TFTES 269

We have the derby and Waterford recaps and a double author feature with a 1924 theme. In their books, David Needham (Ireland's First Real World Cup) and Athlone historian Tadhg Carey (When We Were Kings) tell the largely unknown story of Ireland's original Olympians, who travelled to Paris a hundred years ago this month.

We talk the ROADSTONE PROJECT with four league debuts in the Galway and Drogheda games and celebrate 30 years since the league title win at the RDS, interviewing assistant manager Tony Macken and and top goalscorer Stephen Geoghegan from that season.

We talk a brilliant win in Derry with Greener on the double again and Monday's scoreless draw at sandy Shels. The TFTES Hotline for April has topics ranging from late winners to true crime, from favourite biscuits to favourite captains, with one former Hoops skipper, John Toal among a dozen callers.

We talk Graham Burke's return to goalscoring ways on his 200th appearance for the club, and look ahead to the trip to the Ryan McBride Brandywell with the help of Derry author Kevin Harkin, who wrote "A Game of Two Halves". Harry is back for a new season of the quiz with goalkeepers Leon Pohls and Lee Steacy, plus there's an interview with former Clondalkin Direct Provision Centre Committee Chairman Brian Muchena.

We talk the Pat's game and lots of news around the league before an interview with Tallaght actor and Rovers supporter Stephen Jones about his career so far.

We talk the Hoops' Easter Rising with big wins over Bohs and Waterford last weekend, breaking the 10k mark at Tallaght and Robbie Gaffney's antics in Knocktopher. You'll also hear from Gary O'Neill (quiz draw), Dan Fulham (SRFC Ticketing App) and Hannah Dunne (on Inchicore icon Anne O'Brien) ahead of Friday's game with St Pat's.

Our 1990s series gets underway with the first three seasons at the RDS. We relive the John McNamara era and the move back to the south side at Ballsbridge, huge crowds, horse injections, FAI Cup final heartbreak, the top six/bottom six and Rob Jones' debut with Justin Mason and Tommy Tormey, recorded at the Four Provinces.

We've got the big Galway review, with the inevitable win and craic, and 'Members Corner with the MacConvilles', as Eamonn and his dad Brian stop by the Lair to talk all things Rovers...and resurrect Conor's Corner while they're at it.

Ahead of Rovers' first trip to Galway in five years, there's interviews with Dublin-based Galwegian Julian Canny, and their captain Conor McCormack, a former Hoops midfielder, along with a Galway and German themed TFTES Hotline as 11 people, including SRFC TV commentators Con Murphy and Barry Murphy, call in to answer all our questions in under seven minutes somehow.

We talk the 2-2 draw with Derry on Monday night, Hannah Dunne interviews Rovers women's goalkeeper Amanda Budden and goalkeeping coach Karl Coleman, with their new season kicking off tomorrow, and there's a double author feature - David Proudlove concludes our Milltown series with his highly regarded book "When The Circus Leaves Town", about football clubs leaving their traditional homes, and, as we head to the Showgrounds on Saturday, the other one is Paul Little's "In the Shadow of Benbulben: Dixie Dean at Sligo Rovers", when the star centre-forward came to town at the start of the Second World War.