We started 'Red Army' but time to put 1979 to bed - Quinn
If every person who has ever told Marty Quinn they were there when he lifted the Irish Cup with Cliftonville in 1979 had actually been in attendance, the game would have had to be staged at Wembley Stadium rather than Windsor Park.
Generations of Reds fans have waited for a repeat of that day and, against Linfield on Saturday, Jim Magilton's side will once again try to bridge what is now a 45-year gap and bring the trophy back to Solitude.
Quinn, who will be at the final with a number of his fellow heroes of '79, wants to see the current vintage go down in Cliftonville folklore just as his side have done, believing their 3-2 victory over Portadown in the decider can then be viewed not as the last, but a first.
"That day was the start of the 'Red Army' as such," Quinn said.
"The memories are still very clear. We loaded onto the bus and, when we got to the bottom of the Cliftonville Road, we were amazed at the amount of people that were on the streets, waving their flags and wishing us well.
"That was a big motivation, to perform for the people."
Quinn is still a regular at Solitude, attending games with fellow cup winners Eamon Largey and Peter McCusker, and believes the legacy of 1979 is felt to this day in north Belfast.
"I still meet people today at Solitude and they'll tell me they were there.
"I'll take a look at them and say, 'You're not that old' and they'll always come back, 'Ah, I was there with my Dad, I was three, I was four'.
"Cliftonville were so starved of success for such a long time, but we started the ball rolling and getting fans in through the gates.
"It was down to that team really, that turned the support into what they have now.
"It's amazing the amount of people that still remember it so well. It's one of those things that doesn't seem to go away.
"I'm really hoping the boys can win it on Saturday and put us old boys to bed, to be truthful."
'I don't hold any grudges'
Having been involved in one golden era at Solitude as a player, Quinn ushered in another as manager in the 1990s, but an Irish Cup win would remain elusive.
The side would endure a couple of near misses, including what Quinn calls his worst day in football.
They were beaten 1-0 by Glenavon in the 1997 showpiece, but were the reigning Irish Premiership champions when they advanced to the final again in 1999.
What followed was one of the most infamous incidents in the competition's history.
After it was found that Simon Gribben, who had appeared off the bench in Cliftonville's semi-final victory over Linfield, had been ineligible, the game was cancelled on the eve of the final and Portadown were declared winners without a ball being kicked.
"The worst thing that happened to me in football," said Quinn.
"It was a horrible feeling. They were still selling tickets right up to the Thursday night and we thought it was going to go ahead. I got a phone call from our secretary John Duffy on the Friday morning saying it was gone, that we weren't playing in the Irish Cup final.
"I don't hold any grudges against the big man Simon Gribben at all, it was an honest mistake.
"He didn't realise he'd already played in an Irish Cup qualifier with Kilmore Rec. I'd meet him a few times after that and he was in a bad way. I had to put him right.
"He just made a genuine mistake."
There would be some measure of redemption, for Quinn at least, four years later.
Departing Solitude six months after the final that never was, he took up the manager's job at Coleraine and led the Bannsiders to Irish Cup success over a much-fancied Glentoran side in 2003.
In direct contrast to his Cliftonville players six years before, who Quinn remembered "weren't at it, weren't right in the head" against Glenavon, Coleraine "went out with such self-belief" against a Glentoran outfit looking to complete a clean sweep of domestic trophies that year, winning the final 1-0 thanks to Jody Tolan's early goal.
Travelling back to Coleraine that evening, while sharing a bottle of whiskey with Northern Ireland and Manchester United legend Harry Gregg at the front of the team bus, Quinn spared a thought for his former side.
"It put that (1999 decision) to bed a wee bit for me but I was thinking of the Cliftonville lads as I was lifting the Irish Cup," he said.
"I felt for them then, very much so."
Quinn has enjoyed watching the football played under Magilton this season, the former Northern Ireland international a team-mate at Distillery when the pair were at opposite ends of their playing careers.
"Some people weren't happy when he was appointed but he had a quality as a player and he has it as a manger," Quinn said.
"I think he can round it off by winning the cup. I've just had a feeling from day one and it's theirs for the taking."
Should Magilton become the first Cliftonville manager to get his hands on the Irish Cup since Jackie Hutton 45 years ago, nobody would be happier than Quinn.
"I'll be walking up the steps at Solitude, and I'll hear 'You alright old hand, still living off 1979?'
"And I'll say 'Aye, I am indeed' but it's just a bit of craic and banter.
"It's time to move on, there's no point living in the past.
"Go out and win it now and allow a new group of people to enjoy a final and have those same memories that we do to last a lifetime."
