Tony Curley played for Coleraine during the glorious Peacock era, from the mid ‘60’s to the mid ’70’s mostly as an inside forward - an attacking mid-fielder in to-days terms. He had an excellent goal ratio of almost 1 in every 3 games and after his playing days, stayed at Coleraine in various capacities including reserve team manager, first team manager and currently as club scout.

Tony represented Coleraine 9 times in European competitions scoring 2 goals.
Coleraine playing record: Played : 407 Sub : 15 Goals : 131
First game: Derry City Away 19. 9. 1964 Drew 2-2
Last game: Cliftonville Away 13. 4. 1974 Won 2-1

Adding to the medals already won with Distillery and Glentoran, at Coleraine Tony has winning medals in the following competitions;
Irish Cup 1965, 1972
Ulster Cup 1965, 1968, 1969, 1972
City Cup 1969
Gold Cup 1969
Top Four Cup 1969
Blaxnit Cup 1969, 1970

In 1984 he became the second Coleraine player - Bertie Peacock being the first in 1976 - to get the Roy Stewart/Sean Mullan Merit Award for outstanding services to Irish League football.

Tony is now a remarkably fit looking 69 years of age and still attends most Coleraine games. He lives in Belfast, with wife Kathleen, a short distance from the Royal Victoria Hospital where he works part-time as an organiser for the trade union, Unison.

1. What are your earliest football memories both watching and playing?
Watching, was when I started supporting Glenavon around 1952, aged 13, and they had the likes of Jimmy Jones, Jackie Denver and Wilbur Cush in their team. I could get to the odd game in Lurgan but mostly it was when they played in Belfast at Windsor or the Oval. I started playing for Immaculata in the Down and Connor league and I remember we played in a cup final at Celtic Park and won which was a great experience. As with most youngsters I played for about a dozen junior teams at some stage in summer leagues. Every street corner seemed to have a team. Then I joined Shelbourne, who were a very well known junior team then, in the Minor League just before I moved to senior football.

2. Your first club was Distillery. How did you come to join them?
When I was about 16, a junior league referee called ’Bumper’ Graham recommended me to Distillery and I played a few games for their 3rd team. As a result I was selected for the Northern Ireland youth team squad to play against England. Unfortunately I was serving my time as an electrician at John Eastwoods in Belfast and a heavy motor fell on my toe and put me out of the squad. After that I drifted away from Distillery and back to the Minor league again. Years later a Distillery scout came to watch me a few times playing for Shelbourne and invited me along to Grosvenor Park. I was just married at the time so I was almost 23 when I joined Distillery towards the end of 61/62 season and played a few reserve games. The next season, 62/63, again I started in the reserves but the manager, George Eastham, moved me up to the first team. It was a terrific team - one of the best I ever played in. George Eastham made us keep the ball on the ground and we had some great players. Billy Campbell, Roy Welsh, Phil Scott, Jack and John Kennedy, Joe and Derek Meldrum, Fred Ellison, Ken Hamilton, John Anderson. We had a great season, winning the City Cup beating Derry City 6-0 at Grosvenor Park and I got my first senior goal in that game. We won the league beating Linfield in the final game at Grosvenor Park 4-2 but lost the cup final 2-1 to Linfield.

3. You were part of that very successful Distillery league winning team of 1963 but the next season you went to Glentoran. How did that come about?
Before the 1963 cup final against Linfield, George Eastham came to get me to sign for the next season but with the cup final and holidays on my mind, I can’t actually remember why I didn’t sign. After we had won the league, he asked me to play a few times for the reserves at the end of the season, probably to keeps tabs on me as I was an amateur. I had no intention of leaving Distillery but then Glentoran came and offered me a professional contract so I signed.

4. You only stayed at the Oval for one season before moving to Coleraine. Tell us how that move happened?
Glentoran had a very good team then. They had Walter Bruce, Arthur Stewart, Trevor Thompson, Eric Ross, Ritchie Warberton - the basis of the great Detroit Cougars team of 1967 that toured the United States. We won the league but again I lost a cup final 2-0 to Derry City. We had a very good season and I was selected for the Irish League team against the League of Ireland, a game we drew 2-2. Isaac McDowell, who was a very nice man, was the manager and towards the end of that season he told me he would be leaving. The new manager, Gibby McKenzie, and I got off on the wrong foot. I missed the first week of pre-season training as I was on holiday but I told Gibby that I could make it up. However he signed a Dubliner, Paddy Turner, who was a Republic of Ireland international and played in my position and I was left going between the reserves and the first team. Then one Thursday night at training at the Oval, Gibby got a phone call from Bertie Peacock to ask could he speak to me. Gibby agreed, so Bertie asked me if I would like to go to Coleraine and I said ‘Yes’ without hesitation. He asked could I wait at the Oval and he was there within an hour along with Freddie McFaul. I signed - there was no talk about money - and he asked if I was fit to play on Saturday and 2 days later I turned out for Coleraine.

5. Have you any memories of your debut for Coleraine?
My first game was away to Derry City and if I remember we drew 2-2. I think another player made his debut also - Billy Campbell - a winger who might have come from Derry. I can’t remember how I travelled to Derry but I do remember being made to feel very welcome in the dressing room. Within 10 minutes I felt part of the group with Victor Hunter welcoming me with his unique style of banter.

6. Who were some of your team-mates at that time?
Pat Davey who was a centre-half . He was from Dundalk and Tommy Kinsella, a right winger from Dublin. Ken Halliday who came from Newry and Shaun Dunlop. Bertie Peacock, of course, Alan Campbell, Ernie McArthur and Johnny McCurdy. Mal O’Neill from Belfast who was a good player and later went to Australia. Victor Hunter and his brother ,Alan.

7. Do any opponents stand out in your memory and why?
I played as an inside-right and in those days your direct opponent was the left-half. One player I remember was Dougie Wood of Derry City. He was a brilliant player - hard but clean and a nice fella, a real gentleman. Norman Pavis of Crusaders - you knew what you got with Norman. He intimidated you but he could play as well. Another player was Billy Humphries of Ards. He was phenomenal. We used to call Ards the ’little people’ because their players were so small but they were a terrific team - nipped the ball about well - always had you chasing them. Then there was Wilbur Cush - an idol of mine from his early days at Glenavon. He went to Leeds for a few years and came back to Portadown in the early ’60’s. I think he was one of the best players Northern Ireland ever had. He could play anywhere, any position. He was some player

8. What was it like to play for Bertie Peacock?
Bertie made things simple - never complicated the game and he never asked you to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. A great personality, a great man-manager. He knew what a players capabilities were but got them to play above themselves. Everybody in the team would have done anything for him. He was a hero of mine from child-hood so it was great to play alongside him. He always saw the wider picture. An example was after we had beaten Kilmarnock away 3-2. Their manager came into our dressing room to congratulate us and Bertie actually felt sorry for him as he knew what he what he was going through. That was just Bertie - a great man.

9. Travelling to Coleraine wasn’t as easy as to-day (no motorways). Did you find the regular journeys a problem after being at clubs in your home city of Belfast?
By road it was a long journey - easily one and a half hours - as there were no by-passes. We had to through Ballymena and Ballymoney town centres. In the early days we would have gone by train and I remember on one occasion, not long before the ’65 cup final we were at home to Glenavon and I missed the train. So I phoned the ground and Bertie told me to get a taxi which cost £5 - big money in those days but the club paid it. When I got there I knew Bertie wasn’t happy - the only time I can ever remember him being angry with me. However, I scored 2 goals that day so I suppose that helped pacify him. Travelling could be a problem. Often we weren’t back in Belfast until 8 o’clock on a Saturday night and then Tommy Kinsella had to catch his train to Dublin. There were occasions he missed it and had to stay in Belfast overnight. This is the other side of the game that the fans don’t see. Then for about 4 or 5 years a friend of mine, Jackie Millar, drove some of us Belfast players to games. That was in the days before so many people had cars. Training wasn’t such a problem as Bertie had arranged for us Belfast based players to train at Grosvenor Park but then something happened - I can’t remember what - and we had to train on our own. The four of us; Alan Campbell, Alan McCarroll, Mal O’Neill and myself trained at Paisley Park in Belfast and maybe occasionally with local junior club, Iveagh United. We rarely travelled to Coleraine to train except for special games or pre-season and it never caused any problems . Bertie was always happy with our level of fitness.

10.What did you feel was the best Coleraine team you played in?
It’s very difficult to compare teams over a period of time as players come in and out but I suppose it’s hard to look past the team of 1965. There were few changes for over a couple of years and as a unit that team was probably the best.

11. What were the highlights of your playing days at Coleraine?
I suppose the 3-2 win away at Kilmarnock and of course the Irish Cup wins in 1965 and 1972. Then there was the back to back Blaxnit All Ireland wins of 1969 and 1970. Those wins were brilliant
For those who don’t know, the Blaxnit Cup was the equivalent of to-days Setanta Cup.

12. Were you aware of how big an achievement that was to win the Blaxnit twice?
The team then had plenty of ability throughout but also it had heart. The first final, in 1969, was against a very good Shamrock Rovers team who had a few Republic of Ireland internationals in it. We won the home leg 2-1 at Windsor Park in front of 12,000 people. In the away leg in Dublin we came from behind with Dessie Dickson scoring a late winner. There was a presentation at the Gresham Hotel but the Shamrock Rovers players refused to turn up - some dispute with their club over bonuses, I think. Of their players, only Tommy Kinsella who had played for us in the 1965 cup final came along. The spread was tremendous and we had a great night. The following year we played Sligo Rovers in the final and again the home leg was at Windsor. This time we lost 1-0 and nobody gave us much chance in the return at Dalymount but we scored 4 goals in the second half with Dessie getting a hat-trick. After the presentation, again at the Gresham, we returned to our hotel in Malahide where the celebrations went long into the night. I didn’t, as Grant Cameron said in his book, provide the music on the piano but I will admit to a leading part in the singing.

13. You have the distinction of playing in 3 consecutive Irish cup finals. A loser with Distillery in 1963 and again a loser with Glentoran in 1964. How did it feel to eventually get a winners medal with Coleraine in 1965?
It felt terrific. The first final with Distillery and again with Glentoran, none of my family were there but for the Coleraine final my wife, aunts and whole family came to the game and some of us went back to Coleraine afterwards. I thought if I don’t win it now I’ll never get it as I might never get to another final but fortunately I did win it and I did get to another final. It was great for the town and the Coleraine people and it was so good how they turned out for the game. Sometimes you think that you only have a short time in the game but I thought at least I have got my medal.

14.You also hold the distinction of scoring Coleraine’s first goal in Europe against Kiev Dynamo in 1965. What are your memories of your trip to Russia and those games?
I remember in the first game at the Showgrounds we hardly got a touch of the ball. We ran and chased the whole game. It was soul destroying at times but their team was full of internationals so it was good to get a goal against them. Going to Russia was a great experience. We were the first British team to go behind the ’Iron Curtain’ and it was the first time I had been on a plane. The journey out involved 3 flights - to London, then Moscow and then on to Kiev. Coming back was much longer. We flew from Kiev to Moscow, where we had a short sight-seeing bus tour, then to Poland and on to Paris, then London before flying back to Belfast. We arrived back on the Friday and had to play Glenavon the next day. I think we won 3-0. The hotel we stayed in was massive and had a reception on each floor. The hospitality was great and we had our meals in their City Hall. It was a beautiful city and there were no security restrictions on us if we went out for a walk but when the team was together we always had 2 KGB men with us, one of whom had played for Russia. On one of the evenings they had asked us if we wanted to go to the State Circus or ice hockey and we chose the ice hockey. When we went to take our seats, an announcement was made and all I could make out was ‘Coleraine’ and everyone applauded. The interpreter asked if I had scored the goal in the home leg as they all wanted to know who had scored against their team. I found a few things surprising. Once, when we were in a public toilet, a woman cleaner came in. Of course we had never seen anything like this and wondered if we had mis-read the Russian for ‘Gents’. Also, maybe it being a university city, there seemed to be a western influence. Lots of people wearing jeans. The stadium, where we played the game, was massive with an athletics track around the pitch which had an excellent surface and the team bath was like a swimming pool it was so big. As for the game we held on well after conceding early goals so I don’t think we were disgraced. When we were leaving, our interpreter, who had been very good to us, wanted to swap Russian hats for my overcoat but all I wanted to do was get on the plane in case I got sent off to Siberia or something but really it was a wonderful experience. It was also a great football learning experience that I think helped us to develop into the good team we became towards the end of the 60’s.

15. Besides the big occasions, are there any other games over the years that stick in your mind?
There are many games that come to mind from time to time but there are a few that do stick out and I’m sure some of the older fans will remember them too.
I can remember playing Glentoran at the Oval one night and I think we won 2-1. Wins at the Oval were a bit of a rarity. It was the first game Alex Young - the ‘Golden Vision’ - played for the Glens. He had just arrived as their player-manager from Everton, I think, and of course the whole build-up was about him. During the game he was on the end of a heavy tackle and went down injured. Bertie, who knew him from his playing days in Scotland - Young had played for Hearts - came over to enquire after his welfare and said to him ‘It’s not as easy as you would think over here’. However, the real star that night was Raymond Gaston. He had a great game - one of his best for Coleraine. He totally overshadowed the ’Golden Vision’.
There was the 5-5 game with Linfield at the Showgrounds that is still talked about. Both teams still had a slight chance of the league and so needed the win but I think this result only helped the Glens. Sammy Pavis scored 4 goals for Linfield and I got 3 for Coleraine. We were 4-1 down at half-time so in the circumstances a draw was probably a good result.
Another game was our 1-0 win over Crusaders at Seaview in the cup quarter final on our way to the cup win in 1965. I remember Bertie emphasised to us how necessary it was to get a result as defeat effectively ended our season so that was an important game that sticks out in my mind. Before the game he came to me and made a suggestion that maybe my fitness was a little suspect and had I been training properly. This was just Bertie’s way of getting a little more out of me and I repaid him with the goal that day.
There were another two games played on consecutive days at the end of the 64/65 season - the week after we had won the cup. On the Friday night we beat Linfield 3-1 at the Showgrounds to finish league runners-up and on the following day, again at home, we beat Derry City 2-1 in the NW Cup Final. That game was memorable because both teams paraded their trophies around the ground before kick-off - Derry the Irish League trophy and us the Irish Cup. I think it was reported that 7,000 fans watched that game. How we played, I don’t know, as some of the players had a few drinks on the Friday night after the Linfield game. However there were more celebrations again on the Saturday night at a hotel in Castlerock that went on to the early hours.

16. What were your feelings when you played you last game in 1974?
The game that I thought was going to be my last game was the 1973 cup semi-final against Linfield which we lost and I said to Bertie afterwards that I thought that I would finish up as there were a lot of young players coming through. I was about 34 at the time. He asked if I would like to stay on and help with the reserves and I agreed. George Christie was the manager and Jackie Cooley was the trainer and bus driver - 2 really nice people that I got on well with and I enjoyed my time with the reserves. That next season, 73/74, I started with the reserves but was in and out of the first team as needed throughout the season so when I played my last game against Cliftonville - I think I came on as sub - I didn’t realise at the time it was going to be my last, so really it wasn’t a significant event.

17. Over the years were there ever any opportunities to go to full-time football in England or Scotland?
While at Distillery, I played an amateur international in Wales where we won 2-0 and I had a reasonable game. Shortly afterwards George Eastham told me 2 teams had made offers for me but he wouldn’t say who they were. He just wanted to know if I would be interested. It later turned out the teams were Aston Villa and Leicester. At that stage I was 22, had not been married long and my mother-in-law had just died so

I told George that I wasn’t interested at that time. Not long after - I had just signed for Glentoran - representatives from Glasgow Celtic called at my home to ask if I would go on trial. They hadn’t realised that I had just signed for the Glens but I wouldn’t have minded going over. Another time was when Everton came over to watch a Coleraine player and after the game they made enquiries about me but when Bertie told them my age - I was 27 at the time - they lost interest. However it was nice of Bertie to let me know. It gave me a boost.

18. Did you feel you missed out by not going to across the water?
Not really. Like a lot of young players, I might have gone across, not made it and come home disillusioned and never played again. I played games in Europe, travelled and got medals so I never regretted it. It would have been nice to have tried it but I had a good career with Coleraine and remained at home with my family.

19. Bearing in mind that over your 10 years with Coleraine you played alongside some wonderful players, what would you consider to be best 11?
That’s a very, very, hard question. Rather than select a best 11, I would go for a squad like to-days football. I would have to say the 1965 cup winning team because, as I said earlier, that team was the best unit I played in. You can play in a team that wins trophies but there will always be players from other teams that are equally as good. I would have to include Tony O’Doherty, Raymond Gaston, Brian Jennings, Barney Mullen and Dessie Dickson. They were wonderful players. Tony O’Doherty, ability wise, was the best player I played alongside at Coleraine and he should have gone across the water. He played in a 1-1 draw against England at Wembley and I remember he went in for a tackle with Alan Mullery, who was a hard player, and Tony came out with the ball. He played as a sweeper but had so much ability he should have been playing in mid-field. He had everything. I didn’t play in the same team as Raymond Gaston for that long but I remember he had a great touch and good balance. He wasn’t the fastest but he was such a good reader of the game. Barney Mullen, I remember, was a very strong and skilful boy who went across to play for Fulham along with Ivan Murray. What can you say about Dessie Dickson? He couldn’t head a ball, couldn’t tackle, couldn’t see - he wore contact lenses - but what a goal scorer. He had a phenomenal record - a truly wonderful striker. Brian Jennings was known as ’Arkle’ after the famous race horse of the time. He had a great turn of speed and when he got to the by-line he never looked up, he just got the cross in. We knew exactly where the ball was going and all we had to do was be there. Another player who comes to mind besides those five is Davy Gordon. He was an unsung hero but I always appreciated his contribution to the team. He had opportunities to go to other clubs but he remained loyal to Coleraine. He was often used as a substitute and greatly under-rated but I can recall the Kilmarnock away game when he was out-standing.

20. After your playing days you managed the club for a period. How did you adjust and how did it differ from playing?
Like all old timers, you always want out be out there playing - kicking every ball. The problem for a manager is, you can’t be too close to your players. It’s hard to move away and keep a distance from guys you know personally. They were the negatives but overall I enjoyed managing the team. It also meant more mid-week travelling to Coleraine for training so I can understand where Marty Quinn is coming from. Occasionally, on Tuesday night, I would take training in Belfast for the players based there while someone else took training in Coleraine and then we would all train together at the Showgrounds on Thursday night. As a manager you have to be prepared to give 100% commitment. It’s not just Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I remember on one occasion having to get up at 3 o’clock in the morning to make a call to America regarding the transfer of Gerry O’Kane. One of the nicest things about managing, especially the reserves, was seeing the young players coming through and doing well in the game.

21. How would you compare Irish League football to-day with your era?
I think it is difficult to make comparisons between eras due to different team formations but players are fitter and faster to-day although there are exceptions. Dessie Dickson, over 20 yards, would be as fast as anyone in the game to-day. I’m not sure that the game is as entertaining as coaching has changed those formations to a more defensive way of playing. There are some great players around now but I don’t feel that there are as many characters. I think a lot of players are now playing for the money and good luck to them as it is a short career but overall I don’t think there is a lot of loyalty now. I always felt fortunate to get paid for doing something that I loved.

22. And finally; You have been with Coleraine for more years than either of us would care to remember, as a player, manager and currently as club scout. What has kept a Belfast man travelling more than a 100 mile round trip to the Showgrounds all these years?
I suppose for 30 odd years one person kept me coming back to the Showgrounds and that was Bertie Peacock. I always found the club to be very friendly and any friends I brought along always found the same but, I suppose, Bertie was the main reason for his generosity and kindness, not only to me, but to everyone. During the Troubles in the early ’70’s, Coleraine was a place I could go to get away from it all for the day. It was like a different world. Also Jack Doherty - a great chairman and very down to earth. I always liked Jack. He always had the good of the club at heart. The club over the years had some great characters - Dr Love, Kevin Doherty, Mickey McColgan and many others. Overall, it is a club that is very welcoming and friendly.

Thanks are due to Hunter McClelland for supplying Tony’s playing statistics and to Tony himself for being so very helpful. In the course of preparing this interview, anyone I spoke to regarding Tony Curley, invariably used the word ‘gentleman’ to describe him. I don’t think any more needs to be said.
Interview by John Cardwell