Glory Nights and Heartache is a book for anyone who has stood on a terrace, celebrating a victory or swearing they are finished with football only to always be drawn back. It brings together writers who love Irish football up close as supporters. Starting with one match, each essay expands to take in the rivalries, disappointments and the rare, unforgettable nights when everything went right.

It details the experience of following the Republic of Ireland men's team from Amsterdam to Kazakhstan and how the women's team went from obscurity to playing in a World Cup finals.

Whether examining the rivalry between Dublin clubs, how regional towns and cities identify with the teams that represent them, or the experience of black players in Ireland, this unique book, written by supporters for fellow supporters, captures the essence of the game in Ireland. 





Here are tales of family and friendship, glorious highs and financial collapses, and hopes that refuse to disappear. Funny, moving and brutally honest, it captures why following Irish football gets under your skin and never lets you go.



Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. His fifteen novels include The Family on Paradise Pier, An Ark of Light and most recently Hide Away. He has been Writer Fellow in Trinity College, a Fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Italy and, briefly, the fellow who was goalkeeping coach to the Shelbourne Under 11s. His twenty plays include Last Orders at the Dockside and an adaptation of Ulysses, both staged by the Abbey Theatre. His trilogy of plays, In High Germany (1990), The Parting Glass (2010) and Home, Boys, Home (2024) follow the lives of the three Irish soccer supporters, in Ireland and abroad, as they reunite at Irish soccer matches across the decades. His most recent book, Imperfect Beings, was published in 2026.



Introduction Dermot Bolger

Dundalk: We are the Muja, the Mujahedeen Conor O'Callaghan

Sligo Rovers: The Foreign Legion Eamonn Sweeney

Shamrock Rovers: Girl with a Green Ribbon, a story of Hoops, Heartache and Hope Samantha Libreri

Derry City: Are You Going Over? Dave Duggan

From Amsterdam to Kazakhstan: Following the Irish Men's National team abroad Tony Considine

Athlone Town: The Nerazzurri v The Rossoneri Declan Lynch

Cobh Ramblers: 2007: Miracle in the Midlands Kenneth Hickey  

Bohemians: Where were you in '92? Gerry Farrell

Waterford FC: What's in a Kiss? Brian Kennedy

Being Black and Irish in the Beautiful Game Ken Mc Cue

Shelbourne: James Curry

COYGIG: The Irish Women's National Team Emma Duffy

St Patrick's Athletic: Castle Island on the Banks of the Camac Donal Fallon

Cork City: Bend it like Asha Cónal Creedon

Postscript: Dermot Bolger