Pars glory years on show for all. Friday, December 5th

DUNFERMLINE FC’s glory years will be relived by fans—not on the terraces but in the opulent setting of a restored theatre.

Dunfermline’s refurbished Alhambra Theatre will play host to an evening of football nostalgia on Friday, December 5.

Dunfermline Athletic fans young and old will be able to sit back and watch their heroes win two Scottish Cups on the big screen.

In this, the 40th anniversary of the Pars winning the Cup in 1968, the story of Dunfermline Athletic’s glorious decade in the sixties will unfold in interviews with East End legends including Harry Melrose, Charlie Dickson, George Peebles and Ron Mailer.

Can Dunfermline overturn a four-nil away defeat to Spanish club legends Valencia? Can they overcome a one-nil defeat at Goodison to Everton and triumph on aggregate in the white hot atmosphere of a packed East End Park?

Fans can find out the answers for themselves and witness the victorious teams of 1961 and 1968 return to a hero’s welcome as the open-topped bus makes it way down Dunfermline High Street.

Footage will show Jock Stein introduce his players from the balcony of the City Chambers.

The event, organised by Dunfermline Heritage Trust, is an opportunity for fans who lived through that phenomenally successful period in the club’s history to see it all again in a spectacular setting.

For those fans who have only heard about these exploits, it is also a unique chance to view those memorable games in the company of hundreds of fellow supporters and marvel at the free flowing attractive football of times gone that created such enormous interest both locally and nationally.

Both the captains of the 1961 and 1968 Scottish Cup winning sides, Ron Mailer and Roy Barry, will be on stage to share some of their stories.

One tale Ron Mailer might tell is why a man who spent 13 years with Dunfermline named his house Firhill rather than East End Park.

There’s a good reason behind that.

As Ron Mailer said, “When Jock Stein took over Dunfermline we looked doomed to relegation.

“However, going into the final game of the season in 1959, when we needed to beat Partick Thistle heavily, we won 10-1 and I decided to name our house in Auchterarder in memory of this achievement.”

During a trip to Hampden last week to take the photograph of both captains holding the Scottish Cup aloft, Ron also revealed that he had almost lost the famous trophy.

After the celebrations at the City Chambers on the team’s return, Ron and his wife retired across the road to the City Hotel where they were staying for the night.

However, when they got there they realised the Cup was not with them and they had to go back out into Dunfermline High Street to retrieve it from where it had been left lying on the road.

It was also a Hampden return for Roy Barry.

The manager of the Hampden Museum, who had allowed the photo to be taken, asked if Roy could help them identify the Dunfermline Athletic jersey that is on display there as it has no name attached to it.

Roy took one look at the number five on the back and identified it as the one he had worn at Hampden in 1968 and had not seen since.

Both men are looking forward to their appearances at the Glory Years event and the opportunity to mix with fans afterwards.

Tickets priced £10 are available online at Ticketmaster and at East End Park club shop on 01383 626737.

They will also be available from the Club Shop in the Kingsgate when it opens this month - The Courier