Tales From The East Stand

This week's special guest host is a club legend, four-in-a-row and FAI Cup winning captain Ronan Finn, who is in his second season at UCD to pursue a Master's Degree in Sports Management. Finner helps review a boring St Joseph's game, which his daughter enjoyed at least, and a big win over Derry in Tallaght on Sunday that put Rovers 10 points clear. We look ahead to Thursday's tie with Kosovo Football expert Eljon, and potentially a trip to Portugal where Ronan made his European debut with Sporting Fingal in 2010, and also nearly cost Rovers the title that season. We reminisce about Belgrade and White Hart Lane, his League of Ireland debut for the college in 2005 and scoring against the Hoops as a teenager. Ronan talks his long wait for a first European goal, Pico taking the armband and equalling his European appearance record, Rory Gaffney's greatness, Burkey's fitness, the gaffer's half-time team talks and "the turn" when results haven't yet come. We discuss his relationship with Stephen Bradley and the sen

A bonus episode with Con Murphy reading a piece on Kosovan football during the Yugoslav war, James Moor talking about his book 'Grobar', in which he spent the 2011/12 season following FK Partizan home and away, including Rovers' famous night in Belgrade, and a re-airing of our Mick Kearin interview from 2021, after Jim Conroy pays tribute to 'Tiger', his favourite player growing up.

This week's guest co-hosts are the Staffords, Ciarán and his dad Ben to talk a club record away win in Gibraltar, which we all barstooled at the Irishtown House, favourite European memories together, the Pride of Ringsend and more. Tommy Tormey files his live report from The Rock, there's Conor Foley on Glenmalure Rovers' new season, and on the 20th anniversary of when the members took ownership of the club for the first time, examiner Neil Hughes and former player Keith Doyle take us back to the drama of the 2005 season and the High Court.

Gary P's last show for a few weeks is a packed one, with the Wexford tonking in the Cup to talk about, and three interviews. Dan Griffin from Gibraltar has all you need to know on Thursday's European opponents St Joseph's, we hear from Head of Girls Academy, Tommy Carberry before the return of both Harry Moore and Alan Mannus, as 'Harry meets Big Al' for an in depth chat on life after Rovers, working with Larne, Leon's departure and the highlights from his hugely successful spells as Hoops No.1.

We have two Honohans and two authors for our FAI Cup preview show, with journalist Sean Ryan and former referee Liam Gavin talking their books, 'The Official Book of the FAI Cup', and 'My Little Wooden Whistle: 100 years of FAI Cup referees and other stories'.

We talk the Cork, Bohs, Waterford and Sligo games in recent weeks and there's a new TFTES Hotline where 10 callers tackle our questions on exams, hat-tricks, Europe, derbies and merch.

It's the 4th of July, so instead of three match reports we have three American themed interviews. Former Rovers midfielder Jamie Duffy, born in Texas, raised in Tallaght and living in Hollywood, talks the 2006 First Division win, a life-threatening illness, his boy band and appearance on X-Factor. Then, another remarkable story in Cincinnati, Orlando and Nashville where Dylan Connolly, another Dubliner and Rovers supporter, was Ireland's only representative at the Club World Cup in the States this summer with Auckland City. Dylan tells us about life in New Zealand and swapping the Leinster Senior League for games with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Boca Juniors on the world stage. The last segment is Brendan Crowley from 'Sports Books Reviews', a Limerick native who gives his personal take on the sports books he's read and written about in his newsletter all the way from his new home in the U.S. capitol, Washington D.C.

There's six points on the road against Shelbourne and Drogheda to talk about, with the help of journalist Barry Landy to cover Drogheda's European expulsion. Plus: Duffer's meltdown, the demise of Soccerway.com and the Club World Cup, and the greatest voice note of all time by Eoghan Rice.

Two shows this week. Here we've got some reaction to the European draw, and a double author feature ahead of Dalymount Park - although neither man has been to a derby in decades. Paul Howard recalls the smell of Milltown, and writing two of his books, "Gaffers", about Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane, and "The Rodfather", on Roddy Collins and his time at both Dublin clubs, while Donal Cullen tells us about following Bohemians from Canada, and the five new Irish football books he's just released on Bohs, Shels and the first three League of Ireland seasons.

It's part two of our 2000s series. Brian McKenna and John Byrne, who was part of the takeover of the club by the fans and media officer for five years, talk 2004 and 2005, with stadium skullduggery, unpaid wages, examinership and the High Court, survival, Roddy's reign, relegation heartbreak and a new dawn under Pat Scully.

Barry Murphy fills in for Gar this week where the only goal in Tallaght he got to commentate on was the Walking Football. Baz gives his mid-season report and talks all sorts of topics such as signing for Roddy in 2005 and cheques starting to bounce, a friendly win at Sunderland in 2007 under Pat Scully, Josh Honohan, Don Patricio, and all our potential European opponents in the Conference League draw with the help of Shane Kavanagh and Ryan McDyer.

We have Aaron McEneff's late winner in Derry and Irish managers winning league titles across the continent to talk about. No, not Robbie Keane - our author series continues with Sue O'Connell and 'The Man Who Saved Barcelona FC': The Extraordinary Life of Patrick O'Connell', the Dubliner who led Real Betis, in search of their first European trophy on Wednesday night, to their only La Liga in 1935.

We've got IKEA, haircuts, tonks and three wins out of three to talk about (first hour) before the conclusion of our Goodbye Goodison series with Robert Goggins, Robbie Gaffney, and Rovers and Everton fans Paul Clayton, Anto Matthews & Craig Mahon (Members Corner) and Dean O'Reilly.

No match reports in this one as we've got the Juz-Line, Christine Allen's women's team update and a double author feature, starting with Cian Manning's "I Love Me County: Waterford Sporting Stories", ahead of Friday's trip to the RSC. Then, for our Goodbye Goodison series, you'll hear from Steve Zocek on his book 'Goodison Memories: Looking Back Before Looking Forward', before another Everton fan, Ben Winstanley (A View From The Bullens) talks Sunday's emotional farewell to the famous ground. PS: all recorded before Tuesday's news. PPS: Happy Birthday Shannon~!

We're back to winning ways against Sligo, with Greener's 100th LEAGUE goal and a new TFTES Hotline. Paul Hayes, Nathan Johnston, Eric Brennan, Tony Grant, Damian Brennan, Greg Donaghy, Darren Gillen, Tommy Tormey and Dan Fulham are our nine callers with topics ranging from strike partnerships, 90s bands and Asian holidays to bad driving habits.

We talk the 2-2's, the Pope and Gar's phone battery dying along with everything else happening at the club.

We see how long we can go without talking about the games as two former Hoops are interviewed - Santry era winger Brian Byrne, and first, Karl Sheppard, a league winner at both Rovers and Cork, who meet at Turner's Cross on Friday.

A short, special episode this week, with Bobby Best: In Memoriam. Eight good friends of Bobby - Giggsy Hand, Mark Butler, Mark Turner, Mick Byrne, George Kelly, Robert Goggins, Jim Conroy and Mick McCarthy share their memories of the great man.

There's a recap of the home wins over Waterford and Cork, Pico's fatherhood and Greener's 100 Club, and the Members Corner with Rovers website and internet pioneers Paul Thomas and Gerry Matthews, and a cameo from Forkie on the SRFC Ultras forum (2018 replay). Christine Allen reports on the women's team, including another Ruesha Littlejohn free kick.

We got the Galway trip from the perspective of two different buses, and an inevitable 14th consecutive win out west, and a new edition of the TFTES Hotline with Jimmy Maguire, Dunster, Aidan O'Reilly, Dean Creevey, Eoghan Rice, Macdara, The Gent and The Hogg.