Deirdre Clifford awarded Honorary Life Membership of the FAI in recognition of service to Bohemian FC

Long-serving Bohemian stalwart Deirdre Clifford was this week presented with Honorary Life Membership of the FAI in recognition of her service to the club and to Irish football.

Well known to everyone at Dalymount Park for running the club store for many years, Deirdre’s tireless efforts have been instrumental in growing merchandise as a key revenue driver for the club in recent seasons.

Deirdre was presented with her Honorary Life Membership by FAI President Paul Cooke at Dalymount Park this week alongside Bohemian FC President Matt Devaney.

First introduced to the club in 1982 by Paul Duffy, Bohemian FC has been a part of Deirdre’s life ever since and she, along with five others, was one of the first women to become members of the club in the late 1980s.

“You know yourself! You just get caught up in it all and you get brought in,” she says. “My first game was 82, but the first game that really stands out for me that I really remember was the 3-2 win against Rangers here in 84, 40 years ago last month.”

And it wasn’t long before Deirdre found herself volunteering for the club, and she hasn’t looked back since.

“Paddy Murray, our friend, used to run the old merchandise store under the old stand here and once or twice, when he was stuck, I’d help him out,” she explains. “After that, I ran the sweet shop on match nights for a while, then I went back to the merchandise shop… and the rest is history.”

Alongside her sister Laura, Deirdre has been an ever-present in the transformation of selling a couple of hundred jerseys a season to now dispatching thousands of jerseys and other merchandise to the four corners of the globe annually.

That growth necessitated the club store, and Deirdre, to relocate to new premises in the Glasnevin Business Centre on Ballyboggan Road earlier this year.

She said: “My sister Laura came on board in 1992 and we’re both still here, loving it. It was always a nice thing to be involved in but everything has completely blown up in the last few years beyond anything we could have imagined.

“There was a time when we might only sell 200 jerseys a season, now we might do that in a good week. We’re dispatching to all over the world now, it’s difficult to put into words how much things have changed.

“Laura looks after all the online bits and I come in every morning, pick everything out of our warehouse, and pack it all up. It’s a whole different ball game to five or six years ago even. It used to be easy!

“But I love this club, I love everything about it. Most importantly I love going into work every morning and if you are lucky enough to like your job, you’ll have no problem getting up in the morning.”

Given the scale of the workload imposed on her when a new jersey is launched these days, it would be understandable if Deirdre dreaded such occasions.

Not so, she adds: “No, absolutely not. I love it. I’m as excited as any fan when we launch a new jersey, I love it. There’s always a great build-up and it’s great to see so many people right across the city decked out in Bohs gear, everywhere you go.”

Laura Clifford said: “As the eldest of 11 siblings, Deirdre has always looked after us without asking anything in return. She is the kindest person and her humility is what makes her so special.

“In terms of her work at Bohs, Deirdre completely downplays her role but the reality is, she is responsible for a huge part of the overall merchandise operation. She manages order fulfilment, deals with DHL, controls inventory, deals with customers, returns, refunds as well as stocking two matchday stores in Dalymount. The list goes on…

“She is a great colleague too, and her response to ‘hello’ at the start of every call is always ‘what can I do for you?’

“We are all so very proud of her and are so glad for her to receive this recognition from FAI and Bohs – the club she loves so much.”

FAI President Paul Cooke said: “It was a privilege to present Deirdre with her Honorary Life Membership certificate this week and to congratulate her on her years of service to Bohemian FC.

“People like Deirdre are the lifeblood of our game from Grassroots to League of Ireland and not just around the football on the pitch.

“There is so much hard work needed behind the scenes at all clubs and Deirdre’s years of dedication to Bohemians is proof positive of how someone can make such a difference, and I commend her on this well deserved recognition.”

Club President Matt Devaney said: “Deirdre epitomises everything that’s good about our club. She has given decades of service to the club she loves and it’s because of the work of people like her that we still have a club.

“People will know Deirdre from match nights or from coming down to the club shop, but they may not realise the hours she puts in week in and week out for so many years behind the scenes.

“The growth of our merchandise section is beyond anything we could have imagined only a few years ago. It is such an important area for us now in terms of generating income for the club in a league where other clubs have wealthy benefactors.

“As a members-owned club club we don’t have that luxury, we have to do things differently and it is people like Deirdre who make it happen and who make this club so special, so I’m delighted that the FAI have honoured her contribution.”