Photo opportunity

They say that every picture tells a story and, in the case of this 1950s Cliftonville line-up, that certainly rings true.

Following his recent investigation into the career of little-known outside right John Ruddy, the Club’s Heritage Development Officer, Paul Treanor, was pleased to this month take receipt of a rare image supplied by the wife of another former Reds player.

Evelyn Moffatt’s late husband Tom featured as a goalkeeper between 1953-1957, starting out as a 17-year-old with Cliftonville and earning an Amateur International cap before being signed as a professional by Ards. Following a spell with Bracken United and Highland Park in South Africa, Moffatt – a Shankill Road man who was employed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard and would go on to spend 30 years with the merchant navy – joined Linfield upon his return to Belfast.

It was in the latter stages of his time at the Reds that this previously unseen picture was taken, however. Captured ahead of a City Cup clash with Crusaders on May 7, 1957, a struggling Cliftonville team were all smiles despite enduring a tough season that saw them finish bottom of the Irish League table with just six points from 22 outings.

They had cause to be upbeat that afternoon though because, despite the recent departure of Manager Arthur Woodruff, they would claim a rare win, with William Bell, Kenny McKeague and George Barr on target in a 3-2 victory over the Crues in which Denis McCurley missed a penalty.

Back row: Eric Adair, Walter Forsythe, Tom Moffatt, William Bell, David Beattie and Ernie McCleary. Front row: Robert Kirkwood, George Barr, Kenny McKeague, Denis McCurley, Joe Crozier and J Bell. Inserts: Jim Small, Kevin McGarry and Bruce Shiells.

In extending our own thanks to Evelyn, whose husband passed away in north Belfast on Christmas Eve in 2019, for making contact with the Club, Paul Treanor places on record his particular gratitude for the rare photograph which has allowed him to update his archive with imagery of a number of players whose pictures had not previously been officially recorded.