Newcastle United Supporters Clubs – Introducing The Irish Mags | OneFootball

Welcome to the latest addition to our feature on Newcastle United Supporters Clubs.

This is now a regular feature and after NUSC Singapore, Toon Army Chicago, Toon Army Minnesota, Toon Army Baltimore (Mobtoon Mags), Hong Kong Newcastle United Supporters Club, NUFC Perth, Toon Army Malaysia, Toon Army Vancouver, we now welcome The Irish Mags.

Our thanks to everybody at The Irish Mags.

Special thanks to Tevin Farid, who is Co-chair of the Irish Mags NUFC Supporters Group, for pulling this together.

Name of your supporters club?

The Irish Mags NUFC Supporters Group

Year it was formed?

The Irish Mags NUFC Supporters Group was set up in 2019 with the view of bringing together Newcastle United fans all around Ireland and Irish Toon fans from all over the world.

Initially, the Irish Mags started out as a social media account on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram set up by Jamie Hogan.

Over the past year or two, we’ve grown our Irish Mags community by over 500 members from across Ireland. With community at the heart of what we do, we’ve made sure that whether an Irish Mag is travelling to Newcastle for a home game or watching a game anywhere in Ireland, there will always be someone to watch the mighty Newcastle United with.

We have regional meet up locations across Ireland where we come together to watch games (including Dublin, Cork, Mayo, Galway and more!).

We also make sure that Irish Mags are never alone when travelling to Newcastle games whereby we actively try to get everyone together pre-game (you might regularly find a group of Irish Mags scattered across Irish airports on matchday mornings, and later in pubs in Newcastle before a match).

At the heart of our community is our thriving WhatsApp community channel where all our conversations and discussions happen.

We’ve created a safe space for Irish Mags to be themselves and enjoy having a bit of craic with other Irish Mags. Conversations can vary from post-game analysis, transfers, all the way to “was Isak actually offside against Liverpool last season” or “doesn’t Jason Tindall look lovely today.”

Our passionate Irish Mags community is a reflection of the love we have for NUFC. We won’t talk about what the group chat is like when we lose!!

For any Irish Mags looking to join our Irish Mags community, please email theirishmags@gmail.com or DM us on X (@IrishMagsNUFC) and a member of our team will get back to you.

Tell us a little about the city (or country) you come from…

While the Irish Mags originated largely around Dublin, we are truly a nationwide community and for those who don’t know Ireland – as well as being home to some of the most beautiful green countryside, clear sandy beaches, fine food and drink accompanied by great music and craic, and of course being the “land of saints and scholars” – Ireland is and always has been incredibly passionate about sport, notably football both domestically and internationally.

Our proximity to the UK and of course the Premier League mean that thousands travel to or watch games every single weekend together – between August and May you are likely to see almost every Premier League jersey (and beyond) on a Saturday morning in Dublin airport.

We are also extremely proud of our Irish footballing exports – not just the bigger names like Roy Keane, Shay Given, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff, but also our younger stars, especially the emergence of the likes of Gavin Bazunu and Evan Ferguson.

As Toon fans, we are even more proud to see the increased Irish presence in our youth teams – the likes of Reece Byrne, Alex Murphy and Cathal Heffernan are all hugely exciting prospects whom we look forward to seeing in both the Black & White of Newcastle and the famous green of Ireland in the near future.

It’s safe to say the Irish are always made to feel very welcome and at home when we travel in Newcastle, likely due to our similarities when it comes to passion, sport and of course socialising together!

Tell us about some of your members – how did they end up supporting Newcastle?

The great thing about our Irish Mags community is that everyone has a unique story to tell about how they started supporting the club.

From family connections, falling in love with Keegan’s entertainers during 1995-96, to following the football careers of Irish heroes such as Shay Given, we all have different reasons on how we ended up supporting Newcastle United.

To tell the story of how some of our Irish Mags community began supporting Newcastle United, we’ve included a few member stories below:

Name and County? Cormac Poland, Co.Down

Favourite Player past and present? Shearer and Bruno G.

How did you begin following Newcastle?

I suppose I grew up at the wrong / right time!

I was a kid when the entertainers came along so I fell in love with Kevin Keegan’s style of play and the squad of attacking players he had. Ginola, Ferdinand, Lee, Beardsley, Tino and Shearer to name a few. After that I was hooked and have stuck by the toon through all the crappy days since, but the past few years have been brilliant and totally deserving of a fan base starved of hope and success.

Most memorable game?

That would have to be the PSG game this year.

I was there myself and the atmosphere both during the day, before, during and after the game was electric. Every tackle was cheered like a goal and it was just an unbelievable experience. A few of us Irish mags had a late one that night!

Overall outlook of being an Irish Newcastle fan?

I’ve noticed over the years from traveling over to Newcastle the amount of Irish Newcastle fans is growing massively. Like I remember going over to championship games in 2010 and you would be lucky to see 3 or 4 other Newcastle fans in either belfast or Dublin airport. Now when you go over the numbers are massive and it’s great to see.

What’s your experience as one of the Irish Mags going over to a Newcastle match?

In years gone by I would have travelled over with my best mate Ruairi or my now wife and we wouldn’t have knew anyone else.

Ever since I’ve joined the Irish Mags I’ve met a load of lovely people and it’s a great wee community with the meet ups in Dublin and Cork but meeting the lads in Newcastle is great. The Irish always stuck together and it’s great to connect with fellow Irish Newcastle fans from all over Ireland.

Name and County? Mark Scanlon, County Kildare

Favourite player past and current? Alan Shearer, Alexander Isak

How did you begin following Newcastle United?

I used to watch Match of the Day with my uncle when he minded me as a child and I remember loving Alan Shearer instantly when I saw him, even before I recognised who he played for I loved him. He was big, strong, quick and just bullied defenders, unbelievable shot on him and he was a proper leader who would die for the badge and still would to this day, what a player.

I was only getting into football at a very young age, it was all cars before that, but I remember seeing how good he was and as a result I started following Newcastle, what a player.

Most memorable game as a Newcastle fan?

Champions League game v PSG this season, being there that night was the best experience I’ve ever had at a sporting event, the noise was deafening and we were unbelievable that night!

Your overall outlook of being an Irish Newcastle United Fan?

For a long time it was tough because I never experienced the success we had last year bar the season we finished 5th under Pardew and people used to always slag me for supporting them but it’s gotten a whole lot better since I’ve joined the Irish Mags, the group camaraderie is great and they’re all a lovely bunch of people so it makes it easy nowadays to follow us here in Ireland. Saying that, I was never ashamed to wear my Newcastle jersey, I absolutely love the club so much, it dictates how my weekends go! 99% of people in Ireland support Manchester United or Liverpool, it’s like a lucky bag competition where they put their hand in and just see which one comes out.

What’s your experience like as an Irish Mag going over to Newcastle for a match?

Brilliant. This season was my first time going over where I was with a group of people for the matches and they’ve all been great, so nice to have fellow Irish Mags having a beer together and all being there for the same reason.

I’ve been over for PSG, AC Milan, Chelsea and West Ham this season, won 3 of the 4 and scored 14 goals only conceding 7 so there’s not much negativity here. I love going over with the Irish mags, 100% going to keep on going over for the next few seasons, great bunch of people!

Name and County? Chloe, County Dublin

Favourite player? Tino Livramento. Such a hard worker and so young – lots of potential.

How did you begin following Newcastle United?

I began following Newcastle because I met my boyfriend who’s quite the diehard fan. Tattoo on his arm the lot! Haha.

Considering we rarely miss any games it came quite natural. A big part of it was surprising him with tickets to the Brentford game in November 2021. My first time at a game and it was a very good one, 3-3 but the atmosphere and people around Newcastle was like nothing I had seen before.

Most memorable game as a Newcastle fan?

The most memorable game was of course when we secured tickets to watch them against PSG in the Champions league.

The buzz around the place and the noise at that game was bizzare, never mind the scoreline. Was just incredible all round.

Your overall outlook of being an Irish Newcastle United Fan?

The Irish Newcastle fans are just a great bunch. Every time we go to any of the games we meet up and its always a good time. So many just genuinely nice and extremely passionate people.

What’s your experience like as an Irish Mag going over to Newcastle for a match?

My experience as an Irish mag has been nothing but amazing.

The support in the group with arrangements before the flights over to games and helping each other out with tickets / bookings / taxis etc is just so nice to have.

Particularly the midweek games we have been to, with flying over and back same day- everyone bunching in together to split airport taxis and that.

Also meeting up in The Strawberry before each match while we’ve been there – always such a good buzz around the group.

Name and County? Paul Merriman, County Waterford

Favourite player?

Past – Alan Shearer, icon of the North East and NUFC legend (Shay Given close second for me, I was always proud to have an Irish connection in the team for so many years).

How did you begin following Newcastle United?

For me it began in my early teenage years as I began to watch and love football, at that time the early Keegan years had just begun and the brand and style of football captivated me, I was hooked and blown away with how exciting a team could be.

Most memorable game as a Newcastle fan?

I think the 4-1 PSG game at the beginning of this season for me as I was lucky to attend it sitting in the corner of the Gallowgate, very close second was the 3-2 victory over Barcelona, I couldn’t believe my eyes that we could take it to one of the giants of European football and beat them.

Your overall outlook of being an Irish Newcastle United Fan?

For so many years when someone asked me who I supported, my answer was always met with a surprising look and answer, Ireland is full of Manc and Pool supporters, so I was always proud to support Newcastle win or lose.

What’s your experience like as an Irish Mag going over to Newcastle for a match?

Over the 30 years being a NUFC supporter, I’ve usually travelled over with either my dad who’s a Manc supporter, or my brother who’s also a Manc supporter, my very first game was a 0-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers, the only memory I can factually recall from that match was Blackburn player Barry Ferguson breaking his kneecap, but being my first visit to SJP – even though we lost, it was still special to be inside that Iconic Stadium.

In more modern times, going to NUFC games with the lads from Irish Mags is brilliant, from the moment we hit the airport, the pints are flowing and the football talk begins, we have a fantastic group of lads heading over week after week, it’s a pleasure to be part of it.

Where do the Irish Mags meet to watch games when not travelling to St James’ Park?

As an Irish Mags NUFC Supporters group, we work hard to make sure we represent members all around Ireland when meeting up for games.

As mentioned above, there are various locations where Irish Mags can come together to watch games such as Dublin, Cork, Mayo, Galway, and Cork.

Our Dublin meet up pub, the Bleecker Street Bar, provides a fantastic environment that brings Irish Mags together within a Newcastle themed pub which makes us feel at home. Known as our “Irish Strawberry”, Johnny Leahy who runs the pub and also has an extensive amount of history working for Newcastle United in the 90s has made us feel at home in the Bleecker Street Bar.

What’s a United matchday like for you? Are there any rituals?

A matchday at St James’ Park is usually an early start for Irish Mags across the country as we usually need to travel from Irish airports to Newcastle around 6:30am/7:30am. Never too early for the first pint as we are quick to find other Irish Mags in the airport to start our pre-game discussions.

By 9am, we are straight into Newcastle City Centre with breakfast and more pints and football talk in our minds.

The excitement of being in Newcastle is a great feeling for us Irish Mags as a lot of us view Newcastle as our second home. Some of us might walk around the city centre and chat to a few locals so we can take in the full experience to its fullest.

Many Irish Mags plan their trips to Newcastle games in advance, so we make sure that we plan what we are going to do when we arrive in Newcastle. The Strawberry, Rosie’s Bar, the Irish Centre and the Trent House are a few pubs where you might find a wild Irish Mag…or several! Just before the game kicks off you’ll see Irish Mags dotted around the stadium taking in the atmosphere like everyone else. The early morning travelling is quickly forgotten about as soon as the chants start and the game begins.

Do you ever get together on a non-matchday? If so, what kinds of things do you get up to?

The Irish Mags NUFC Supporters group goes beyond meeting for match days as we are all friends.

Our committee regularly meets online and face-to-face to talk about upcoming plans such as future meet ups, podcasts, events, and more.

We recently launched our weekly Irish Mags Show Podcast which is a Newcastle United centric podcast available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple which provides listeners the latest NUFC news, previews, previews and general great craic from an Irish perspective. Hosted by Paul Madden, Alan Williamson, and Christian Martin, we have received over 10,000 listens from global NUFC audiences over 30+ countries. We’ve also had some great guests on our podcast included ex NUFC Warren Barton, Matty from The Magpie Channel, Emil Franchi, The London Mags, Loaded Mags, and more!

For anyone looking for a weekly NUFC pod filled with great insight, debates and good craic, have a listen to our Irish Mags Show podcast! Links below:

We see the Irish Mags community as a network of activities/resources whereby members can come in and have the choice to engage with different streams of what the Irish Mags can offer.

How can people contact you or see what you’re up to?

Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram @IrishMagsNUFC for all our latest Irish Mags news and events. For enquires, please email email us via theirishmags@gmail.com. For any Irish Mags looking to join our Irish Mags community, please email theirishmags@gmail.com or DM us on X (@IrishMagsNUFC) and a member of our team will get back to you. For any Irish Mags or NUFC fans outside Ireland that are in in Ireland and would like to attend one of our match day meet ups, get in contact with us via the social channels below.

Irish Mags Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/irishmagsnufc/

Irish Mags TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@theirishmagsnufc

We want to feature Newcastle United Supporters Clubs from all over the globe, whether in the UK or overseas.

If you help to run one of the Newcastle United Supporters Clubs and would like to see your club featured on The Mag in the future, please drop a quick email to contribute@themag.co.uk and we will send you the questions and other info, then once we get your replies we will schedule your NUFC Supporters Club to go up.

(Last time out it was Toon Army Vancouver who appeared on The Mag – Go HERE to see their feature, Toon  Army Malaysia ahead of them – Go HERE to see their piece, NUFC Perth before them – Go HERE to see their piece, Newcastle United Supporters Club Singapore appeared before them on The Mag – Go HERE to see that one, previously we had Hong Kong NUSC – Go HERE to read about them, previous to that it was Toon Army Chicago who were featured, go HERE to read their write up. They followed on from Toon Army Baltimore who were featured a week earlier – Go HERE to read their article. Whilst Toon Army Minnesota were the very first club featured – Go HERE to see their piece)