McNamara's Band: Irish Ode to Tottenham Hotspur
Danny Blanchflower lifting the FA Cup Back in the glory years of the 1950's and 1960's as Tottenham Hotspur won 3 FA Cups, 2 League titles and a European Cup Winners Cup, the team would enter the White Hart Lane pitch to the tune of the Irish jingle McNamara's Band. The upbeat song seemed to rhyme with Tottenham's stylistic approach: push and run, high tempo, passionate, skillful and tough. But why McMamara's Band? What was it's association with Tottenham Hotspur? The composer of the song John Stamford was the manager of the Alhambra Theatre in Belfast and legend has it he composed the lyrics while living close by Tottenham in Barnet. Another theory is that it was adopted by Spurs fans when Northern Ireland's Danny Blanchflower joined the club in 1954. While the presence of the immortal Blanchflower propelled Tottenham to greatness the song was part of Tottenham folklore long before 1954. It has been suggested by older generation Spurs support