Love of League of Ireland football began when the once-mighty Sporting Fingal FC came to be in 2008 and started playing their games not too far from where I grew up.

‘‘A former Sporting Fingal fan? I didn’t realize they had fans in the first place’’ I hear you say but yes indeed, I was one of the tens who filled the upper left tier beneath the press box at Morton Stadium during their reign of terror on the League of Ireland between 2008 and their untimely death just before the 2011 Premier Division season (which of course included that famous FAI Cup win against Sligo Rovers as a First Division club in 2009).

Between the 2011 and 2015 seasons my interest in the League of Ireland dwindled as I never got to many games other than the odd Shels match at Tolka Park. However, I began studying journalism in 2014 and when Gareth O’Reilly got in touch to see if I’d be interested in contributing to Extratime for the 2016 season I jumped at the opportunity and have enjoyed every minute since, rekindling my love for the league through seeing a host of clubs from across both the Premier and First Division from the best seat in the house, the press box.