As the bulldozers prepare to move in, the man whose home was the Brandywell looks back at 50 years of happy memories

As the bulldozers prepare to move in, for one Derry man the imminent demolition of the buildings at the “old” Brandywell stadium will have an added poignancy.

Liam Curran and his family have been associated with the Brandywell for more than 60 years.

Liam (pictured), his brother Colm and their father Tommy before them have all worked as groundsmen at the famous old ground.

The family’s ties with the Brandywell are so strong as it was actually their home for many years.

Tommy Curran took on the role of groundsman in the mid-1950s, having worked at the nearby City Cemetery since 1949.

When the current changing rooms were built in 1963, the local council, which owned the ground, also built a flat on top to be used as a home for the groundsman.

So the Curran family, including Tommy and his wife, Nuala, and their four children, Maureen, Colm, Liam and Jim, moved in to the property in 1965.

Liam, who is now 66, was 10-years-old when his family moved in to the flat.

It was to be his home for the next 40 years until 2004 when he was told to vacate the property by Derry City Council.

The flat has since been used as offices for Derry City football club.

However, all the history associated with the building will come to an end soon when it is demolished as part of the major redevelopment plans at the Brandywell.

Over the last 50 years, the changing rooms have played host to some of the world’s leading football figures.

Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough, Eusebio, Ronaldinho, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker are just some of the managers and players who have had to squeeze into the rather basic facilities at the Brandywell.

However, Liam, who is also retiring shortly as the Brandywell groundsman, said the building held a lot of special memories for him.

“Before we moved in to the Brandywell we lived nearby in Hamilton Street,” he said.

“When my father was moved as groundsman to the Brandywell we moved in to the flat.

“My father retired in 1974 and my brother Colm then took on the role at the Brandywell.

“I worked at the Brandywell casually for a number of years before taking over from Colm around 2003.

“During our time in the flat we saw all the exciting times at the Brandywell, during the Irish League days and when Derry went in to the League of Ireland.

“But for a long time during the Troubles there was no senior football at the Brandywell because Derry were put out of the Irish League.”

Liam, who now lives in Creggan, said he had a very happy childhood in the Brandywell.

“It was such a great place to grow up,” he said.

“You would have had circuses and horse fairs coming to the Brandywell every year and there was always a lot of things happening, right outside our front door.”

The changing room block is expected to be demolished in the coming days as part of the redevelopment project.

Liam admitted it would be sad to see the building come down.

“It was my home for so long so it will definitely will be sad to see it go,” he said.