Tales From The East Stand

The Sligo trip and the possibility of Bradser leaving for Lincoln is mostly on our mind this week but aside from that, it's the Joe Barnes Show~! A legendary Rovers fan who has been supporting the club for an astonishing 82 years, we celebrate Joe's birthday with his first interview on the podcast and by hearing from five of his friends about why they love him.

We've a lot of catching up to do, with our view on the three wins over Pat's, Dundalk and Bohs, who are falling apart again. Most of the last hour is an interview with Rovers' Community Officer Tony O'Neill.

The match reports are held off until next week as we have Sean Francis in studio, who tells us about starting out at Birmingham City and the English non-league, moving to Cobh and then onto Rovers in the mid 90s. We talk our many home venues in his seven years at the club, Rico, his strike partnership with Tony Grant, podium goal celebrations, Cup final days, derbies, dancing, coffee and...hair gel.

We talk Greener's rocket and the late win at Tolka Park on Friday, and, to mark 35 years since the loss of Milltown, there's a couple of interviews. First, Robbie Tormey and John Doyle tell us the origin story of the Milltown monument and how it was erected in 1998. The last hour and 25 minutes of the show is a chat with LOI legend and Rovers' 1985/86 Player of the Year Mick Neville, and Hoops fan Robbie Murphy, who got to live the dream by playing alongside the four-in-a-row team in a friendly in Newbridge that same season.

The bogey bus made it home from Ballybofey with a 3-0 win and with Damien Duff's Shelbourne up next, there's a Tolka Park theme to this month's TFTES Hotline as 10 callers answer our questions about exercise, the nomadic years, jerseys, substitutions and superstitions.

A 2 and a half hour show, without a game to review? How? Well, we have SRFC TV commentary team Con Murphy and Graham Gartland: The Sequel, and TFTES In Memoriam: George Byrne. Con and Garts discuss everything except the Oscars, and from 1 hour 37 mins, there's tributes to 'Ringo', the legendary music critic and Rovers fan, from some of his closest friends - Martin Moore, Paul Donohoe, Ian O'Doherty, Tony O'Donoghue, Fiona Looney, Eamon Carr and John Byrne.

We review a mad game with Sligo which Rovers nearly lost but also nearly won 7-2. No Starting XI and Predictions but there's the Member's Corner with Ciaran Kane.

Happy City. Rovers City. On this Paddy's Day morning, we talk the big derby win over Bohs on Friday and a rare scoreless draw in Dundalk on Monday. Plus there's an interview with former Hoops winger Ollie Cahill, who played in the first couple seasons at Tallaght during the twilight of his brilliant career.

We have the Richmond report and to look ahead to a massive derby this Friday, it's an all female fans edition of the TFTES Hotline. First up, from 14 minutes is Aifric Ní Mháille, Emma Donohue, Jean O'Brien, Jessica Meegan, Sharon Dunne and Fiona Carton dialing in. For Part 2, from the 1 hour 1 minute mark, we hear from Orla Stanford, Rebecca Dunne, Áine Gavin, Ali Armstrong, Karen Connolly, Katherine Lynch and Mona (and...Winston?).

Three games to catch up on with the home wins over UCD and Drogheda either side of the longest bogey bus of all time to Derry and back. Plus: Roddy reaction, Gar's week from hell and yes, Conor's Corner~! NB. Do not put whiskey in the kettle.

Today we celebrate the five year anniversary of the podcast with the one and only Roddy Collins, for 90 minutes of entertainment. Roddy talks playing for Rovers in the 80s, Ricky McEvoy in a Donegal disco, his boxing champion brother Steve and receiving death treats at Irish League clubs. He explains leaving Dublin City in a relegation battle to manage Rovers in 2004, the drinking culture at the club and bingo nights. Roddy remembers Paddy McCourt when he opened his legs, the real Mick McCarthy, his suspension, Rovers' relegation and certain board members. Finally, we discuss the 6-4 in Santry, Malta, funny interactions with Hoops fans, who stopped him from getting work and what you can read in the buke.

The football is back as Rovers capture the coveted Michael D Trophy Bowl. The Pat's penalty shootout and Green Ribbon beer launch take up most of our air time and then nine Rovers fans - two of them ex-players - call into the TFTES Hotline for their season predictions, Starting XI's, opening day memories and discuss UCD's worth to the league.

As we look ahead to Friday's President's Cup Final, our Player of the Year series continues with a three-time award winner. Barry Murphy, the former Hoops goalkeeper talks relegation, the First Division, the first season at Tallaght and returning to the club in 2013.

Hoops number 9 Aaron Greene is in the lair this week for an in-depth chat. In the first hour we round up all the latest news at the club before Greener arrives to tell us about the loss of Joey and the return of Jack, the group mentality, high standards in the dressing room and motivational tools, what it means to play for Rovers and his son playing in the academy. Hear about his favourite Rovers games and atmospheres, accurate egg throwing, ending the 32-year wait, Dublin Derbies and corner flags, AC Milan and European goals (and misses). Even Westlife, Noel King and his 2012 Leinster Senior Cup winning goal celebration come up.

Our first episode of 2022 is dedicated to two men - Pajo and Pico. We celebrate Pat Flynn's birthday with some of his best stories and another edition of the TFTES Hotline, and talk all about Roberto Lopes playing for Cape Verde in the African Cup of Nations.

It's New Year's Eve and time for our long awaited end of season recap, from the sold out Drogheda game in Tallaght, the trophy presentation, Jack's Back and Joey's farewell, to the Player of the Year Awards at the Four Provinces and Bohs losing the FAI Cup final in the same glorious weekend.

It's the official TFTES Christmas stop-gap episode~! Your hosts, back after a five-week hiatus, outrageously ask you to wait one more week to hear us cover all the good stuff, when Gar is out of quarantine. The best laid plans...etc. In the meantime, be distracted by some chat about fixture lists and contract signings, via a phone call from a Lucan lavatory, another Player of the Year interview with 1992/93 award winner Peter Eccles (and the help of 'Memory Man' Justin Mason) before the main event - Winston Meets Rohan Ricketts.

We (briefly) touch on Dalymount Park and look ahead to the trophy presentation and party on Friday. On the 15th anniversary of the 2006 First Division title, there's a lengthy interview with former Rovers player and manager Pat Scully.

We talk the fireworks in Waterford and look ahead to the Dalymount Derby with no away fans. There's interviews with Barry Cotter and 2000/01 Player of the Year Tony Grant, who became a hate figure with Rovers supporters when he left for fierce rivals Bohs in 2004.

Champions again~! It was a night nobody will ever forget in Tallaght as Rovers sealed a 19th league title. We relive the celebrations and get an exclusive interview with Aidomo Emakhu after scoring his first league goal on Friday.