Treaty tweets: Mullingar fan’s passion for Limerick soccer club
How does a Transition Year student from Mullingar run the social media of a League of Ireland club in Limerick? Sometimes I ask myself the same question, as I am that very person – running social media for Treaty United.
When I ask people from Mullingar about the club Treaty United, most of the time I get responses along the lines of “What is that?” or “Who?”. I wouldn’t blame people, as it is a club situated in a county 100 miles south of Mullingar.
Treaty United are the new kids on the block in the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 2020 when Limerick FC dissolved due to financial issues, leaving the city without a senior soccer club. Treaty had a women’s side before the men’s team was formed, due to not being able to gain a licence for the 2020 season.
In 2021 the FAI gave the green light for Treaty United to compete in the 2021 Airtricity League First Division. Manager Tommy Barrett had three days to put a 26-man squad together before the deadline.
In the first season the club came fourth and reached the promotion playoffs, where they were knocked out by UCD who ended up getting promoted to the Premier Division the same season. It was a magical season for the club, and one that made fans, including me, enjoy League Of Ireland football again after the disappointing demise of Limerick FC.
I have been a fan of soccer in Limerick since the age of 10. The reason I decided to support the club was because of my maternal connection to the county, and also the fact I always had a grá for the sport. I got to as many games as I could and bought all the merchandise, as any fan would do.
When news broke that the club had dissolved, I was devastated. The next year, I felt lost in what was a dull season of not having an Irish club to support every Friday. I considered supporting a more local side like Athlone Town or Longford Town, but decided to wait it out as I had heard that this “new” club could be applying for a license.
Treaty United has established itself as a League of Ireland club. The club was proposing sustainable, non-for profit football. This was brilliant, as I was so desperate to support a club, despite the fact that it had a different name and colours to the club I loved.
Treaty had started webinars with club members to let them hear what is going on at the club, or to grab feedback from the members. One suggestion I made was to create an Instagram page for the club, which I felt could introduce the club to a younger generation. The board was very happy with the idea, and quickly I got onto the media team at Treaty.
There are about 10 people on the media team at Treaty. We are all passionate fans of the club, so we all enjoy volunteering. The team announces news about the club, does Twitter updates, and takes videos of matches. I get to talk to the players, something not every fan gets to do.
I have not got to too many Treaty games just yet, as I only started in the off-season, but I plan to keep this up for as long as possible.
– Robert Brennan