Traditions of Derry City F.C.

Including "Celtic" in the club's name might have been perceived as being a strong statement of Irish nationalist identity and could have alienated Protestants in the city.

The current colours of the red and white striped jersey with black shorts are derived from an early connection with Sheffield United, who wear the identical pattern.

The man was held in such high regard in his home country that when he left United in 1932 to replace Joe McCleery as manager of Derry City, the club changed their strip to red and white stripes within two years of his arrival in reverence to him and his time at the Blades.

However, the colours brought Derry no such luck and were unpopular with the fans who sought a return of the by-then traditional red and white stripes.

A re-introduction of the "candystripes" for the 1962–63 season saw the fortunes of the club improve as Derry entered their most successful spell in the Irish League.

Jerseys over the years, although in keeping with the red and white tradition, have varied slightly in the sense that certain seasons saw Derry wear thinner stripes while others saw thicker or stripes with varying thicknesses being worn by the players on the field.Derry now wear white socks when sporting their full home rig, while they originally wore black ones.

Derry have had their kits supplied by various manufacturers over the years, including Adidas, Avec, Erreà, Fila, Le Coq Sportif, Matchwinner, Umbro, Spall and currently, O'Neills.

Commercial sponsorship logos to appear on the front of shirt have included Northlands (a local alcohol and drugs treatment and awareness organisation), Warwick Wallpapers, Fruit of the Loom, Smithwick's, and AssetCo.

Although the club did not traditionally sport a crest on the club jersey as the concept had not yet become popularised (probably due to the complications and vast time-consumption involved in mass-producing intricate designs before greater technological advancement occurred), throughout the years playing in the Irish League - and for most of the first season in the League of Ireland - Derry City used the coat of arms of the city, rather than having an exclusive crest of their own.

The winning entry was by John Devlin, a fourth-year student at St Columb's College, and made its début on 5 May 1986 when Derry City entertained Nottingham Forest at Brandywell Stadium for a friendly match.

With Derry now consistently staying in the top-tier and Finn Harps having a hard time maintaining top-flight status, their much-anticipated Northwest derby is now a rarer affair than it once was.

During Derry's time in the Irish League, south Belfast's successful Linfield FC were commonly viewed as the team to beat.

Coleraine brought a huge support to the Brandywell but Derry fans chose to boycott the return leg at the Showgrounds for one reason or another.

Cityview provides loyal Derry City fans and supporters of opposition clubs visiting the Brandywell with information on current affairs within the world of Irish football; League of Ireland, Irish League, Setanta Cup, European, and world football news; player profiles, statistics and interviews; team news and information on player injuries and suspensions; fan views and opinion pieces from long-serving contributors; a fan focus; a regular message from the manager; a half-time quiz; a layout of Brandywell stadium and safety directives; Derry City's history and honours; under-21 and under-18 sections; and an editorial on the game and opposition.

Cityview is open to submissions from supporters of the club in general and aims to air the views of everyone who elects to contribute to the content of the programme.

The price of the programme for the 2007 season is £2 at games, all of which goes directly towards the future development of the club and its finances, as well as ensuring that League of Ireland football remains at the forefront of sporting life in the city.

[1][2] Derry's average home attendance of 3,127 was the highest of any league team for the 2006 season and they are known to bring substantial numbers to away games, despite their isolation in the north-west.

When massive debts brought Derry close to extinction in the 2000–01 season, the local community responded en masse and saved the club.

Many fans reside in working class areas, such as the nearby Brandywell, Creggan and Bogside, while others are derived from more affluent regions of the city, like Culmore.

The committee members are Gerry Houston (Chairman), Brian Martin (Vice-Chairman), Fergal Tuffy (Treasurer), Adrian McGowan and Gary Barnfield.

The group aims to assist Derry City and club officials in any way possible, from dealing with ticket allocations to providing player sponsorship.

[6] Tommy "Harmonica" Gallagher is also a stalwart and has been an ever-present member since the club's initiation playing songs and melodies all over Ireland, with his trademark tune being his own version of the old Irish favourite Whiskey in the Jar.

Brandywell Pride also holds an annual prize giving night for the Derry City players at the close of each season within the establishment.

Formed following a discussion in Derry City's chatroom during a match in May 2006, the club has members in Austria, Canada, England, the Isle of Man, Italy, Scotland, the United States and beyond.

The club has 25 members from all over the world including Africa, South America and Europe and countries such as Iran, Nicaragua, Côte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize.

The latter is a chant derived from the supporters' 2006 UEFA Cup experience in Paris and is often accompanied by a performance of the "Grecque", which is popular amongst fans of PSG and had been enacted by them on the night.

The song's video saw the group's front-man, Feargal Sharkey, kick and leap to head a ball while wearing the red and white jersey.

A bizarre own-goal, in which the opposition goal-keeper was lobbed from outside the box by a player from his own team, scored by Finn Harps' Terry Leake for Derry City during a 1989–90 season Brandywell-meeting once appeared on the "What happened next?"

In addition, during an 8 January 2007 episode of RTÉ's The Panel, Irish comedian, Karl Spain, was seen drinking from a mug displaying the crest of Derry City.

[14] The 2005 match was organised as somewhat of a security test in the run-up to the likely possibility that both teams, with socially polar fan-bases, would qualify for and be drawn against one another in a near-future Setanta Cup competition.