By Anonymous
On 13th July 2023, in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn, a UEFA Champions League match between HB Tórshavn and Derry City became a brief sensationalised political spectacle. As hosts, HB had accidentally flown the Ulster Banner instead of the Irish tricolour. Highlighting a status of affairs unaware by many in the football sphere. Their story for this arrangement is full of sectarian flashpoints of a club’s struggle to have a nationalist and catholic identity in the sectarian landscape of Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
The City of Derry/Londonderry is a settlement of divided loyalties, the name is divisive amongst its inhabitants with Derry being associated with the Irish nationalist community whilst Londonderry is used by the British unionist community. This is further enhanced at a national level with the Republic of Ireland using Derry whilst the United Kingdom uses Londonderry when referring to the county area. The name Derry itself is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire and was created as part of the Plantation of Ulster in 1610. This controversy remained relevant to Derry City as the club itself back in 1928 sought to have a name that bridged the two communities in the city. Instead of utilizing the name of the former club in the city ‘Derry Celtic’ it was decided to not use this name as it would be seen as alienating protestant support. The club would become one of the three leading football clubs in Northern Ireland alongside Linfield (Unionist club) and Belfast Celtic (Nationalist club). The latter club’s rivalry culminated in sectarian violence in 1948 when a match against Linfield saw sectarian violence so severe it led to the Belfast Celtic’s dissolution in 1949.
The demise of Belfast Celtic left Derry City, Distillery and Cliftonville as the remaining clubs with catholic support. With the Troubles acting as a catalyst for sectarian issues for the remaining clubs, the conflict quickly impacted the supporting communities of clubs in the Northern Irish League particularly in the 1970s. In 1971 the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) deemed the home grounds of Distillery (Grovesnor Park) and Derry City (Brandywell) as unsafe for travelling Protestant supporters, in Derry this saw the demise of Protestant supporters. Population shifts in North Belfast from Catholic migration saw Cliftonville also lose Protestant support and was banned from hosting Linfield at its home ground of Solitude due to security concerns. This situation was a result of the polarisation taking place in Northern Ireland as Cliftonville and Derry City support became increasingly Nationalist as barricades on sectarian lines enclosed these areas. Both clubs would be embroiled in sectarian unrest with rioting in Derry taking place in and around the ground, Cliftonville support faced confrontation with the RUC during its 1984 friendly with Glasgow Celtic. In the case of Derry City the club emboldened the city’s unrest against unionist control through heated and violent rivalries against unionist clubs of Glentoran and Linfield until their expulsion from the league in 1972.
After 13 years in amateur football, Derry City were able to gain authorisation to rejoin professional football in the form of the Republic of Ireland’s league system in 1985. This move whilst regenerating the club’s finances and sporting ability also acted as a political move that legitimised the nationalist identity of Derry City. The club now represented the Republic of Ireland both in the domestic league and in European competitions. This development was critical in emboldening the nationalist support of the club as domestic games now provided a connection to Republican supporters in core Irish cities such as Dublin, Limerick and Cork, allowing Derry City to exist in an Irish Nationalist reality of ‘reunification’ that its Nationalist supporters longed for. This coupled with the relaxation of border controls with the European Union has allowed the city as a whole to have a stronger connection to the Republic, which has added to the supporter base of Derry City rejecting its position in Northern Ireland.
This story of Nationalism and its tendencies permeating the fabric of society, manifesting in the case of sports. for which an asymmetry of identity exists, holding Derry’s Nationalist identity within the nation whilst balancing a Protestant minority and the difficulties therein. The case of Derry City FC emboldens the case of sports as a vehicle for political ideals, where a club ideologically at odds with its neighbours and the place it finds itself situated is able, through sports, to enjoy a glimpse of its hope of Irish unification.
Identity Hunters 