TFTES 296

There's back-to-back wins over Sligo and Galway, Dundalk nearly going out of business, Aaron Greene vs Conan Noonan and Sean Hoare vs Johnny Kenny in the quiz quarter-finals and the return of 'In Memoriam', as we pay tribute to Maureen Connolly and Anthony McDonald once again and hear touching memories from eight new sons and daughters.

We talk the PAOK and Bohs defeats, there's reaction to the Conference Group Stage draw, Dr Glenn Doyle and Anna Maria Mullally on their Rovers in the Community Research Project, two quarter final quizzes with Gary O'Neill vs Aaron McEneff and Pico Lopes vs Rory Gaffney and another author feature, Trevor Keane on his books 'Gaffers: 50 Years of Irish Football Managers' and 'Dave Langan: Running Through Walls'. Plus, hear from Rovers' Walking Football players ahead of the festival in Abbotstown on Saturday the 14th.

Emma Wheatley fills in for Gary this week with her thoughts on the Celje, PAOK and Galway games, the RTE debate, her board role, following the club since the 90s and more. Our last round of 16 quiz game is between Conan Noonan and Lee Steacy, with the quarter-final lineup finally revealed by Harry, and there's another edition of the Members Corner with Ger Fitzgerald.

Juz and Tommy are back for part 3 of our 90s series (1995-97). The first 47 minutes of the show has thoughts on the Celje win which secured group stage football, and an interview with Thessaloniki based journalist Petros Charizaklis ahead of the PAOK tie before we get into the Dublin Dons, Trainspotting, the end of Ray Treacy's reign and the beginning of the Tallaght project, Tony Cousins and the St Valentine's Day Massacre.

We have Celje first leg and Drogheda recaps, an interview with Kevin Burke on his book 'One Night in Dudelange', about UCD's 2015 Europa League adventure which featured Collie O'Neill, Gary O'Neill and Dylan Watts, before Macdara Ferris chats to Rovers striker Stephanie Zambra ahead of Saturday's All-Island Cup Final against Galway in Tallaght.

The TFTES Hotline makes its return, the upcoming Prague edition with 11 first-time callers. Sean Hoare and Darragh Burns' history knowledge is put to the test in the quiz, there's our Waterford review, and Jakob Batic, a Slovenian football journalist helps us look ahead to Celje away tonight in the Europa League.

Gary is back in the host chair and Karl returns from Prague with thoughts on the FAI Cup and two Champions League games with Sparta. Richie Towell and Dan Cleary tackle the quiz qualifiers.

Tony O'Dowd and Dutch Jerry are this week's guest co-hosts to talk an incredible Champions League night and look ahead to Friday's FAI Cup tie at Dalymount. Both former goalkeepers, Tony was Jerry's favourite player, so the lads recall classic derby games he played in during the early 00s. Markus Poom and Sean Hoare take the quiz, plus there's an interview with Czech football reporter Ondřej Zlámal on next week's game with Sparta Prague.

David King and Wooly fill in for Gary this week to take us through that scoreless draw in the Champions League first leg in Iceland. There's also two quizzes, Rory Gaffney vs Cian Barrett and Dylan Watts vs Johnny Kenny, and a new edition of the Members Corner with Gary Keane in Berlin ahead of Sunday's Euro 2024 final.

A year after his last appearance in the Lair, Con Murphy is back to once again turn the microphone on your hosts. But first, Josh Honohan faces Conan Noonan in the quiz, the three of us talk a bad night in Sligo and look ahead to next week's Champions League tie in Iceland, with Vikingur Reykjavik marketing manager Hoddi Agustsson. We have author Dave Harry on travelling to all 55 UEFA nations for his new pictorial book 'Football Landscapes of Europe', before Con reads a piece on Rovers' 1961 USA tour in honour of Independance Day, in which Tommy Hamilton, Rovers' sole survivor from their first ever European game against Manchester United in 1957, is interviewed.