How did you end up as a goalkeeper?
It was the usual story of playing outfield and then the normal goalkeeper not showing up! But my Dad was a goalkeeper for the Dublin Gaelic team. So it was in mine and Dermot’s blood to become goalkeepers.
Who were your goalkeeping idols when you were growing up?
The main ones for me at the time were Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and Alex Stepney. There were also many great keepers playing in Ireland like Peter Thomas, Pat Dunne and Mick Smyth.
How did you get into the League of Ireland?
I was playing for St Malachy’s schoolboys. Liam Tuohy took us for some of the training sessions. He brought me to the Shamrock Rovers youth team and I progressed from there.
You won your first FAI Cup Winners medal in 1978…
It was a very exciting time. Johnny Giles came back to Ireland to manage us and to begin his exciting revolution. We were in total awe of him. He brought in a lot of exciting players like Ray Treacy and Johnny Fullam. It was fantastic for a young player like me and I learned a lot.
It was a bit of a shock to Rovers fans when you left the club in 1983…
That’s all water under the bridge now! Jim McLaughlin came to the club and had outstanding success. Looking back what happened to me then was a positive experience. I had to go to another club and prove myself again. It was probably the kick up the arse I needed at that stage of my career and I don’t have any regrets since. Jim selected me for League of Ireland teams after that so I have nothing but the greatest of respect for him.
You then moved to UCD. Did your success at Belfield surprise you?
It was ironic that I had to play against Shamrock Rovers in the 1984 final. But UCD had some really good players. Paddy Dunning was still there as well as Robbie Lawlor and Rob Gaffney. Some of the students in the team like Joe Hanrahan and Ken O’Doherty were very good players also. We lost in the League Cup final before causing one of the greatest cup shocks ever by beating Rovers.
You then played in the European Cup Winners Cup against Everton. What do you remember about those matches?
It was a great experience. Everton went on to win that competition and if you look at their results they had their tightest match of the entire tournament against us. We lost 1-0 on aggregate. Now were a long way from scoring ourselves! But we were very well organised.
How did your move to Dundalk come about?
UCD made the decision not to have professional players so I became available. Turlough was beginning his revolution at Dundalk.
Your arrival meant the departure of Richie Blackmore who was a very popular figure at Oriel. Did it take you time to win over the Dundalk fans?
Richie was a very hard act to follow. I had tremendous respect for him and we were in the different League of Ireland teams together. He had been there for over ten years and had been magnificent. So yes it did take some time to win over the fans but that is normal anytime you move to a new club.
Soon your performances attracted the attention of Jack Charlton who selected you into the senior squad on a number of occasions. Do you ever think you deserved more international recognition?
Jack picked me to the full international squad a few times and it was great to be involved. I have few disappointments in my career but I suppose having been in the squad on eight occasions I would have liked to have received a full cap.
By the 1987/1988 season Dundalk had a very experienced team…
It is a testament to Turlough O’Connor’s managerial abilities that he was able to assemble a team like that.
What are your biggest memories of the Double-Winning campaign?
It’s strange. I can’t really remember the bread and butter of the season when we won so many crucial points. It’s the business end of the season that I can remember the most. The Derry city game was a huge win. We went two goals down but came pack. The atmosphere in the ground was at fever pitch in the closing stages. It was a great comeback and it actually turned out to be a good result for Derry City. If they had won that match we would not have won the league and they would not have qualified for the Cup Winners Cup after we beat them in the final. So we did them a favour!
What do you recall from the three end of season matches against St Pats?
We had won the first leg of the FAI Cup ½ Final 1-0 but our performance in Inchicore in the second leg was electric. It was our best performance of the season. We hammered them 3-0 and Barry Kehoe was magnificent. Then we had the league showdown in Oriel Park. I remember the tension around the ground. I remember Barry got an injury and Mick Shelly took his place. Mick never let us down and he had a great game. It was such an exciting match. Pat Fenlon scored a penalty early on before Dessie levelled things up. I remember one incident in the second half when a cross came in. I came out for it and all of a sudden the ball was in the back of the net. I didn’t know what had happened. Thankfully, the referee had seen Paddy Dillon flick the ball into the back of the net with his hand.
Then we had the FAI Cup Final itself so we didn’t celebrate our league success too much.
Were you nervous before big matches?
I was nervous before every match! But these big matches are the ones you want to play in during your career. No matter how much experience I had I always did feel nervous. But we had some great players and the supporters were great. It was probably a good thing for the Dubs on the team that we had such great local Dundalk players in the side. Barry Kehoe, Tom McNulty and Dessie Gorman in particular were outstanding local players. I even had a year playing with Tommy McConville before he retired.
Turlough then made more changes before the next league triumph. You had the likes of James Coll, Ronnie Murphy and Dave Mackey in your defence.
The 1991 league winning campaign was probably the best of my career. We only conceded seventeen goals in the entire league campaign. And when you consider we let in five goals in our first match you have to consider that a great achievement!
You decided to leave after the 1993 FAI Cup Final. Why did you decide to re-join Shamrock Rovers?
My contract with Dundalk had finished and Ray Treacy was putting together an exciting team at Rovers. I had a feeling of unfinished business at Rovers also. I really wanted to win the league with Rovers. We had a great team that year. Terry Eviston joined Rovers that season too and he had a wonderful season also. We won the league so I was delighted.
You ended up back at Rovers in strange circumstances in 2005…
Yes they had sacked Roddy and were in dire straits. They asked me to help them through a difficult time. I had been brought up a Rovers supporter and even though we lost I am glad I did it. I would have hated to have looked back having not helped them. However it was not for me in the long term.
Do you enjoy your coaching role these days?
I love it. I have been involved with the Ireland underage set up now for quite some time. It has been great working with Don Givens. My Dundalk link even came to my advantage when Steve Staunton asked me to help out with the goalkeepers with the senior side. Then I was involved with Shay Given and the other lads for the Wales and Brazil games that Don Givens looked after. It was a great experience.
