In 1969, Star of the Sea brought Catholic and Protestant boys together through a shared love of football. A new documentary revisits their extraordinary story

In the late 1960s, Star of the Sea, based in Rathcoole, was a football team like no other. Made up of Catholic and Protestant boys from the local community, they were widely regarded as the best youth football team in Ireland.

More than half a century later, their remarkable story is being revisited in a new documentary which charts not only the rise and disintegration of Star of the Sea, but the lives shaped by the friendships forged on its football pitch.

Réalt na Mara – An Peil, Na Triblóidí agus An Iarmhairt (Star of the Sea – the Football, the Troubles and the Aftermath) brings together former players to tell the story of the young team, before the violence of the Troubles destroyed the community spirit that had made it so special.

For Raymond McCord, one of the team’s outstanding players, the memories remain among the happiest of his life.

“I loved my days at The Star of the Sea. The history of the club is purely non-sectarian... we all played for the shirt.”

McCord says there were no religious divisions, no political allegiances and no sense of being on opposing sides. They were simply teammates and friends.

If politicians want to learn, and young people want to understand the way forward, they should watch Star of the Sea – the Football, the Troubles and the Aftermath

—   Raymond McCord

But as the Troubles intensified, that shared world began to unravel. By 1974, sectarian violence had torn the team and its community apart. Catholic families were driven from their homes, friendships were fractured and boys who had once pulled on the same shirt found themselves caught up in opposing sides of the conflict.

Among them were two of the team’s most recognisable players: Bobby Sands, a gifted full-back who would become one of the most internationally recognised figures of the Troubles, and striker Tommy O’Neill, his close friend.

Sands joined the IRA and died during the 1981 hunger strike. O’Neill struggled with the loss of his childhood friend and died in his early thirties.

Other former teammates, including Michael Acheson and Terry Nicholl, became involved with the loyalist UVF, with both ending up in the Maze prison.

McCord, meanwhile, had attracted attention from some of England’s biggest football clubs. Scouted by Manchester United, he spent time with the club during its European heyday, but homesickness brought him back to Belfast.

His life would take a devastating turn. Having refused to join loyalist paramilitaries, he endured years of intimidation and violence. In 1997, his son, Raymond McCord Jr, was murdered by UVF members. The killing would propel him into a long campaign for truth, justice and accountability, taking him as far as Washington DC, where he addressed the US Congress.

Directed and produced by Dublin-based film-maker James Wynne, the 75-minute documentary follows McCord and former teammates Denis Sweeney, Geordie Hussey and Dessie Black as they revisit a time when football brought together young people from communities that would soon be divided by violence.

For Wynne, the story is about much more than a lost football team.

“Once I became aware of the story of Star of the Sea, I was inspired by the cross-community ethos established by Dr Liam Conlon all those decades ago,” he says.

“I wanted the film to show how the team once demonstrated what was possible in Northern Ireland, but ultimately became a measure of what was lost during the Troubles.

“What interests me is how Dr Conlon’s ethos lives on in the players, particularly Raymond McCord, who, despite the horror he witnessed and endured, continues to represent victims from all communities, regardless of religion or politics.

“I hope audiences feel that this story is as relevant today as it was in 1969.”

The film also explores the very different paths taken by the former players. For Denis Sweeney, the violence he witnessed helped shape his decision to become a doctor.

The team’s footballing potential is another poignant thread. Several players attracted interest from clubs in England, including Manchester United, Blackpool and Wolves.

For McCord, however, it is the friendships that remain most important.

“Bobby Sands is dead, Terry’s dead and Tommy O’Neill’s dead. Whatever they went on to become, they were my mates when I was 16. I can’t judge them on what happened after they left the club.

“I don’t agree with paramilitaries, whether it’s the IRA or UVF, but those three lads were my friends, just like the rest of the boys in the team. There was absolutely no sectarianism at Star of the Sea. We just looked forward to playing football every Saturday. Sometimes we socialised and went to discos together.

“We showed what life in Northern Ireland could be like. We set the benchmark for how people should live together.”

When the Troubles became particularly dangerous, Dr Conlon would bring the boys home in a minibus at night, especially those living in Rathcoole. McCord stayed with the club, playing for its older age group and amateur league team, and says he never experienced a sectarian insult or remark.

“We joked about Rangers and Celtic, but that was as far as it went,” he recalls.

He believes the club’s greatest achievement was that its members never saw one another as representatives of different communities.

“Geordie says in the film that playing for The Star helped make him the person he is today. I feel exactly the same. It wasn’t about tolerating the other side, because there was no other side. We were simply the Star of the Sea Under-16 team. The only points we cared about were the ones we got for winning matches.”

Now McCord hopes the documentary can reach a new generation, particularly through screenings in schools and councils. The headmaster of Oakgrove Integrated College in Derry, John Harkin, has already been in touch about showing it to pupils and inviting other schools to attend.

McCord has also taken part in cross-community victims’ events and believes the film could challenge the divisions that continue to shape public life.

“I would love politicians to sit in an audience and see what 12 young lads, Protestant and Catholic, achieved by simply working together.

“If every wee town in Northern Ireland had a Star of the Sea club, with the same attitude and values, 3,720 people would not be lying dead in graves today. Those people were killed by others who spent their lives arguing about religion and politics.

“We never realised we were setting an example. We thought we were just a football club. Looking back, if only people at the time had followed our example instead of trying to intimidate us and drive us apart.

“That is what Star of the Sea was: a youth football team that gave us friendships and memories that have lasted a lifetime. If politicians want to learn, and young people want to understand the way forward, they should watch this film. It was a privilege to take part in it.”