Hi all,

My name is Lewis and I'm 22-years-old from Dublin, Ireland. I have been keeping an eye on the Saints since 2018 from Ireland, even though I only managed to get over to my first game in late 2021, that is where my real interest began, but overall, I've always had a liken for the Saints over the last six years.

And what a last six years it's been, with a few bumps along the way, but as a club we certainly have made very good progression on and off the pitch, and that's a credit to the Supporters, Volunteers, Boards, Players, Managers and the Staff at the Football Club.

Why St. Mirren?

The last promotion to the topflight under Jack Ross was what attracted me to the club originally, I remember watching my first stream of Dunfermline Athletic V St. Mirren. Cammy Smith and Jack Baird with our goals that night in January.

Over the years I've bought a couple of Jerseys, Training tops and Accessories for my car of St. Mirren. Wearing the merchandise out regularly across Ireland, which is great as I'd often get the odd person saying, "oh look there's a St. Mirren top", or the infamous question, "Why St. Mirren?"

The reason why I became a Buddie was because I liked what I saw from following the club abroad. I always enjoyed following the club on social media, checking for results on Score live, reading and listening to Player and Manager interviews via articles and the club's YouTube Channel. I liked the fact the club had ambitions in terms of looking to become majority-owned by the fans, and the club had strong ambitions to build again in the Scottish Premiership from being promoted in 2018.

When I attended my first game against Hibernian FC in December 2021, I felt a real connection between the players and the supporters. And since then, I felt that this culture has continued, which is fantastic to see, you really must credit everyone associated with the club for maintaining these levels of connection.

I've followed the Saints from Kilmarnock to Dingwall, and it's been good visiting so many places in Scotland along the way. My journey on a Saturday morning normally consists of waking up at about 3.30am to catch the usual 6.15am flight from Dublin Airport bound for the Airport in Paisley!

Most times coming home I probably wouldn't get home until about 1.30am on Sunday morning, but it's all worth supporting the Saints home and away. Regardless of if it's a Win, Draw or Loss I'll always be back, because that's what Supporters do. We support the team and get behind our club.

I do enjoy doing the Saturday morning ritual walk from the Airport down into Inchinnan Road and of course walking down the iconic Love Street, and then onto Town for a bit to kill time before the game.

I'm also a big fan of Shamrock Rovers (Member and Season Ticket holder) and the League of Ireland. Seeing the likes of Sean McLoughlin, Conor McCarthy, Jamie McGrath and Dylan Connolly at the club, who all started their careers in the League of Ireland coming to Paisley and contributing while they were here respectively was quite pleasing to see.

I've had the privilege of being at 14 Scottish Grounds to date, and some weekends I'd normally stay overnight to catch another game either in the Premiership or the Championship as I absolutely love Scottish football!

In 2022 and 2023 I was absolutely buzzing when the team were coming over to Northern Ireland for pre-season, but unfortunately two years in a row I wasn't able to go up to watch them in their matches due to work. However, it was great to see a big following from the fans over the two years in Belfast.

Member of SMiSA

I have now been a member of SMiSA since 2023, this was something I was hoping to do for a while time, and I finally became part of the SMiSA family last year.  As I'm not based in the UK, I am using the international subscription paying €15 per month. This option is available to anyone interested in getting involved with SMiSA that is based outside of the UK.

One of the main reasons as to why I signed up was because I could still contribute to the long-term development of the club even if I went to games or not.

The fact that all SMiSA subscription revenue is split to provide funding to different parts of the Club whilst also building a SMiSA Cash Reserve is certainly something to shout about. This really inspired me to sign up. So, I'm happy to be part of the 1,300+ that are now part of SMiSA.

The stronger SMiSA is, the better the fans can safeguard the future and invest into St. Mirren Football Club for the short and long term.

Sign up to SMiSA today by following this link: SMiSA - The St.Mirren Independent Supporters Association

Why start a Fan Account?

Taking inspiration from other people that travel over from England and Scotland to highlight their trips of the League of Ireland, I decided to start the 'Irish Buddies' account on X. The account was started in September of 2023 just to highlight trips over for home and away games. Genuinely I wasn't sure what to expect but the following and the support on social media has been great. From St. Mirren Volunteers, Fans, Staff, Board Members and even a player has been in touch with the account which is incredible really.

And just on from making the account, it really allowed me to connect with St. Mirren fans, and I would personally like to thank Willie, Alan and many others for welcoming myself and the group into the Court Bar and allowing us to travel on their Supporters Bus whenever we need to. Absolutely greatly appreciated, and to all the gang at the Court Bar, you know who you are so thank you for your welcoming. You've made it much better for us supporting St. Mirren.

We even got custom 'Irish Buddies' Coasters from Alan earlier this year which was an incredible gesture, but I think that sums up the club, it shows that we really are a community club that not only do we care for the club, but we also care about each other as supporters and those connected to the club.

Along with my two other mates (Cathal & Daire) who travel regularly, we have made friends for life in Scotland since coming over, and like I said it's been an absolute pleasure.

I've even got a couple of friends that support Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United and Treaty United keeping an eye on the club now, and they're also interested in coming over next season to see what all the 'fuss' is about.

I'll hopefully get to meet a few more Buddies during the 2024/25 season. Thanks for reading this post. Hopefully I didn't bore you too much.

Come On You Saints!

We have just completed our fifth season of our 'Community Season Ticket' initiative. Since 2017 SMiSA have purchased from the club a number of season tickets and then distributed to community groups and charities in Renfrewshire and surrounding areas.

This season we have gifted 380 tickets to persons who wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to see our fantastic team, and what a season we all had. These groups include:

• The 8^th Paisley Boys Brigade
• The Star Project
• Pachedu
• Charleston Square
• Homestart Renfrewshire
• Renfrewshire Women’s Aid
• Renfrewshire Carers
• Langcraigs Primary School
• St Mirren YFC
• St Mirren Disabled Supporters Association
• Community Networks Renfrewshire
• CHSS Renfrewshire
• Neilston BB

 My two favourite ticket donations show the extreme difference these tickets make and how far they go. One week in April we gave all our tickets to the 33^rd Paisley Brownies and four weeks later we gave to Afghan United, a group of refugees who were staying locally in temporary accommodation Paisley.

It’s just wonderful the difference these tickets make. Tickets have been offered to groups and they comeback and say, “we don’t need them now, our volunteers and or group members have bought season tickets”.

This is all down to the SMiSA members’ donations that allows us approach the club each season to buy these seats in the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand.

If you are already a SMiSA member or you are going to join your money does so much to help the club, help SMiSA and help local communities. A big win for everyone.

If you’re not a member please join now by visiting www.smisa.net/signup

Jim Cumming

SMiSA

St Convals 2004 Attending Game via. SMiSA Community Season Tickets

Well we did it and we’re on our way to Europe for the first time in 37 years!  A superb achievement from all at the club and now all Saints fans are looking forward to 19^th June and the draw. A nearby sunny climate would be ideal but a wet weekend in Wales would be a decent draw just to see St Mirren play in Europe again.

Season tickets are currently on sale and I’d like to remind SMISA members of your terrific support via SMiSA’s Community Season ticket scheme. From our pot of members contributions we purchase season tickets for the Tony Fitzpatrick stand. These tickets go to deserving organisations/charities in the Community and you can apply for our scheme by completing our application form at https://www.smisa.net/community-season-tickets. This is yet another way we can encourage new members to join SMiSA and also purchase their own season tickets so please share our scheme to any local organisations you may be involved in and thanks for what you do to support this initiative.

A couple weeks ago we further supported the St Mirren FC Academy with a donation of just under £25,000 through our SMiSA Academy pot. This money will be crucial to allowing Allan McManus and his team to attract/retain academy players for next year. Please dont underestimate how important this support from SMiSA is. We know the Academy team are very grateful for SMiSA’s support and this year the support of SMiSA to the club will be even more important if we want to remain in the Top 6 by end of NEXT season. You can read Allan McManus’s recent Academy Update by clicking here.

We have been contacted by a couple of members regarding the “Buy a Brick” initiative run by the club. To be viable the club needs at least 8 supporters nominations to have bricks made up. If you are thinking on this as a present or to mark the occasion of playing in Europe then contact [email protected] If we can get sufficient numbers we will pass all details to Commercial Manager Campbell Kennedy.

Following the 2024 SMiSA AGM and after the re-election of Dougie McMahon and Jim Cumming to the SMiSA Board as well as John White stepping down, discussions have been held regarding Board roles followed by approval from the elected SMiSA Board which has resulted in only one change. I (Alex Dillon) will remain as the SMiSA Chairman, Dougie McMahon will remain as the SMiSA Vice-Chairman and Jim Cumming will also remain as Treasurer. SMiSA Board member Willie Bell proposed fellow board member Jack McSkeane as secretary. This was unanimously approved therefore Willie will no longer take up the role as Secretary and Jack will take his place. Willie Bell will remain as a SMiSA Board member.

Finally it’s great to see us break the 1300 members barrier once again. We have a long long way to go to where we believe we should be with membership, given 4000 potential season ticket holders we believe 2000 SMiSA members is not unreasonable. We are looking for some volunteers to plan and support recruitment initiatives, if you are up for giving some of your time every fortnight for 90mins then please email [email protected] and we will be in touch. SMiSA are looking to move onto the next phase following “Buy the Buds”, and the SMiSA Board are well underway with the planning of our next campaign. Keep an eye out for some exciting developments over the next month or so – we will be asking members to choose/approve a refreshed SMiSA Logo, along with some other changes which we are developing alongside our Club Board representatives.

Now, let’s look forward to supporting Scotland in the Euros and even more importantly, the draw on June 19^th !

Alex

With the 2023/24 now come to an end, Academy Director Allan McManus would like to provide SMiSA members with an update to summarise their season, and to thank members for their continued support. Over the past year, SMiSA have invested around £50,000 into the St. Mirren Academy, something we are extremely proud of! The SMiSA Board would like to thank Allan and the rest of the Academy Staff for their outstanding commitment to bringing through the next stars, and for making our Academy one of the best in the Country.

Check out Allan's update below...

Another season comes to an end for the first team and what a huge achievement to guarantee European football. What an unbelievable season for everyone connected with the club. The Academy still continues to run until the last week in June for all our younger players. The Academy program continues to grow year on year and we currently carry approx. 50-60 young players in our pre academy. The main academy now has 7 teams from U10-U16 years with playing numbers at approx. 110 players. Our U18s run in tandem with the first team season and this season we will have approx. 14-16 full time players. For the season ahead we will make some changes and adjustments to our program and look to create an additional games program that allows us to play additional matches during the week with that team being made up of our younger full time players and some of the first team players and boys who are out on loan.  This is another step forward in our joined up approach.

The manager has been a huge driving force in making sure that we are aligned in our thinking which gives our younger players a better knowledge and understanding of what is required at first team level. The standards and expectations for all of us go up as the first team continue to set the bench mark.  As an Academy we now have to live and breathe as a top 5 European club. We have some of the best staff in the country in my opinion and hopefully during the summer we will add to that in order to keep taking the Academy forward. As we are all well aware, as the Academy grows so does the expenditure.  We are very fortunate that the club continue to invest substantial amounts every year into the Academy and it continues to be an integral part of our football club. We are hugely thankful to the board for their continual support in the Academy as we are the Kibble who also continue to invest heavily in the Academy.  However, without the support and investment by SMISA year on year then the Academy simply could not function at the level that we currently do. I am very fortunate to have a fantastic relationship with SMISA and in particular Dougie McMahon who myself and Keith Lasley liaise with on a regular basis to make sure that there is constant feedback and dialogue on what’s happening at the Academy and how best we think the finance should be invested within the Academy. I have always made it clear that we have an open door policy at the Academy and are happy for people to come down and see what we do, watch our teams, and ask any questions on the Academy. Its important that people can see where the money is being invested.

This season the money has been spread over different areas from purchasing kit and equipment: new footballs which cost thousands of pounds, mannequins which are used in training and can be used by both Academy and first team. Some of the finance has/will go towards funding some of the trips that the players have been on. Last summer some of the players visited the Milk Cup in Ireland and a tournament in Manchester which we will revisit this summer. There has been works carried out to upgrade the portacabins and ongoing maintenance to the fencing surrounding the facility. This is a huge level of investment from SMISA and we are so grateful for that. As I highlighted earlier without this support then the Academy simply could not function at the level it does. For this continued level of investment, myself and all the staff are hugely appreciative of everyone connected with SMISA for all the support we have had and hopefully we will have going forward. It really is exciting times ahead for everyone connected with the club. Once again thanks to everyone at SMISA for your continued support.

Allan.

NOT A MEMBER YET? CLICK HERE TO JOIN AND SUPPORT YOUR CLUB!

What a fantastic week to be a SMiSA member, and also a St Mirren supporter. The result at Dundee was fantastic and the bond between the team and the support was there for all to see. The news of Alex Gogic re-signing for three-years gives us a rock to build on for the seasons ahead. He has been sensational for the team this year and a real leader on and off the park. 

The week of the Dundee game SMiSA donated £24,452.00 to the club primarily for the Youth Academy but will also be used for a couple other projects at the club to help all teams (more info on this to come during the close season). This is a prime example of how your SMiSA subscriptions make a huge difference and the positive feedback we have received from both Stephen Robinson & Allan McManus is much appreciated. 

Last week also saw the SMISA 2024 AGM. There were many great presentations, including a welcome update from Chairman John Needham on the club’s performance. We are in great shape on and off the pitch and the SMiSA Directors have done an excellent job ensuring we are competing strongly at the right end of the table, whilst ensuring we operate within our means to remain sustainable for the future. Those of you who attended will be aware that the future purpose of SMiSA now that we have “Bought the Buds” was discussed. We have already sat down with the SMiSA appointed club directors to make sure your subscriptions are used to the best value to support the club. Any change to the financial model we currently have will of course come to you for feedback and approval. More news on this will follow over the coming months as discussions develop.  

Twenty standard/plus/premium SMiSA members will again get the opportunity to attend the club’s Player of the Year Dinner taking place next Sunday. The draw will be taking place shortly after the window to register interest closes tomorrow (Friday 10th May) at 6pm, with winning members being notified shortly after. Our monthly prize draw winner for April, Alistair Gillespie, has won a seat at the POTY dinner and will also present SMiSA’s award on the night – Congratulations! It’s always a tremendous night and SMiSA are delighted to take a couple of tables to support the excellent commercial department at the club.  

With only three games left of what has already been a historic season get behind the team and roar them all the way into Europe. Saturday’s match against Kilmarnock is approaching a sell-out so make sure to buy your tickets now if you haven’t already done so! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE MATCH TICKETS. 

COYS! 

Hopefully, unlike 95% of us, you are still on track with your New Year resolutions and reaping the benefits. From a football perspective January got off to the worst possible start. Losing a goal anytime v Celtic is hard enough, losing it after 50 seconds almost makes it impossible to get a win and so it proved. We never reached the performance we have shown in some of our home games this season.

A win v QoS in the Scottish Cup saw us then get the draw we wouldn't have been hoping for. Many would be thinking on day trips to Ayr, Bonnyrigg Rose and the like but the balls decided a home tie with Celtic it would be. If you`re going to win the cup then what better way by beating Celtic on the way, League Cup Semi Final 2013 anyone?

My biggest hope is that the Saints support come out in numbers to support the team, reinforcing our belief we can sell out 3 stands against either of the Old Firm. It is very noticeable that home matches v Rangers and Celtic are way down compared to games against Kilmarnock, Hearts and the like. Make no mistake, in these one off games the supporters really are the 12th man- why not bring a buddie along and swell the size of the home support.

At the start of January we had our latest members meeting that was delayed to coincide with the club AGM and reporting of full year accounts. Considering the extremely poor weather on the night we had another great turnout with many new faces coming along.

On the night we had excellent presentations from Alex White [SMFC SMiSA Director], Keith Lasley [C.O.O], Gayle Brannigan [CEO St Mirren Charitable Foundation] and Paul Gilligan, founder of the Mirren Mile initiative. Alex headlined the vastly improved financial position the club is in and great credit to all concerned at the club for this especially Keith and his team. Gayle and Paul signposted all the Community initiatives currently happening and what’s to come. The Charitable Foundation work at Xmas was truly inspiring, and Paul's progress with the Mirren Mile demonstrated the momentum that can be delivered with the passion and focus from 1 persons vision. Keith’s presentation articulated his compelling vision for the club in the coming years and his comment that “whenever people talk about Paisley I want them to think of St Mirren” resonated with many in the room.

Another stepping stone to increasing commercial income is the implementation of the new Executive Boxes. The money to build the Executive Boxes was loaned by SMiSA to the club. This investment by the club could realise as much as £400,000 over the next 3 years, a great return on expenditure. SMiSA have been offered use of one of the boxes for our upcoming home game against Dundee on Wednesday 7^th February. 8 lucky members have now won a place for this fantastic opportunity and have been notified. We received a huge number of entries for the draw, so it’s great to see the demand is there for any future opportunities we get to utilise the boxes for our members.

Towards the end of January we ran another very successful Meet the Manager night. Again it was a near sell-out with some great prizes given out on the night by Stephen Robinson and Dairmuid O'Carroll, both of whom were in great form regaling the audience with stories and anecdotes.

Our next legends Q&A night features 2 St Mirren stalwarts, Hugh “Shuggie” Murray and Mark “Boom boom boom let me hear you say” Yardley. We had a date at end of February planned but our away match to Ross County has kyboshed that date. We are working with the guys to get a date early March and it promises to be a great night.

Finally, watch this space for an exciting addition to the SMiSA membership structure for our youngest fans. A couple of the SMiSA board in conjunction with members have developed a cracking membership package for our U16 fans, more to follow soon!

Hopefully by next time I write we will have progressed in the Cup, improved our league position and maybe added some more players to the squad.

Enjoy your football.

Alex