OPINION: Niall Currie circle closed with hometown title and Portadown promotion

Similar to Saturday, it was on a sunny day at a packed Shamrock Park in 1990 when McFall made history with the first champions’ crown in the Ports’ Irish League existence.

Around thirty-four years on and Currie has become the third Portadown manager to add a title prize to the club roll of honour – alongside McFall’s four top-flight triumphs which secured the Ports a place as the most successful Irish League club outside Belfast then his 2009 Championship win, plus Matthew Tipton’s 2020 second-tier crown in a campaign curtailed by the Covid pandemic.

Currie watched Portadown’s rise to an Irish League powerhouse under McFall initially through the eyes of a boyhood supporter then from inside the club as a young goalkeeper before eventually leaving Shamrock Park without clocking up a single first-team minute but going on to enjoy a respected senior playing career.

Comparisons, of course, with the glory days under McFall remain ridiculous given such a changed Irish League landscape in general and, sadly, the Ports’ specific subsequent slide into decline under the shadow of points deductions, fines and relegations – a contrast made clear by the simple virtue of this season’s title celebration offering the reward not of recognition as the country’s finest side but simply a return to its top table as winners of the second division.

However, Currie’s tears after confirmation on Saturday of that title glory and with it promotion marked a moment of personal significance as he closed the circle from young Portadown supporter in the stands to league-winning hometown manager.

Tears were also shed in 2018 when his first shot at success with Portadown ended in a departure filled with frustration at the limitations of a club left crippled by financial issues and off-the-field disciplinary concerns.

His 2022 return, with regret and rancour in the past, offered a shot at redemption, an opportunity to erase the one black mark on a managerial CV otherwise decorated with prizes and progress at Annagh United, Loughgall, Carrick Rangers, Ards and Dundela...not least four previous titles at that level.

It is for those reasons – and so many more – that Saturday, April 20, 2024 will stand as a milestone moment for Currie as both manager and man.

In terms of the club overall, Portadown’s return to the main event is one which will be celebrated by rival clubs across the top division.

By the romantics who feel Irish League football can only be enhanced by the addition of one of its most successful representatives; but also by those looking purely at the cold black-and-white figures and future financial gains generated by a red-and-white fanbase big in both noise and number.

Emotion, romance, history and hard cash. Not a bad mix for an off-Broadway story outside the spotlight of our game’s showpiece stage...

Any suggestion celebrations should feel diminished by virtue of Portadown securing a Championship crown not Premiership prize would be quickly dismissed by those fans who packed the ground close to capacity on Saturday from well in advance of kick-off and delivered a near-constant backdrop of noise and colour.

For a club with constant reminders of proud past triumphs decorating the walls, adding to that history in any way should be viewed as a time to savour and important forward step, not least for a generation of supporters starved of such moments.

Currie has been quick to highlight not only that support from the stands as key but also backing delivered by both his backroom employees and boardroom employers.

Steven Hyndes is a trusted voice as coach and confidant who can also draw on experiences as both childhood Portadown supporter and celebrated Irish League player.

So many others in key roles have made a move over the past few years from fans to figures of influence – people like Jason Hall (kitman), Mark Beattie (general manager), Stuart Andrews (stadium manager) and Dave Wiggins (community director), plus many more.

As a result, Portadown will move forward into a Premiership future bolstered by the present high emotions but built on the foundations of so much past hard work.