Shelbourne get ready for Tolka celebration party

Shelbourne will open the gates of Tolka Park to their supporters this afternoon as they prepare to celebrate a first SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title in 18 years.

Damien Duff's men dug out the victory they needed at Derry City last night to hold off Shamrock Rovers and seal the trophy.

Harry Wood's 85th-minute goal got them over the line, with a nerve-shredding, topsy-turvy run-in ultimately ending in glory for the Dublin club.

Shels travelled back to the capital last night and will lift the trophy in front of their own fans at Tolka today. Gates open at 1pm and entry is free.

An elated Duff described the success as "the pinnacle" of his career - a big statement considering he won two Premier League titles with Chelsea and was capped a hundred times for his country.

"I've openly said the last few weeks would be the pinnacle of my professional career and this absolutely wipes the floor with the rest of it," he said.

"We totally deserved to win the league and the best team is the winner, I think we can openly say we were the best team.

"We've always been told since they got here three years ago, 'you're not good enough', ‘you'll never win it’, you're this, you're that.

"If you put your mind to anything, and you work hard and you dedicate your life to it, you can do anything you want. That's what my players have done."