He got my no-hoping local team promotion to the Irish Premier Division as manager in 1997. Just two seasons prior, I had gone out to see them play every second Sunday afternoon, in front of the proverbial man and his dog.
The one (literal) highlight of a miserable season - two draws, twenty five defeats and no win during a full league campaign (and the two draws were away from home!) was the construction of floodlights from the coffers of BSkyB.
Fast forward to spring 1997 and Buckley Park was filled to the rafters (6,000 approx) as our one and only title and promotion was sealed. Alfie Hale, a Waterford man, became a legend in the county of their local rivals, Kilkenny.
