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Topic Originator: Parfect68
Date: Fri 15 May 09:34
Hi all,
Urging everyone to have a read of the Dunfermline Press article by our very own Captain courageous, gentleman and legend, Mr Roy Barry. I post with his permission but I wanted to highlight the importance of what Roy is saying. He facing challenges and in Roy`s way he`s doing it with grace and as a gentleman and being not only an advocate for himself but an advocate for others managing the condition. He loves a blether, his footballing mind is intact and he loves sharing and bringing joy, my ask is for people to be mindful of his personal space and avoid overwhelm. Read the article and share away
If someone could link to it please but realise it could be subscriber only so have reposted below.
THE last Dunfermline Athletic captain to lift the Scottish Cup has revealed he`s suffering from Alzheimer`s disease.
Pars legend Roy Barry, 83, got his hands on the world`s oldest football trophy when his team beat Hearts 3-1 at Hampden in 1968.
And, ahead of Dunfermline`s attempt to win it again at the cup final with Celtic on Saturday May 23 - there`s an exclusive interview with him in the Dunfermline Press Scottish Cup final special - he wanted to raise awareness of the condition and tell fans of the most difficult opponent he`s faced.
Despite his diagnosis Roy will be back at Hampden for the match and said: "I think I’m more nervous now than I was back in 1968.
“I was a wreck at the semi-final, and against Hibs and Aberdeen.
"At the Hibs game, I literally burst into tears at the end. It was the drama. We just sat mesmerised.
“I do get more emotional now and a lot of that is probably the Alzheimer`s as well.
"Also the fact that I’m nearly 84 and we’ve waited all this time, and I really want them to win that cup. I really want it for these boys."
He continued: “I told Bene (current captain Kyle Benedictus) the other week he had nothing to lose.
"I cannot for the life of me see us getting beat.
“This Celtic team is not the best Celtic team I’ve ever seen.
"They’ve got players that are worth a lot of money, but they’re not a team in the same way that these Dunfermline boys are a team.
“It’s my team.”
A former centre back who then became a true fan of the Pars, Roy said his diagnosis was one that he wanted to tell his fellow supporters about.
It started with the odd mix-up, moments of confusion. Forgetting little things here and there.
His partner Jane, who had lost her mum to Alzheimer’s, started to recognise familiar, worrying signs.
Subsequent tests confirmed their worst fears.
As with any challenge he`s had throughout his life, on and off the pitch, Roy has faced the grim news with courage and positivity.
Unlike many of his peers who have sadly been stricken down by the disease, there is nothing to suggest his Alzheimer’s was caused by his profession, even accounting for his willingness to frequently put his head in where it hurts.
The toll, for now thankfully, is relatively minimal.
He attends the Alzheimer Scotland Football Memories Group at East End Park, supporting and benefitting from the brilliant work they do.
For now his memories and the feelings he had on lifting the cup on that glorious day, 58 years ago, remain clear.
"That was an absolute burst of everything,” Roy, who was nicknamed Pugsley by his team-mates, recalled.
“You can’t answer the feeling in words because you`re either going to cry or you`re inside going to explode.
"It`s a feeling really that you can only get of having that achievement, especially when we were never expected to get it.
“When we progressed through the various rounds and then you get to the final and then you win it, it’s just beyond anything you’ll ever experience.
"What an achievement.
"After the final, the memories I’ve got about it is being on that open-top bus and just thinking you`re the king of the castle.
"I had the cup and everybody used to moan and say, `Come on Pugs, give us a shot of the cup.`
"I’m going, `No, it’s my cup. I’m the captain!`
"Eventually, I had to share it!
“It’s funny. People would say we were a provincial club.
"A provincial club? Dunfermline were a big European club. What a time.”
A win for the Pars against Celtic would see them back in Europe, where the team of Roy`s day made their name, and make him a very happy man.
He`s experienced the highs in recent times following Neil Lennon`s side but recognises that the overt emotion he has displayed at times, even accounting for Dunfermline’s dramatic cup heroics, has been heightened by his condition.
His short-term memory is increasingly failing him.
He still loves to chat with fans at matches about his playing days, whether that be 1968, the win over West Brom, or even just to take a selfie with the grandkid of someone who was there to witness it all.
At times though, the attention can be overwhelming, particularly when someone gets a little too enthusiastic, and touches him physically.
Polite to a fault, and never wanting to disappoint a fellow Pars fan, he nevertheless can be left exhausted by such experiences.
Respectfully, then, he would ask that in future, such as at the cup final, that any supporter who wishes to chew the fat – and he would still welcome the opportunity to have a gab – does so while being mindful of his new circumstances.
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Fri 15 May 09:43
I wonder if repetitive heading of the ball is a factor ?
Really sad to hear this - Roy Barry an icon to my generation of Pars fans.
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Topic Originator: SeasonedPar
Date: Fri 15 May 09:51
An absolute hero when I was growing up, and a privilege to chat to him. So sorry to hear this news, and best wishes to Roy and Jane
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Topic Originator: Athletico
Date: Fri 15 May 10:48
On a side note to this, the Cup Final special that DP have produced is excellent.
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Topic Originator: LochgellyAlbert
Date: Fri 15 May 10:54
Was sad to read of Roy`s diagnosis, a hero of mine and many others, my brother in law actually moved to Coventry when Roy went there!
I`m a Barry, I `m a Barry!
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