Tony McNamee hoping for nights like 2015 as Finn Harps go in search of first points

There are nights in football that never fade, moments that stay stitched into the fabric of a club’s history.   

For Finn Harps, one of those nights came in November 2015, under the lights at Finn Park, when a young side overturned a first-leg deficit against Limerick FC to seal promotion to the Premier Division.  

Tony McNamee was one of the younger faces in that squad, just 22 at the time, watching as Michael Funston and BJ Banda’s goals sent Ballybofey into ecstasy.  

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Banda’s winner — an extra-time header that lifted the roof off Finn Park — remains one of the defining images of Harps’ recent history.   

Nearly a decade on, McNamee is the last man standing from that night, still pulling on the blue and white, still battling for Harps. And this Friday, as they travel to face Treaty United — the club that rose from Limerick FC’s ashes — the memories come flooding back.  

“I was one of the younger players when we played Limerick that night back in 2015 in the play-off,” McNamee recalls.   

“There were lads like BJ Banda playing too who was very young at that time, but I suppose with the way Harps goes, you’re going to have boys who come in and out, and it’s funny that I’m the only one from that night still knocking about with the club at the minute.”  

It was a night that lives long in the memory. Harps had endured a bruising first leg in Limerick, trailing 1-0 on aggregate, and needed something special in the return fixture. Funston’s goal early on set the tone before Banda’s late winner capped off a dramatic comeback in extra-time.  

“That night in Finn Park was a very special night for anyone associated with the club,” McNamee says.   

“We had a very tough night in Limerick in the first leg, so it took something special to turn it around. And that probably leads us back to this weekend, where we are really going to have to be on top form to get a result over Treaty.”  

Now captain, McNamee knows just how difficult the road ahead is for Finn Harps in their current campaign.   

Last Friday’s narrow loss to Dundalk provided encouragement despite the result, particularly after a sluggish display against Kerry FC the week before.  

“We definitely took massive positives from the game on Friday night against Dundalk,” he says. “If you compare our performance to the week before against Kerry FC, it really was night and day; we battled a lot harder last week.”  

Harps need that same fight as they embark on a tough run of away fixtures, starting with Treaty United before facing UCD.  

“We still came away with no points, but hopefully we can get something as we head away to Treaty and UCD over the next two weeks,” McNamee says.   

“They’re difficult places to go. Between the two teams, we played them four times each last season and only won once, which was away to Treaty, so we know it’s not easy to get a result in those places.”  

The landscape of Irish football has shifted since that famous 2015 win. Limerick FC folded, resurfacing as Treaty United. Meanwhile, Harps, like many provincial clubs, continue to navigate the cyclical nature of promotion and relegation.  

“It runs in cycles, in that the Harps team in the mid-2000s also got promoted and then relegated and went through a tough period when you’re jumping between the Premier Division and the First Division,” McNamee observes.   

“We were doing that a few seasons ago too, and now we’re just at a rebuilding phase.”  

Off the pitch, Harps have their own battles to fight. The long-running stadium saga continues, while other clubs benefit from major takeovers and financial boosts that Harps can only dream of.  

“As players, we obviously want to be playing at the top level, but it can be difficult at Harps when you have other things going on in the club like sorting out facilities and sorting out stadiums,” McNamee admits.   

“And that comes at a time when it’s difficult to compete with clubs that are going through big takeovers . . . I don’t even want to guess what some clubs are spending.”  

But whatever is happening off the pitch, McNamee’s focus remains on what happens on it. The memories of 2015 are sweet, but they don’t win games in 2025.  

“We know it’s going to be a difficult year, we all know that,” he says. “But as players, we have to nullify that and give every team a game and perform to the best of our ability. And if we do that, we’ll be okay.”  

A trip to Treaty United awaits. And if McNamee has his way, there’s another big Finn Harps night waiting to be written soon.