell on Lynn’s shoulders but she is relieved to be retiring from a club that is building in so many areas with a dedicated and growing staff, which is now based out of the new offices in Phibsboro Shopping Centre.

She said: “Initially, when Daniel (Lambert) told me about moving to the new office in Phibsboro Shopping Centre, I said to Deirdre (Clifford), that I really hoped I wouldn’t have to go around there! I just wanted to finish my last few years in Dalymount.

“But I’d say I was only there a week, and I just thought ‘wow’, this is just so brilliant. Having been used to working in Dalymount for so long on my own, the new office was the best thing ever.

“There is such a buzz around it, with great staff and great people working so hard together to build up the club that they love in every way they possibly can.”

For so long, Lynn wouldn’t have a moment’s rest on Dalymount match-nights. But now she is making proper use of retirement – passing on her love of Bohemians to her grandchildren, just like her father, Honorary Life Vice-President Noel Farrell, had done with her.

She said: “My grandchildren already love Bohs, they idolise the club. And that’s what it was like for me too. I started going down to games with my dad when I was six or seven, and now I go to games now with my grandson Louis.

“I just love walking up the lane on Friday nights with Louis, enjoying the games, having a cup of tea, and actually being able to see and talk to people now.

“That means so much as I don’t think that there is any other club that has anywhere near the community spirit that Bohs have.

“For me that is special, and I will always be Bohs till I die.”

Fans are encouraged to send a short video message, no later than noon tomorrow via WhatsApp on 086 076 3943, to Lynn. The messages will be shown at Friday’s game.

Bohemians Legends XI 1: Brian Murphy, Lee Steacy, Derek Pender, Paul McNally, Robbie Best, Conor Powell, Annmarie Byrne, Maurice O’Driscoll, Paul Byrne, Keith Ward, Isobel Finnegan, James Keddy, Dave Tilson, Dinny Corcoran, Trevor Molloy, Derek Swan, Neale Fenn, Robbie Doyle.

Bohemians Legends XI 2: Dermot O’Neill, Shane Supple, Owen Heary, Tony O’Connor, Mark Rossiter, Anto Murphy, Liam Burns, Alan Byrne, Ian Morris, Stephen Caffrey, Bobby Ryan, Killian Brennan, Paddy Kavanagh, Glen Crowe, Jason Byrne, Abbie Brophy, Eric Lalor.