This year’s Treble Trophy Tour has seen us travel the globe with our famous Big Five pieces of silverware, taking in six continents and 21 countries.
As we approach the end of our odyssey, fans will have the opportunity to celebrate our Treble winning season and have their photos with the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in Belfast, Donegal and Dublin in the coming days.
While Pep Guardiola’s side are now the best in the world, back in 1984 we were preparing for a second straight campaign in the second tier of English football.
The campaign as a whole would prove successful, with the Blues finishing third and sealing promotion back to the First Division.
In order to be ready for the season opener at Wimbledon in late August, Billy McNeill took his side to play three League of Ireland sides earlier in the month.
With the likes of Paul Power, Alex Williams and Mick McCarthy as the spine of our side, we set out for a week on the island.
The short tour began on 8 August with a 4-0 victory over Waterford – in the south of the country - in front of 800 spectators.
Two days later we had travelled up the east coast and arrived in Drogheda, where we played out a 2-2 draw against Drogheda United in front of 1,250 fans.
The three-match whirlwind was complete with a 5-0 win over Finn Harps in the town of Ballybofey in County Donegal in the north west of the island.
As we returned home to play Tottenham Hotspur, Crewe and Chester before the season began in earnest, two of our players stayed behind.
Winger Paul Simpson and full-back John Beresford, both 18 at the time, joined Finn Harps on loan for some experience until the autumn.
Beresford never played for the Club’s first team but Simpson played 155 times and scored 24 goals before moving on to Oxford United in 1988.
We return to Ballybofey and its Villa Rose Hotel for this Treble Trophy Tour between visits to Belfast and Dublin.
As we head back to the island of Ireland, we look forward to seeing all of our fans at our three Treble Trophy Tour stops!
