IT’S lunchtime in Livingston’s canteen and Declan Gallagher is working his way down the line of an orderly queue.
It’s a far cry from Saughton Prison or Castle Huntly where he’s been housed for the past 16 months and a striking image of a former inmate who is well used to routine.
The tall Dundonian is clearly relishing being a free man as well as the mince and tatties which just so happens to be dish of the day.
Just 24 hours after his release last midweek, Gallagher agreed a deal with the Lions until the end of the season and celebrated by opening the scoring in a 3-2 win at Peterhead.
It’s capped quite a comeback from a three-year jail sentence for an attack on former chef Steven Findlay which the sheriff called “brutal”.
The rights and wrongs of who did what and why aren’t up for discussion but it’s clear the 25-year-old’s defensive skills haven’t been blunted by being banged up.
Gallagher’s frank account of prison life provides a candid insight into a player being forced to adapt to life on the inside.
He said: “I’m a footballer so I was used to routine. So getting into a routine wasn’t the hardest part of it.
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“It was the locking of the doors at Saughton Prison. When that cell door closes on you, it’s a lonely, lonely place to be.
“It was about not being able to go places after certain times and not being a trusted person to do anything. I always had to be escorted to wherever I went.
“It wasn’t until I was moved to Castle Huntly that things started to come back to me a little bit. A bit of normality set in.
“Prison was never a place I ever expected to be during my life. Maybe in later years I will have a story to tell about what happened but for now I have nothing to say.
“It was a bad period in my life and I didn’t feel as though I deserved to be there. What happened, happened and now I need to try to forget about it.”
Gallagher was a Livingston player when he was jailed in June 2015 and had previously participated in every minute of Dundee’s Championship winning side one year earlier.
During his release on bail before his case was heard he made 30 appearances for the West Lothian club in the first half of the 2015/16 campaign.
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The central-defender believes his goal at Balmoor Stadium seven days ago was a massive stride in his rehabilitation as a footballer and struck a blow for those who don’t believe in redemption.
Gallagher said: “Last Saturday was a day I had waited a long time for. I was a bit overwhelmed with it all and I didn’t know what to do when I scored. It was just a major relief.
“I didn’t know whether to run and celebrate but thankfully Rafa De Vita jumped on me and it made it easy for me to celebrate with the rest of the boys.
“It was a massive weight off my shoulders as I felt as though I had to do something to prove to people that I was back.
“I had to show that I wasn’t just someone who had been sitting in jail as a nobody.
“It was about being able to show I could come back and play at this level, if not higher. Everyone was doubting what my fitness would be, some were asking whether I deserved to be here.
“There will be a time and a place to tell my story but it isn’t now. Last Saturday was the time to show that I do deserve to be here.
“I have definitely been able to refocus on my life, sometimes you don’t realise what you miss until it’s no longer there.
“I missed playing on a Saturday and everything around that so it was great to get back out there.
“It has been like a pause button being pressed on my career. But every single day I worked hard to get back here and I always knew that one day I would get back.
“I didn’t know where that was going to be, I’m just really grateful for the opportunity Livingston have given me.”
The loss of liberty and having to blend in with a prison population consisting of a range of both the unsavoury and unfortunate has clearly had an impact on Gallagher who is intent on making good on a promising career which began as a youth player at Celtic.
There’s also an admirable self-awareness when taking the listener behind prison walls.
He said: “It’s not what you think it would be, people will think, ‘well, it’s a jail’, but some people’s lives are just unfortunate and they have taken a wrong turn somewhere. It was eye opening.
“Some of them have found themselves in a situation which couldn’t be avoided where it could have been someone else’s life or it could have been their life.
“It’s a wide spectrum of society and there have been twists of fate.
“After seeing the people I have inside, it’s crazy. People don’t understand that it’s not all guilty people in there.
“Some have tried to defend themselves and something has happened in the wrong situation and they’ve been sent down for it. That is what happens.”
Raith Rovers provided both a physical and mental sanctuary during day-release from Castle Huntly as Gallagher trained and completed assorted labour at
Stark’s Park.
However, as he’s forced to play for Livingston with a tag attached to his ankle, the Lions stopper admits the bigger picture could be a move to England to try to put some distance between his family and the recent traumas.
Gallagher said: “It’s an understatement but life hasn’t been easy. It’s definitely made me a stronger person.
“It has allowed me to see what I want in life with my family.
“I need to thank my fiancee Nikki, who gave birth to my daughter Shay, for the support she’s given me. My family have also been behind me one million per cent.
“I also owe a huge thanks to the fans at Livingston who have been terrific with me, the manager and the board who have supported me throughout it all.
“The immediate ambition for me is to help Livingston gain promotion. That is a massive issue for me and after that if there’s a way for me to get down south then that’s what I would like to do.
“The manager has said he’d be happy to keep me after this summer if I do well for him so that’s an option. But my main goal is to get down south. That would suit everybody and give things a bit of a rest as it would get me out of Scotland.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about things and I would like to relocate for a few years and get myself away from the limelight and the issues which have been on top of me.
“If I could do that I could start life afresh somewhere else.”