Members focus with Hugh O'Connor

Where do you live?
Leopardstown but originally from Rathfarnham.

How long have you been following rovers?
Since 1993. I was a bandwagon jumper, I started going the year they won the league as a shameless glory hunter!!

How did you start following rovers?
A guy I was in school with was a regular and I had seen highlights of games on RTE, and the crowd scenes in particular intrigued me, so hassled him to bring me along to the RDS.

Who do you go to the games with?
Away games are usually with the Hoops SC. Pravsky and arguments about the most obscure things! At home I tend to congregate with guys like Macdara Ferris, Peter Murphy, Fergus Desmond, John Dorney and a few other part timers! A more disparate gang you will never meet, but some of my closest friends have been met through the hoops.

How long are you a member?
Since 2004

Do you helpout in any way at Rovers?
Not as much as I should. I do the odd turnstile, but getting from work on a Friday evening limits my reliability. I am pencilled in to get much more involved in various efforts this season, and looking forward to it.

What does being a Rovers member mean to you?
Pride. I know its a cliché, but I am involved in something special. We saved our club, turned it round and are now about to take it to the next level. We have some exceptionally talented and committed people working tirelessly on our behalf and I am proud to be associated with them, even if my contribution is much more modest.

What is your favourite Rovers memory?
Too many to relay here. Cobh to seal the trophy last year was bonkers. But more than a huge party it was a hugely symbolic moment. We were back, better than ever and on merit. It meant more to me than the 94 league win as we had all been through so much together in the interim.

Tallaght?
I am delighted that we are finally in a position to achieve our potential. The hard work starts now but the possibilities are limited only by our imagination and ambition. So I am hugely confident that we can become a serious force, not only the LoI, but Irish sport. The malicious outside forces that have tried to delay the inevitible are, for the moment at least, marginalised. Lets prove we are better than them and help put Rovers and Tallaght on the sporting map at home and in Europe.