Click on the arrows to go through the photos by Thomas Gallagher Finn Harps Chairman Ian Harkin has said the club must turn its narrative into one about ambition again. Harkin addressed a function on Saturday night at the Villa Hose Hotel in Ballybofey to mark the club’s 70th anniversary. These might be uncertain times of sorts around Navenny Street. The club is pinning its hopes on These might be uncertain times of sorts around Navenny Street. The club is pinning its hopes on a new membership scheme into which patrons - number, they hope, in the region of 3,000 - will pay €25 annually. into which patrons - number, they hope, in the region of 3,000 - will pay €25 annually. Manager Darren Murphy, whose side finished closer to a play-off place than many would’ve anticipated, has yet to declare his immediate future. Harkin touched on the early press coverage of Harps in the 1970s after being elected into the League of Ireland in 1969. “The words and the general feelings to describe the club in the press was ‘ambition’, about getting into Europe and a feeling that we belonged at the top table, being the underdog and triumphing,” he said. “However, since the 1980s, the media coverage has been about ‘survival’. We need to get back to being ambitious. It is time for the club to be ambitious once again.” Harps now have 11 teams, including under-17 and under-19 women’s teams and a mixed Down Syndrome Futsal side. He paid tribute to those who have passed and hailed the club’s many volunteers who continue to work heroically to keep Harps alive. He said: “Today is about celebrating the people: the people who support the club through thick and thin, the people who volunteer, the people who dip their hands in their pocket to pay wages.” Harkin is a son of former Harps secretary and long-time board member Alex Harkin, who also had a spell as interim manager. People and connections were evident all through the room. The 83-year-old Kathleen O’Neill, whose brother Joe Logan was a star of
In pictures: Finn Harps hail its people and seek ambition at 70th anniversary
Finn Harps Chairman Ian Harkin told a function at the weekend: 'We need to get back to being ambitious. It is time for the club to be ambitious once again'
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Click on the arrows to go through the photos by Thomas Gallagher
