'It's a celebration of people' - new documentary sheds light on Glentoran

As institutions of Irish League shot go, Glentoran Football Club are among nan biggest.

In a caller documentary, 'Dreams Of Glory: The Glentoran Story', to beryllium shown connected BBC One NI and nan BBC iPlayer connected 28 August astatine 22:40 BST, filmmakers Matthew Irvine and Matthew Wenlock return america connected a fascinating look down nan scenes astatine nan eastbound Belfast club.

The documentary, filmed complete 3 years, follows nan nine and their fans arsenic they effort to triumph nan Irish Premiership trophy.

The reigns of managers Mick McDermott, Rodney McAree and Warren Feeney, arsenic good arsenic nan opening of existent leader Declan Devine’s tenure, are each covered successful nan 1 hr documentary.

“It was very random really it came about,” associated head Wenlock told BBC Sport NI.

“We were shooting different documentary astatine nan time, and we saw Glentoran had started doing good and we travel football.

“At that shape Glentoran hadn’t won nan convention successful 13 years and we thought they could do it that twelvemonth and we thought it would beryllium really cool to document.

“So we contacted nan media serviceman wrong Glentoran and grabbed a java and that started a train of communication, which led to them letting america travel successful and archive nan season.”

When nan documentary started, nan Oval broadside had conscionable been taken complete by caller proprietor Ali Pour.

“As soon arsenic we walked successful nan trophy room and saw nan magnitude of history, I deliberation it was what captivated america to push done to archive this nine trying to get backmost to its glory. What makes Glentoran Glentoran is what we person done,” Wenlock added.

Neither of nan brothers-in-law are Glentoran fans but they person ever followed nan Irish League.

“Even though we weren’t needfully Glentoran fans, because we connected pinch nan group truthful much, we wanted occurrence because we knew defeats meant that group we had really built a relationship pinch were suffering,” said Irvine.

“The communicative isn’t astir winning, it’s a ceremony of group and each nan awesome humanities events. It was conscionable mean group moving connected nan boats and playing successful Europe and to this time nan group who make Glentoran are nan mean group and volunteers.”

Glentoran person a lengthy history successful European competitions, including being nan only squad to ever win nan Vienna Cup backmost successful 1914.

“The communicative of Glentoran is immense and you could do 4 bid and still not get into nan nitty gritty of nan club. There are truthful galore people, truthful galore stories,” Irvine continued.

“There is simply a mini history section, and I suppose it’s nan past that fuels nan coming arsenic they are trying to get backmost to that. There is truthful overmuch wrong nan nine that we couldn’t moreover scratch nan surface.

"It was a reliable occupation cutting it down, but that’s conscionable nan joyousness of filmmaking!"

With their debut task nether their belts, nan fledgling filmmakers opportunity they are keen to “keep pushing deeper into nan industry".

“When I look astatine nan documentary now nan champion accomplishment is really america getting it to beryllium connected location for illustration nan BBC truthful erstwhile we recovered retired we were complete nan moon,” Wenlock said.

“Our ambitions are to support connected creating much films. We person a fewer ideas of what we want to create, we want to support connected pushing deeper into nan manufacture proceed narration pinch group for illustration BBC and support putting films into nan world.”