Unknown Soldier: The Sad Story Of Steve McManus

by Brian Kennedy

(first published in the July 2011 Longford Town match programme)

Not many people play at the highest level of football in this land, represent their team, come close to winning the Blue Riband, fight for a country, and then die in a POW camp, but our visitors tonight, Longford Town, can claim probably the only person in League of Ireland history to have done that.

Steve McManus was a Longford Town outside left that had played with the club a couple of years when “De Town” (as they like to be called) embarked on a run to the semi-finals of the Free State Cup in 1937, the year a certain club in blue took home the Cup.

Formed in 1924, Longford had already won the Free State Junior Cup in 1931, but it was their winning of the 1937 Intermediate Cup – in which McManus starred – that gained them entry into the Free State Cup and made people sit up and take notice. The men from the Flan-Siro (OK I know they weren’t playing there then, it just gave me an excuse to use that great title!) would become the first club outside Dublin to reach the semi-finals of the Free State Cup since its inaugural year of 1921, where they would meet Waterford.

Having qualified for the first round proper Longford took on another non-League side in the shape of Evergreen, winning 2-1, with McManus scoring the opener. However the opposition in the next round came in the shape of League side and former Free State Cup champions Drumcondra – a side who would go on to win four more FAI Cups and five League of Ireland titles. Not that it bothered the lads – they just went about their business, and with a late Peter Clarke winner, Longford Town caused one of the biggest upsets in Free State Cup history, winning 2-1.

By this stage Waterford had taken care of Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers to get to the last four (astonishingly there would be another non-League club in Fearon Athletic from Dublin playing in the other semi-final against St James’ Gate) and both sides lined up on the 10th March 1937 at Dalymount Park in the biggest game in Longford’s history.

Alas for the northerners there was no fairytale ending as efforts from Tom Arrigan, Johnny Walsh, Timmy O’Keeffe and John Phelan all found their way past Johnny Farrell in the Longford goal. There was a consolation strike for “De Town” when Peter Clarke netted but the Blues advanced to the final 4-1.

St James’ Gate would defeat the other non-Leaguers Fearon Athletic 4-0 before, of course, goals from Noonan and O’Keeffe brought the Blue Riband over the Suir for the first time in our history (the mind still boggles it’s only come across here once since). Longford would continue as a League club and actually meet the Blues again in 1940, this time going down by a goal less in a 3-1 defeat.

By this stage McManus had gone to fight in World War II. Little is known of how he was captured but the former Longford Town outside left ended up dying in a Japanese POW camp, one of the many casualties of WWII, started by an interfering little German who wanted a world of blond hair and blue eyed clones.

Longford wouldn’t meet Waterford again until the word “United” was added to our name. Revenge, albeit 67 years later, finally came on a certain day in Lansdowne in 2004 (no I’m not going to go into the gory details again) when Longford not only won but retained the FAI Cup, a feat only achieved by a handful of clubs. Credit where credit’s due – even if it did break our hearts.

And I’m sure Mr McManus was smiling down on Alan Matthews’ men that afternoon as “De Town” picked up the FAI Cup. Who knows? Maybe he even somehow helped put the two balls on the field!