Monday 5th January saw the end of the Oriel Travel Club. 12 years to the month after the concept first became a reality. Over those years, countless people were able to travel to away games because of the travel club. Trips were always run at a reasonable fare, without unnecessary delays and safely enough for families to use the service.
What many people may not realise though, is the other side of the travel club. For many of us who travelled on these buses, our fellow travellers became very close friends and even like a second family. When you got on the travel club bus, it never mattered who you were or what you did. All that mattered was your love for Dundalk FC and that you wanted to support the team. It was an inclusive club, any new members were welcome to be a part of the group if they wanted to be.
On my own first trip, I remember being welcomed onto to the bus and into the group. The game was against Finn Harps, in Ballybofey, in the first season that the travel club had been running. Before we got off the bus some of the people who had been travelling a bit longer told us where there was good food to be had, if we wanted to join them to eat. There was a real sense, right from the beginning, of being included and taken care of.
