Memories of Hillsborough

[JBM on the 21]

Because of the day that is in it, what are people's memories of that dreadful day?
For me:

(1) The anticipation of the match - two great attractive teams at the time was Forest and Liverpool. At the time RTE carried live a semifinal.
    I recall Tommy Gaynor from Limerick starting for Forest that day.

(2) Beardsley hitting the bar - I think that was my only memory of the actual time that was played. It seemed to take forever to go from his boot to the crossbar.
(3) The rising death toll - 5 o'clock it was around ten, then 6 pm, up to 20 and so on up into the 60s and 70s. As the numbers went up, the enormity of what had happened deepened.
(4) Pictures on the paper next day - always remember this picture of a woman squeezed up against the fence with her face jammed against the grill. That was the one memory that will be forever imprinted on my brain. At the time we were all told that all English football supporters were animals and all I could think of was she looked like an animal trapped.

[ziggy90]

For me it was the togetherness of football fans from all over. I took my three daughters to Anfield the next day to pay our respects and we got talking to people from clubs all over the country, every single one of them knew there was something drastically wrong.

[5 Sams]

We all get very excited about spurious rivalries between football teams....Down hate Armagh....Tyrone hate everybody ;->..Kerry Cork.....soccer rivalries...Utd hate the Scousers...Celts hate the Rangers ...etc...all bulllshit. When it comes down to real life...What happened today is what matters...the 96 got justice.

[reddgnhand]

We all get very excited about spurious rivalries between football teams....Down hate Armagh....Tyrone hate everybody ;->..Kerry Cork.....soccer rivalries...Utd hate the Scousers...Celts hate the Rangers ...etc...all bulllshit. When it comes down to real life...What happened today is what matters...the 96 got justice.

No everyone hates us . But you are right. The fact that it took 27 years for this verdict is a total disgrace. The British ruling class will stop at nothing to cover up wrong doing by the establishment. I've often wondered if it had happened to a London club would the cover up have happened. After seeing Kelvin McKenzie interviewed today I hope he has a long slow lingering death.   

[5 Sams]

We all get very excited about spurious rivalries between football teams....Down hate Armagh....Tyrone hate everybody ;->..Kerry Cork.....soccer rivalries...Utd hate the Scousers...Celts hate the Rangers ...etc...all bulllshit. When it comes down to real life...What happened today is what matters...the 96 got justice.

No everyone hates us . But you are right. The fact that it took 27 years for this verdict is a total disgrace. The British ruling class will stop at nothing to cover up wrong doing by the establishment. I've often wondered if it had happened to a London club would the cover up have happened. After seeing Kelvin McKenzie interviewed today I hope he has a long slow lingering death.

+1.

[Feckitt]

My best memory is coming in after being out helping my dad all day, and putting the TV on. John Barnes was on Question of Sport or some other TV show,  and a message kept coming up on screen that the show was recorded before today's incident.  This was obviously before Internet and 24hr news,  so I was wondering what the incident was, and I didn't find out until the news came on later that night.

[laoislad]

I was 10 and I remember it vividly.We only had one telly at the time and it was in the kitchen,a small 14inch black diamond tv.

I remember getting dressed up in my full Liverpool kit that morning and counting down the hours until kick off. I was a huge John Aldridge fan and I couldn't wait to see him play. I had been devastated the year before when he missed a penalty v Wimbledon.
I do remember someone hitting the crossbar early on in the game.
When the trouble started I didn't really understand what was happening but I remember running out to my Da who was cutting grass or one of the hedges or something and telling him that there was fighting at the match and they were all coming out onto the pitch.

[magpie seanie]

Was watching myself at home in Sligo. Initially like Laoislad I thought it was trouble and I was pissed off cos I wanted to see the game. Quickly it became clear though that something was seriously wrong. Even to my 13 year old self the lies put forward in the following days didn't tally with what I saw on TV.

I was in the Canal End for a few All Ireland finals in the early to mid 1990's and it was hairy enough at times. Can only imagine what that day with 90000 in the 60's was like.

[BennyCake]

I was 10 and I remember it vividly.We only had one telly at the time and it was in the kitchen,a small 14inch black diamond tv.

I remember getting dressed up in my full Liverpool kit that morning and counting down the hours until kick off. I was a huge John Aldridge fan and I couldn't wait to see him play. I had been devastated the year before when he missed a penalty v Wimbledon.
I do remember someone hitting the crossbar early on in the game.
When the trouble started I didn't really understand what was happening but I remember running out to my Da who was cutting grass or one of the hedges or something and telling him that there was fighting at the match and they were all coming out onto the pitch.

I reckon you still do that.

I only remember the aftermath. Didn't see it live. Horrifying though looking back on the footage, even now.

[Tony Baloney]

My Granny was a massive Liverpool fan so watched it there. I recall the confusion and Des Lynam. It's all a bit hazy after that as it was so shocking, but I recall how eerie MOTD. The FA Cup Final was very emotional that year and a great match to boot 

[muppet]

I was home from college (Easter holidays?) and really looking forward to a good open game.

I think I remember a fan running over to Grobbelaar asking for help but I know I have heard him tell this, so I can't be certain.

I remember initially they thought it was crowd trouble and the Forest fans were booing. But then Liverpool supporters were carrying people on advertising hoarding out of the ground past the Forest supporters, who then started applauding the Liverpool fans. They knew something terrible had happened but that news wasn't filtering through to the commentators.

I remember looking at the line of police horses along the halfway line, to keep the peace between the opposing fans, and thinking that they were missing the point. Safety has to be above everything, including security.

Afterwards I couldn't understand how, if there had been crowd trouble, then why were there no arrests? Because I am certain that those cops would have arrested anyone for hooliganism back then, especially if it was involving the police.

The other thing that struck me as the numbers started to climb, was how few ambulances got onto the pitch.

[Windmill abu]

My memory of the time was not this incident in particular but of generally watching the results coverage on a Saturday afternoon and waiting for reports of crowd violence at whichever game succumbed to the organised violence that week.

English football had to change completely with regard to spectator safety because of the Hillsborough Tragedy. All seater stadiums and segregation of supporters now being the norm.

All these years later, we as GAA fans can still travel to Croke Park and watch our games from the terraces and without segregation from opposing fans.

I think that soccer support in the 1980's regarded the police as the enemy, whereas GAA supporters now and then give the Guards the respect they deserve and work with them to ensure crowd safety.

[omaghjoe]

I mind I had stuff to do for me Da and was bummed that I didnt get to see the start of it.

Switched on the box and was greeted to the now infamous scenes. I was really confused but then even my Ma started to watch I knew something was seriously wrong
It was a steep learning curve in terms of things being more important than sport. It had a big effect on me to take sport at face value and go hell for leather at it but its not the most important thing in the world.
Another steep learning curve was to not listen to everything you hear, from the police to the BBC to the worst ofthe lot... the SUN

[seafoid]

I remember Heysel and people making a connection. There was contempt for soccer fans.  I don't remember much about the match other than it was abandoned. England was weird in the late 80s. There were a lot of tragedies. The Herald of Free Enterprise, Bradford, Hillsborough etc. The miners strike was earlier . I always had the feeling the police were not on the side  of the people. I never felt that about the Gardai when I was growing up.

[stew]

I remember Heysel and people making a connection. There was contempt for soccer fans.  I don't remember much about the match other than it was abandoned. England was weird in the late 80s. There were a lot of tragedies. The Herald of Free Enterprise, Bradford, Hillsborough etc. The miners strike was earlier . I always had the feeling the police were not on the side  of the people. I never felt that about the Gardai when I was growing up.

I remember nothing about the game but I remember the horror and confusion that was going on, it was  awful and initially I believed the official story until I saw supporters being interviewed and they were obviously telling the truth and the powers that be were lying, Thatcher must have a special room in hell for evil scum because from this disaster, to the way she destroyed the NHS, to her handling of the minors to the lies about the Belgrano, to the disgusting way she treated the hunger strikers, to me she is one of the most repugnant women in the history of the world.

The odious toads minions are going to need to answer for the murder of 96 people and they need to spend the rest of their miserable Tory gives in prison.