Tag: shamrock rovers

1965-66 League of Ireland season

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The 1965-66 League of Ireland season was probably the most compelling one of the 1960s, as well as being a standout season in the history of League of Ireland football as a whole. It was a league campaign of two halves, with Shamrock Rovers impressively winning each of their first 11 matches to open up a six-point advantage at the halfway point, the Hoops defeating Sligo Rovers 3-1 on a snow-covered Milltown pitch to equal the achievement of the northwesterners in their 1936-37 league winning season. To most observers it seemed as if Rovers’ eleventh League of Ireland title would now be little more than a formality, but while the Milltown game had been taking place, Waterford had been defeating Drogheda 3-1 to record their sixth league win in a row and install themselves as the Hoops’ nearest challengers.

In the league’s bottom two for each of the previous two years (they finished bottom in 1965), very little was expected of Waterford for the 1965-66 season, despite the fact that Paddy Coad had now returned for a second stint as manager. The much-travelled Mick Lynch had also returned to Kilcohan Park for a second spell, but while they finished their shield campaign strongly (scoring 21 goals on the way to winning their last five games) they took just four points from their opening five league games, and given their struggles over the last couple of seasons, a top six finish for the Blues would probably have been considered a very good achievement. But while Shamrock Rovers’ winning run (and an unbeaten home league record stretching back to February 1963) was being ended by third-placed Bohemians at Milltown, Waterford were registering their seventh consecutive league win, and when a Mick Lynch goal gave them both points at Dalymount Park the following Sunday, the scene was well and truly set for their visit to Milltown to tackle the leaders.

Crowd trouble had erupted at the end of the Kilcohan Park meeting of the sides earlier in the league (Rovers won 4-3 with the help of a hotly-disputed penalty and the referee needed the help of the gardaí to escape the stadium), but a record Glenmalure Park crowd of almost 25,000 were on their best behaviour for this all-important return match. An Al Casey goal in the 39th minute gave the spoils to Waterford and brought them to within a point of their rivals, and among other things, the Blues were now just two games away from winning 11 on the trot themselves. Victories over Drumcondra and Dundalk in the next two outings meant that they did just that. Having been runners-up on four previous occasions, Blues fans began believing that this finally might be their year, and when Cork Hibernians and Sligo were beaten to bring the winning run to an incredible 13, the championship appeared to be Waterford’s to lose. Despite drawing their next two league games (they thus fell short of Bohemians’ run of 15 straight wins from the 1923-24 season), and losing an F.A.I. Cup semi-final replay to Shamrock Rovers, the title was closed out with wins in their last two matches, a last day victory at Drogheda giving them the championship with two points to spare (they had taken 21 points from 22 away from home). The celebrations that the victory triggered on Suirside had only ever been matched by those that greeted the Waterford hurlers following their All-Ireland victories in 1948 and 1959.

Waterford had gradually been adding to their squad as the league campaign progressed, and the players that Paddy Coad brought in all played their part in the Blues’ success. Waterford native John O’Neill had re-joined in November from champions Drumcondra, before wing-half Jimmy McGeough was recruited for a fee of £3,000 from Derry City. After a slow start, McGeough’s midfield partnership with Vinny Maguire eventually became pivotal, and it was the Belfast native who supplied the cross for Al Casey’s winning goal at Milltown. In March, an English winger by the name of Johnny Matthews joined Waterford from Coventry City, and it was Matthews who scored the only goal at the Sligo Showgrounds to give the Blues their 13th league win in a row. Mick Lynch finished as outright top scorer on the way to winning his first ever League of Ireland medal, and Paddy Coad’s much younger brother Shamie was also in scoring form, his versatility having helped him to establish himself as the club’s key player during the previous number of seasons.

League of Ireland attendances in the 1960s had dipped considerably compared to the previous decade, but the exciting events of the first few months of 1966 allowed this trend to be bucked somewhat, at least temporarily. When Shamrock Rovers faced Bohemians with the aim of winning their 12th league game from 12, a record “gate” of over £1,300 was paid at the Milltown turnstiles, and those who were there were treated to one of the best League of Ireland matches for years, with Bohs eventually winning 3-2 to bring their rivals’ winning run to an end. There was an even bigger crowd at Dalymount for the visit of Waterford the following week, and when the Blues then faced Rovers at Milltown, several thousand were unable to gain entry. The cup semi-finals between Shamrock Rovers and Waterford also attracted bumper crowds, with 25,000 at Dalymount to see the Hoops progress to the final on a 4-2 scoreline.

Rovers had required replays in the two previous rounds as well, and found last season’s opponents, Limerick, waiting for them in the final. The Hoops would be without Liam Tuohy for the decider but second-half goals from Tony O’Connell and Frank O’Neill gave them their third ‘blue riband’ success in a row. The Hoops had earlier won their fourth League of Ireland Shield in succession (the second time they had achieved this feat) but it came at a cost, with a serious knee injury sustained by Jackie Mooney in a shield game against Shelbourne resulting in the Republic of Ireland international being on the sidelines for the next two years. Bobby Gilbert was brought in from Derry City, however, and finished as the club’s top scorer, with two goals coming in a 3-0 win over Bohemians in a Top Four Cup final second replay. The Hoops had also ran eventual runners-up, Zaragoza, very close in this season’s Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, holding on until a 78th minute winner for the Spanish side in the second leg.

Limerick had reached the final in spite of a little bit of disruption, caused by the unavailability of the Market’s Field for their cup run. The ground’s owners, Limerick Greyhound Racing Company, had initiated some renovations and though the club were able to remain there for league games, they had to play two ‘home’ F.A.I. Cup matches at Thomond Park and Dalymount Park. Limerick’s European Cup Winners’ Cup game against CSKA Sofia had also taken place at Dalymount, but the match ended up being delayed for 24 hours due to fog, resulting in a wasted journey for about 800 Limerick fans (ironically, there was no fog over Limerick on the same night). A crowd of 11,000 were then present on the Thursday evening to see Ewan Fenton’s men fall to a rather unlucky 2-1 defeat.

As well as achieving another third-placed finish in the league, the Bohemians revival under Sean Thomas also saw them win some silverware this season for the first time in almost 20 years. The Gypsies came from 2-0 down to beat Shamrock Rovers 3-2 in a replayed L.F.A. President’s Cup final (this competition had been expanded to a six-team knockout format the previous season), before overcoming Shelbourne by the same scoreline in the final of the Leinster Senior Cup. Wing-half Jimmy Conway (one of the young players that had been recruited from Stella Maris) had emerged as the team’s key player, and his excellent performances saw him attract the attention of several cross-channel clubs. Fulham won the race for his signature at the end of the season, and the London club decided to add Turlough O’Connor to the ticket as well. The duo’s last game for Bohs was the first of the two drawn Top Four Cup finals against Shamrock Rovers, with both players scoring in the 3-3 draw at Dalymount Park.

Goals from Pat O’Callaghan, Tony Allen and one of the Gosnell twins helped Cork Hibernians beat Dundalk 3-2 in the final of the Dublin City Cup to secure their first national honour. On the whole, however, it was probably a season to forget for the two Leeside-based League of Ireland clubs, as both Hibernians (who took just one point from their first 10 games) and Celtic spent the season hovering near the foot of the table and Celtic eventually had to apply for re-election. A thrilling January derby (one of the best ever) between the clubs saw Celtic score two late goals to win 4-3 and provide their supporters with a rare high point for the season. At the end of the campaign, Austin Noonan’s departure from Celtic to Hibernians saw his prolific strike partnership with Donal Leahy finally come to an end. The pair had scored 267 league goals between them over the course of the previous 11 seasons, and while neither player had ever had any trouble in gaining the attention of the inter-league selectors, Noonan and Leahy were to be denied the opportunity to appear for the Republic of Ireland. Leahy’s non-appearance for the national side was seen as a particular injustice (his seven goals in 17 League of Ireland XI appearances is a record), and this was especially so when one considers that he was called up to the Irish international squad on a number of occasions.

After their gradual introduction into other competitions during recent seasons, 1965-66 finally saw substitutions being allowed in League of Ireland championship matches. As it turned out, the law was introduced very hastily, with a broken leg sustained by Drumcondra’s Jimmy Morrissey proving to be the final straw. The substitute / twelfth man had to be nominated in advance and could enter in place of an injured player at any stage of the contest. Although the first weekend didn’t see any substitution being made, a match at The Showgrounds on the 27th of February saw St. Patrick’s Athletic’s Des Downey coming on for an injured Noel Bates after 21 minutes of the second half. In a peculiar twist, Sligo Rovers managed to score while their opponents were still readying their replacement player.

The floodgates soon opened and there were many uses of the substitute rule before the end of the season. Waterford’s Peter Fitzgerald (who had recently returned after a few months out injured) became the first substitute to score in a League of Ireland match when he gave the champions-elect a 1-0 win over Cork Celtic at Turner’s Cross. The lack of a substitute rule had previously thrown up some ridiculous situations, with injured players often staying on the pitch (they were usually put out on the wing) despite being of no real benefit to their team. The practice also raised player welfare concerns, but occasionally / ironically, a badly injured player might end up making a telling contribution, such as Mick Rice scoring in the P.J. Casey Cup final in 1962, or Ben O’Sullivan scoring the winner for Bohs in this season’s five-goal thriller at Milltown. However, substitutions were not yet common in other leagues throughout Europe, with 1965-66 being the first English league season to feature them, and UEFA proving very slow to introduce them into their competitions. In Spain, the first substitution in La Liga would not happen until 1969.

League of Ireland 1965-66

PWDLFAPts
Waterford221642532636
Shamrock Rovers221543592334
Bohemians221318463027
Shelbourne221057373025
Sligo Rovers22877272623
Limerick22787363522
Drumcondra22868323522
Dundalk229310323521
St. Patrick’s Athletic229211354320
Cork Hibernians226313305115
Cork Celtic224612325114
Drogheda22131815485

European Competition : European Cup First Round, Drumcondra 1-0 ASK Vorwärts Berlin (East Germany), ASK Vorwärts Berlin 3-0 Drumcondra European Cup Winners’ Cup First Round (first leg at Dalymount Park), Limerick 1-2 CSKA Sofia, CSKA Sofia 2-0 Limerick Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Second Round (Rovers received a bye to this stage, first leg at Dalymount Park), Shamrock Rovers 1-1 Real Zaragoza, Real Zaragoza 2-1 Shamrock Rovers

League top scorers : Mick Lynch Waterford, 17 Shamie Coad Waterford, 14 Bobby Gilbert Shamrock Rovers, 14 Liam Tuohy Shamrock Rovers, 14

S.W.A.I. Personality of the Year : Liam Tuohy, Shamrock Rovers player-manager

Representative match : English League 5-0 League of Ireland

1964-65 League of Ireland season

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A great team effort, built around a very solid defence, saw Drumcondra win their fifth League of Ireland title in 1964-65, a season that was, on the whole, a little bit dull and uneventful. The standard of play had been relatively poor during the first half of the 1960s, and it seemed to dip a little bit further this year, with many, if not most matches being described in less than glowing terms. The poor attacking play of the previous season continued, but the one thing to receive praise this season was the performance of the league’s goalkeepers, with their many excellent displays helping to keep the scoring rate at just three goals per game. The fact that it was a standout year for the league’s goalkeeping fraternity seemed to be confirmed by Shelbourne’s John Heavey becoming the first goalkeeper to score in a championship match, when he scored the first in a 2-0 win over Waterford at Kilcohan Park.

A good start and strong finish were key for Drumcondra, as they won five of their first six matches and also each of their last six to finish just a point ahead of Shamrock Rovers, who had led the league table for much of the middle part of the season (both clubs had taken 21 home points from 22 and remained unbeaten at home all season). A late Jimmy Hasty goal along with a brilliant display by home goalkeeper Gerry Macken prevented the Hoops from forcing a play-off, with their delayed last league game against Dundalk at Oriel Park finishing in a 1-1 draw. Drumcondra also captured the Top Four Cup at Rovers’ expense, and the competition saw them suddenly find their shooting boots (new signing Johnny Kingston had been their top league scorer this season with nine), with a 3-0 win over Cork Hibernians in the semi-final being matched by a 3-0 win over the Hoops in the decider (Billy Dixon scored twice with David Brooks getting the other). An injury crisis had seen veteran Christy ‘Bunny’ Fullam making his first appearance of the season for Drums in their final league game, and he remained in the side for both of the Top Four Cup matches.

Shamrock Rovers managed to retain two of the trophies that they had won the previous season, with a gallant Limerick team unlucky to lose their first ever F.A.I. Cup final, after a replay. Johnny Fullam netted the only goal after the first meeting had ended in a 1-1 draw, and Limerick became the first team to bring on a substitute in the final when Michael Doyle sustained a broken leg during the first half of the first game (Denis Linnane was his replacement; the rule permitting a first-half injury substitution had been introduced for the previous season’s final). The two clubs had taken part in a novel League of Ireland Shield game earlier in the season, with Rovers winning 3-1 and all four of the goals being scored from the penalty spot (Eddie Bailham scored all three for the Hoops, not long before emigrating to England), before then being involved in a five-way tie (along with Drumcondra, Dundalk and Cork Celtic) at the top of the shield table, brought about by an unlikely combination of final round results. A series of play-off matches eventually got under way in the new year, and with bad weather causing both semi-finals to be postponed, Shamrock Rovers and Cork Celtic met in the final on St. Patrick’s Day, with two Liam Tuohy goals giving the Hoops a 2-1 win at Tolka Park.

Limerick’s appearance in the cup final would prove enough to secure them a place in the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the following year, with Rovers electing to compete in the following season’s Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This latter tournament had been very kind to the League of Ireland clubs so far, with Shelbourne’s thrilling first round victory over Portugal’s Belenenses one of the latest, and arguably the most significant, in a string of respectable results. The Reds set some very unconvincing domestic form aside to prevail following a play-off (the goals came from Ben Hannigan and Mick Conroy), and then performed admirably against Atlético Madrid in the next round. Shels had qualified for the Fairs Cup despite only finishing fifth in the 1963-64 League of Ireland Shield, but as the highest-placed Dublin club (the tournament was initially only open to clubs from a city where an international trade fair took place) apart from quadruple-winning Shamrock Rovers, the European spot went to the Tolka Park tenants ahead of Dundalk and Waterford (Cork Celtic had also finished above the Reds, but had secured qualification for the European Cup Winners’ Cup).

Shelbourne also managed to snag some silverware this season, with an Eric Barber hat-trick helping them to a 5-1 win over Drumcondra in a Dublin City Cup final replay in January. The first match had taken place in October, and many present actually thought that Drumcondra had won the game on corners after the sides finished level at 3-3 (the rule, however, only applied to the competition’s earlier rounds). Alvarito, a former Atlético Madrid defender and Spanish international, joined Shelbourne midway through the season, and even helped out with coaching duties when long-serving manager Gerry Doyle ended up moving on from the club. Con Martin, who had been out of the game since his spell at Dundalk a few years ago, was approached to take over for the 1965-66 season.

Bohemians had received their sternest warning yet from the rest of the League of Ireland when seeking re-election for the 1964-65 season (something akin to “improve or get out”), so the fact that Sean Thomas had taken over at the club following his acrimonious departure from Shamrock Rovers seemed particularly timely. He set about revamping the Dalymount Park squad, with many young players being brought in, mostly from the northside Stella Maris club. The changes brought no immediate improvement, however, and the Gypsies won just two of their first 11 league matches. Fortunes improved immediately, and dramatically, with the signing of Turlough O’Connor from Athlone Town, however, the young inside-left hitting the ground running and scoring eight goals (including both in a 2-2 draw away to Drumcondra) to help the club climb up the table. An unbeaten run of eight wins and three draws saw them eventually finish third, and O’Connor’s brilliant form not only appeared to have resolved Bohs’ long-standing goalscoring problem, but he had breathed some life into an otherwise very tame domestic season.

O’Connor had spent a few months playing for Athlone Town in the new League of Ireland ‘B’ league, a competition that also included Home Farm and Bray Wanderers, along with the reserve teams of most of the Leinster-based League of Ireland clubs (Bohemians were the exception; the ‘B’ teams of the Munster clubs played in the Munster Senior League). Home Farm were the team that grabbed all the headlines this season, winning the first League of Ireland ‘B’ championship, and also pulling off a huge shock by lifting the Leinster Senior Cup. Bohemians, St. Patrick’s Athletic and Dundalk’s first teams were all beaten on the way to ‘Farm becoming the first non-League of Ireland ‘A’ club to win the trophy for over 20 years. The Whitehall club (whose key player was future Stoke City and Ireland star Terry Conroy) also undertook a trip to the U.S. during the close season, playing friendly matches in front of big crowds, and recording a 6-0 win over Trenton All-Stars from New Jersey. Despite all this success, however, there was still no appetite within the League of Ireland to add another Dublin club to the ‘A’ division, so as with a number of previous attempts, Home Farm’s application to join the top flight for 1965-66 was unsuccessful.

League of Ireland 1964-65

PWDLFAPts
Drumcondra221444352232
Shamrock Rovers221435402231
Bohemians221075382427
Cork Hibernians221156412927
Sligo Rovers221057303125
Shelbourne221129383724
St. Patrick’s Athletic229310373621
Cork Celtic228311333419
Dundalk227510313719
Drogheda225512193415
Limerick224414294812
Waterford224414254212

European Competition : European Cup Preliminary Round (second leg at Dalymount Park), Rapid Vienna 3-0 Shamrock Rovers, Shamrock Rovers 0-2 Rapid Vienna European Cup Winners’ Cup First Round (second leg at Flower Lodge), Slavia Sofia 1-1 Cork Celtic, Cork Celtic 0-2 Slavia Sofia Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (home legs at Dalymount Park) First Round, Belenenses (Portugal) 1-1 Shelbourne, Shelbourne 0-0 Belenenses. Play-off (Dalymount Park, Shelbourne having won the toss of a coin), Shelbourne 2-1 Belenenses. Second Round, Shelbourne 0-1 Atlético Madrid, Atlético Madrid 1-0 Shelbourne

League top scorers : Jackie Mooney Shamrock Rovers, 16 Eric Barber Shelbourne, 14 Noel Bates St. Patrick’s Athletic, 14

S.W.A.I. Personality of the Year : Sean Thomas, manager, Bohemians

Representative matches : League of Ireland 2-2 Scottish League, League of Ireland 0-1 Irish League

1963-64 League of Ireland season

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The 1963-64 season was all about Shamrock Rovers. Under the management of Sean Thomas (who had been with the club since 1961), and boosted by the return of Liam Tuohy from Newcastle, they made up for the disappointment of the 1956-57 season by achieving an incredible domestic quadruple / grand slam. They brought their league championship haul into double figures, finishing five points clear of both Dundalk and Limerick, and overcame Cork Celtic in a replayed final (Eddie Bailham scored both in a 2-1 mid-week win under the Dalymount lights) to achieve their first league and F.A.I. Cup double since 1932. With half-backs Ronnie Nolan and Johnny Fullam pulling the strings, Rovers had already secured a fifteenth League of Ireland Shield (six home wins helping them finish three points ahead of Dundalk) and an eighth Dublin City Cup (two Liam Tuohy goals helped them get the better of Drumcondra in the final for a sixth time) in the first half of the season, and added the Leinster Senior Cup for good measure.

The Milltown club complemented their domestic achievements by pushing Valencia (winners of the tournament for the last two seasons) all the way in the first round of the Fairs Cup. Goals from Liam Tuohy and Jackie Mooney put Rovers 2-0 up in the second leg in Spain, before the Spaniards, albeit with the help of a disputed goal, brought the match level to progress 3-2 on aggregate. Controversy reigned at Milltown towards the end of the campaign, however, when the Cunningham family once again became embroiled in a team selection scandal. Star winger and Republic of Ireland international Frank O’Neill was left out of the Rovers side for the F.A.I. Cup final replay, prompting Sean Thomas to resign as Rovers manager, and move across the city to Bohemians. Club captain Liam Tuohy stepped into the managerial breach (one of his first tasks would be to replace goalkeeper Pat Dunne, sold to Manchester United for £10,500), but Thomas’s acrimonious departure had unquestionably taken some of the shine off the club’s remarkable achievements this season.

Although the scoring rate was slightly up from the previous season, match reports for this campaign were often dominated by tales of profligate forward lines and wasted goalscoring opportunities. Bohemians’ struggles in front of goal continued, Limerick failed to properly capitalise on the excellent half-back play of Ewan Fenton and Al Finucane, and it was left to Ronnie Whelan to score almost half of St. Patrick’s Athletic’s league goals. Even Shamrock Rovers were not immune from the criticism, despite recording an 8-1 win away to Waterford and a 4-0 win over Shelbourne at Tolka Park. Some League of Ireland supporters would, however, have been happy to see players like Eric Barber, Jimmy Hasty and Donal Leahy (none of whom had reached double figures the previous season) back among the goals.

Shamrock Rovers had also defeated Dundalk 7-0 in the first round of the F.A.I. Cup (the two sides had been level on points at the top of the league at the time of this result), but it was the Lilywhites (under the management of Joey Donnelly) who handed the Hoops their only two domestic defeats of the season. A 2-1 win at Oriel Park represented Rovers’ only league loss, and a Top Four Cup semi-final between the sides was said to be the most keenly contested Independent Cup match ever. Two goals from the Lilywhites’ legendary one-armed centre-forward Jimmy Hasty helped them to a 3-2 win, and Dundalk’s meeting with Limerick in the final (the teams had drawn 2-2 at the Market’s Field on the last day of the league season) took on added significance because of Rovers’ dominance. After Limerick had missed a host of chances in both games, Dundalk prevailed after a replay, with Hasty again on the mark.

One of the league’s top three goalscorers this season (he had been Dundalk’s top marksman for each of the previous three), Hasty’s disability did not seem to affect his play at all, and the Belfastman had been attracting huge crowds to League of Ireland grounds since signing for Dundalk in 1960. Word of him had also spread to Switzerland in advance of Dundalk’s European Cup second leg game against FC Zürich, and with the outcome of the tie seemingly a foregone conclusion after Dundalk’s 3-0 Dalymount Park defeat (the visitors had scored with virtually all of their chances), Hasty made a goal, scored a goal, and hit the crossbar before the Swiss scored again to put the issue beyond doubt. After a couple of more seasons with Dundalk and a short spell with Drogheda, Hasty returned to the north in the late 1960s, but unfortunately, would lose his life in a sectarian attack in Belfast in 1974.

Despite the great showing by Hasty and his teammates in Zürich (and their status as current league champions), it was something of a shock that not a single Dundalk player was selected for the League of Ireland’s match against the English League at Dalymount Park in October of 1963. As it turned out, five Shamrock Rovers players helped the Irish selection to their first and only ever win over their English counterparts, with Eddie Bailham and Ronnie Whelan scoring the goals in a historic 2-1 victory. The visitors’ line-up had included names like Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Roger Hunt, but there had been some Irish optimism due to the recent European performances and also a depleted Republic of Ireland team (one that included Liam Tuohy, Willie Browne and Ronnie Whelan) holding Austria to a goalless draw in Vienna on the same night that Dundalk had been in action in Zürich. The English League had a penalty saved by Drumcondra’s Eamonn Darcy (a standout performer this season) before taking a half-time lead, but Bailham’s 25-yard drive set the home team on their way to success.

With Irish football’s stock having fallen somewhat in recent years, the respectable performances that had been put in against overseas opposition seemed to restore the pride of Irish football supporters, but better was to come, as the national team followed up the away draw with a 3-2 home win over Austria in the second leg of their European Nations Cup tie. The Dalymount crowd was at fever pitch and there were several pitch invasions, but in spite of a possible objection by the Austrians, the result was allowed to stand. Spain were to end Ireland’s interest in the competition at the quarter-final stage, but a 4-2 win for the League of Ireland against the Irish League along with a 2-2 draw in a return game in Belfast meant the representative team (coached by Sean Thomas) had gone through their three matches unbeaten.

A few months after their visit to Valencia, Shamrock Rovers had found themselves back in Spain, after being invited to play a February friendly against a Spanish international ‘B’ team, with the hosts recording a fairly straightforward 7-2 win. The Hoops’ trophy-winning exploits this season were also, slightly peculiarly, bookended by two friendly matches against English second division club Sunderland. It ended up being a notable / historic season for both clubs, with Sunderland winning promotion to the top flight after a six-year absence (Derryman Johnny Crossan was their top scorer), but it was a run to the quarter-finals of the F.A. Cup that saw them make headlines in England and beyond. A three-match tussle with a star-studded Manchester United was eventually lost (had the Black Cats won there would have been three second division clubs in the last four) but the huge demand for entry to the first replay led to an extremely dangerous case of overcrowding at Roker Park. Two Sunderland fans lost their lives and it was only because of good fortune that a more serious disaster was averted. Rovers had won 2-1 on their visit to Roker Park in August, but Sunderland made amends by winning 3-1 at Dalymount Park in early May.

Drogheda‘s first season as a League of Ireland club ended up as a bit of a mixed bag, but they could ultimately be quite satisfied that they managed to avoid having to seek re-election. Their first match of the season was a 4-3 Dublin City Cup defeat by neighbours Dundalk at Oriel Park, but they struggled to attract crowds to their matches early on as they found wins hard to come by. The players had to take a pay cut, but with Dan McCaffrey leading the line the Boynesiders managed to find a little bit of form, and the crowds also started to come through the turnstiles. Although they were heavily beaten in both league matches against Dundalk, a 5-5 draw away to champions Shamrock Rovers was a definite high point of this debut season.

Sligo Rovers had returned after their one-season absence from the league, and although this was the last season for club legend (and all-time top scorer) Johnny Armstrong, another Bit O’ Red great appeared on the scene this year. A local 20-year old centre-half called David Pugh made a big impact and received much praise for his performances, drawing favourable comparisons to the likes of Shelbourne’s Freddie Strahan. By 1966, the well-built defender would be captaining Ireland’s under-23 team, and as well as serving Sligo Rovers with distinction, Pugh would go on to appear for Sligo G.A.A. in a Connacht final against Galway. Several other newcomers to the league this season were destined to make big names for themselves, with Shamrock Rovers handing a debut to 16-year old Damien Richardson, and a 17-year old Turlough O’Connor scoring on his first appearance for Limerick. A young Paddy Mulligan also made his debut for Bohemians before leaving to join Home Farm, but then signed a professional contract with Shamrock Rovers a short time later.

League of Ireland 1963-64


PWDLFAPts

Shamrock Rovers221471682735

Dundalk221264492730

Limerick221264463230

Cork Celtic22985493626

St. Patrick’s Athletic22895412925

Cork Hibernians22976383125

Shelbourne22859464221

Drumcondra229310313821

Sligo Rovers22679305317*

Drogheda225611314416

Waterford22411727649

Bohemians22151619527

* Sligo Rovers deducted two points

European Competition (all home legs at Dalymount Park) : European Cup Preliminary Round, Dundalk 0-3 FC Zürich, FC Zürich 1-2 Dundalk European Cup Winners’ Cup First Round, Shelbourne 0-2 Barcelona, Barcelona 3-1 Shelbourne Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First Round, Shamrock Rovers 0-1 Valencia, Valencia 2-2 Shamrock Rovers

League top scorers : Eddie Bailham Shamrock Rovers, 18 Jimmy Hasty Dundalk, 18 Johnny Kingston Cork Hibernians, 18

S.W.A.I. Personality of the Year : Joe Wickham, F.A.I. Secretary

Representative matches : League of Ireland 2-1 English League, League of Ireland 4-2 Irish League, Irish League 2-2 League of Ireland

1961-62 League of Ireland season

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This season’s league race turned into a tussle between a free-scoring Cork Celtic side (who had four players in double figures) and a Shelbourne team that had shown an uncanny ability to grind out results. With both clubs finishing on 35 points (they drew 1-1 in front of a crowd of 10,000 at Turner’s Cross on the last day of the season), Shels and Cork Celtic contested a Dalymount Park play-off to decide the 1962 championship. A Ben Hannigan strike that came back off a post and went in off Cork’s Frankie McCarthy was enough to ensure a seventh league title for the Dubliners, and it meant that in spite of possessing a far superior goal average (ex-Limerick forward George Lynam had contributed ten goals, and centre-forward Donal Leahy was in the league’s top three scorers for the sixth year in a row), Celtic were condemned to a third runners-up finish in four seasons.

Shels would go on to defeat the Corkmen in the final of the Top Four Cup, and had been overwhelming favourites for the F.A.I. Cup final (which took place a few days before the league play-off) as well, only to be trounced 4-1 by Shamrock Rovers, with Tommy Hamilton and Paddy Ambrose each scoring twice. Shels had won each of the Dublin clubs’ three meetings during the season (and subsequently won a Top Four semi-final 4-1), including a 6-2 victory just nine days before the final, but an illness contracted by a number of their players from a vaccination ahead of a League of Ireland representative trip to Italy had disrupted the club’s preparations. The team that all other League of Ireland clubs loved to hate, therefore, now had some 14 Blue Riband victories to their name, and Tommy Hamilton’s great performance in light of yet another struggle with the Cunningham family (they had seen fit to drop him from the semi-final line-up, only to reconsider their decision after the fans had strenuously objected) saw him being awarded the Irish Soccer Writers’ “Personality of the Year” award.

Shelbourne’s 2-1 win over Rovers at Milltown on the 7th of January was also the first League of Ireland match to play host to a ‘Teilifís Éireann‘ camera crew, with the new television channel having been launched on New Year’s Day, 1962. Goals from Ben Hannigan and Eric Barber saw Shels defeat a Rovers team that featured future Hoops legend Frank O’Neill, who had returned to Ireland following a three-year spell at Arsenal. O’Neill had also guested with Rovers on their summer trip to the U.S.A., where they had become the first (and only ever) League of Ireland club to participate in the recently established ‘International Soccer League’ (they won one and drew two of their seven matches to finish seventh in their group of eight). The Rovers line-up this season also included brothers Eamon and Tommy Farrell, both half-backs, who were the father and uncle of future Hollywood film actor Colin.

Newcomer Hannigan, meanwhile, had arguably been the most consistent and effective forward in a Shelbourne team whose success had mostly been built around a great defence, brilliantly led by Freddie Strahan (Shels had allowed star goalkeeper Finbarr Flood leave to join Scottish club Greenock Morton during the season). Hannigan was one of a number of future League of Ireland stars who debuted during the 1961-62 season, with Johnny Fullam being another notable member of the Shamrock Rovers team this year. Inside-left Al Finucane and goalkeeper Kevin Fitzpatrick both made their debuts for Limerick, and although Finucane performed brilliantly, scoring eight league goals, he would go on to become more famous as a centre-half. Irish amateur international defender Willie Browne joined Bohemians from U.C.D., while Noel O’Mahony made his debut for Cork Hibernians in January, and would be a familiar face in League of Ireland football on Leeside for many years to come.

Cork Hibernians had been the club to lead the League of Ireland Shield table for most of the way, and so were in with a great chance of claiming their first national honour ahead of a last-day meeting with second-placed Drumcondra at Tolka Park. Goals from Jimmy Morrissey and Tommy Kinsella gave Drums a 2-1 win, however, and with it the club’s first shield success in over a decade. Since winning the last two editions of the “round robin” Dublin City Cup in the early 1950s, Drums had appeared in eight of the tournament’s 10 finals since, and they continued this pattern in 1961, with a rematch of the previous year’s decider against Cork Celtic. The issue took a little bit of time to resolve, though, with the clubs’ first meeting on 1st September ending in a 2-2 draw, and a replay in early November also finishing level at three goals apiece (ex-Cork United and Belfast Celtic star Liam O’Neill took over as Celtic coach ahead of this game, and the club lost their first two league matches before turning their form around). Drumcondra decided to fly to Cork for the second replay a few weeks later, but goals from Austin Noonan and Donie O’Leary gave Celtic a 2-0 win and their first Dublin City Cup, in what was the first match of the season to be played at Turner’s Cross (it was also their first “win” in that season’s competition, having reached the final by virtue of two “corners” victories in the earlier rounds). Cork Celtic had been sharing the Mardyke with Cork Hibernians during the early months, but an announcement by University College Cork that the ground wouldn’t be available for League of Ireland football beyond the current season prompted them to refocus their attention on trying to purchase Turner’s Cross from the F.A.I.

Drumcondra had been caught up in some controversy at the very beginning of the season, when they instigated a misuse of the substitute rule during their 3-0 L.F.A. President’s Cup win over St. Patrick’s Athletic at Dalymount Park. An injury to centre-half Sean Smyth saw him being replaced by Tony Nesbitt, but when Nesbitt got injured not long afterwards, the Tolka Park side readied Tommy Kinsella to come on in his stead. Despite the fact that only a goalkeeper substitution was available to Drums, the referee and an L.F.A. official allowed the second “outfield” change to be made. Dalymount Park itself, meanwhile, had yet another memorable moment later in the season, when the Phibsboro venue’s first ever floodlit football match took place. A ‘Bohemians XI’ (with guest players including the likes of Eric Barber and Tommy Hamilton) welcomed Arsenal for a midweek friendly in March, with the Londoners winning a high-scoring encounter by eight goals to three (the match had been played in poor weather conditions; although not as severe as the previous year, bad weather had been a feature of the 1961-62 season as a whole).

The previous season’s standout player, Dan McCaffrey, scored the first Drumcondra goal in their President’s Cup win, but injuries and a loss of form saw him struggle to hold down a place in the team as the season wore on. He eventually moved to Waterford and rediscovered some of his sharpness, but by the time the 1962-63 season rolled around McCaffrey would be on the move again, this time to Cork Hibernians. (Waterford had struggled towards the foot of the table and would have fared even worse if not for the brilliance of goalkeeper Tommy Taylor, whose displays grabbed many headlines this season.) Another of the 1960-61 season’s stars, Jimmy Hasty, also found himself on the sidelines for most of this campaign, but in spite of his injury problems, the Dundalk centre-forward still managed to register eight league goals.

The advent of a new European competition, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, saw St. Patrick’s Athletic acting as Ireland’s inaugural representatives, but unfortunately, with limited success. Meanwhile, a new cross-border tournament, the North-South Cup, had kicked off towards the end of the 1960-61 season, but due to fixture congestion for both the northern and southern-based clubs (St. Pat’s, Shels, Drums and Shamrock Rovers had each met Irish League opposition in a two-legged quarter-final), the unfinished tournament had spilled over into this year’s campaign. No League of Ireland club reached the first final (which took place between Linfield and Glentoran in early 1962), and a new edition of the competition commenced before the end of the current season, with Dundalk joining the other four southern clubs in a slightly revised 10-team version of the tournament. The competition again took place in fits and starts, however, and by the time Shelbourne lost the second decider to Glenavon in May of 1963, clubs’ appetite for the North-South Cup had been more or less exhausted.

League of Ireland 1961-62


PWDLFAPts

Shelbourne221552552335*

Cork Celtic221633712435

Shamrock Rovers221435513231

St. Patrick’s Athletic221138484625

Cork Hibernians22886373625**

Limerick221057413424**

Drumcondra22868454022

Dundalk22859423621

Bohemians226511404617

Waterford227312394917

Transport22231729767

Sligo Rovers22131831875

* Shelbourne beat Cork Celtic 1-0 in play-off for title

** Cork Hibernians awarded one point from Limerick

European Competition : European Cup Preliminary Round, FC Nuremberg (West Germany) 5-0 Drumcondra, Drumcondra 1-4 FC Nuremberg European Cup Winners’ Cup Preliminary Round (second leg at Tolka Park), Dunfermline Athletic 4-1 St. Patrick’s Athletic, St. Patrick’s Athletic 0-4 Dunfermline Athletic

League top scorers : Eddie Bailham Shamrock Rovers, 21 Donal Leahy Cork Celtic, 18 Eric Barber Shelbourne, 15 Austin Noonan Cork Celtic, 15

S.W.A.I. Personality of the Year : Tommy Hamilton, Shamrock Rovers

Representative matches : League of Ireland 1-1 Scottish League, English League 5-2 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 0-3 Italian League, Irish League 3-1 League of Ireland, Italian League 6-0 League of Ireland

1958-59 League of Ireland season

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An eighth consecutive Dublin league championship success arrived in 1959, with Shamrock Rovers’ ninth League of Ireland title being secured with five points to spare over Evergreen United (who claimed the runners-up position on goal average) and Alec Stevenson’s Waterford. Rovers managed to play some good football in spite of some very muddy and sometimes frozen pitches, and while their league rivals definitely caused them a lot of headaches, none of the rest of the top four were able to find any real consistency. Waterford were possibly the most guilty of this, especially after coming out the right side of a 6-5 thriller at Kilcohan Park in early March that seemed to have thrown the race wide open, but the Blues lost two of their next three league games to allow Rovers to pull away.

Of the Suirsiders’ 58 league goals, some 56 were scored by members of two famous Waterford footballing families, the Hales and the Fitzgeralds (Peter Fitzgerald would depart for Sparta of Rotterdam during the summer, later to play for Leeds United and Ireland). Indeed, the loss of goalscoring prodigy Alfie Hale through injury in an F.A.I. Cup final dress rehearsal against St. Patrick’s Athletic helped the Blues to assume the mantle of this season’s nearly men, as goals from Johnny McGeehan (a recent signing from Transport) and Willie Peyton in a cup final replay (each side had an own goal in the first match) between the sides saw the Inchicore club record their first senior F.A.I. Cup success. Waterford did at least collect a fourth League of Ireland Shield a point ahead of Shamrock Rovers (following a poor start, they won their last eight games and amassed a total of 40 goals), to ensure that they now accounted for four of the seven non-Dublin victories in that competition. Former Aston Villa and Ireland star Con Martin had pulled many of the strings for the Blues this season, and the shield win gave him just his second medal in a career that had begun at Drumcondra in the early 1940s.

1958-59 was probably the most eventful and most impressive season to date for Limerick F.C. At the beginning of the season, a 4-3 semi-final victory over Shamrock Rovers had sent them into their first Dublin City Cup final, and they proceeded to beat Drumcondra (who had recently sold their Irish international goalkeeper Alan Kelly to Preston North End) by the same scoreline to join Sligo Rovers, Cork United and Dundalk on the list of non-Dublin winners of that trophy. Limerick registered a 4-3 win at Kilcohan Park to hand shield-winners Waterford one of just two defeats (Limerick won their last five games to finish third), so it looked like something positive was brewing for the club from the mid-west. They continued to show good form in the league, and in addition to enjoying two thrilling 3-2 wins over Waterford (the Kilcohan Park meeting was a superb match that had also seen a special train being laid on for Dublin-based supporters), they also held Shamrock Rovers to two 1-1 draws, each of which they were unfortunate not to have won. They won the Munster Senior Cup, and in spite of a gruelling four-match saga against Drumcondra, made it to the semi-finals of the F.A.I. Cup, where Waterford gained a measure of revenge thanks to a goal by Tommy Coady. Limerick also pipped Drumcondra to a place in the Top Four Cup, but after another 1-1 draw with Shamrock Rovers in the semi-final, were defeated 18-6 on corners.

Evergreen United were Rovers’ opponents in the Top Four final, and a Donal Leahy goal gave them a 1-0 win in front of a crowd of 15,000 at Dalymount Park. The turnout was very satisfactory for a competition that many had felt would not generate much interest, but the ‘Independent Cup’ had already succeeded in adding bite to what might otherwise have been meaningless end-of-season league games (clubs were also mindful of the extra revenue that would accrue). Leahy also scored both in the 2-0 semi-final win over Waterford (he had almost single-handedly dragged his team into contention for honours this season), and Rovers’ loss in the final meant that although they had regained the league title, they had surrendered possession of all five of the trophies that they had won in 1957-58.

A twelfth place league showing for Bohemians this year meant that the once-mighty Phibsboro club had achieved just one top-half league finish (fifth in 1951) since 1941. This could largely be attributed to the amateur status (in line with the principles enacted at the club’s foundation) that the club had so doggedly adhered to as the decades had passed, refusing to sign professional players, or even those that they felt harboured intentions of becoming full-time footballers. Bohemians recorded a surprise league double over old rivals Shelbourne this season, however, and shocked champions-elect Shamrock Rovers by knocking them out of the F.A.I. Cup, so it seemed that, in spite of their difficulties, the Gypsies might still have the ability to add some value to the league.

In a first for the League of Ireland (the practice was common for Ireland’s rugby and hockey teams at the time), a “trial” game was held in late January between a ‘Dublin XI’ and a ‘Provincial XI’ to aid with the task of selecting a team to play against the English League at Dalymount Park on St. Patrick’s Day. A large Tolka Park crowd was present to see a thrilling match finish 4-4, and Shelbourne centre-forward Christy Doyle (a cousin of St Patrick’s Athletic’s Dunne brothers) netted all four for the metropolitans. Doyle not only played against the English League (a very exciting scoreless draw that the home team were unlucky not to win), but also won a full international cap in a European Nations Cup game against Czechoslovakia a few weeks later. The 21-year old had also appeared in two ‘B’ internationals earlier in the season, scoring in both, including the only goal in a 1-0 win over South Africa’s ‘A’ team.

Although the 1950s had seen League of Ireland aggregate attendances rise to unprecedented levels, and crowds of up to 1,000 people often gathering outside newspaper offices on Sunday evenings to await the posting of the afternoon’s results, there was a noticeable dip during the 1958-59 season, with many clubs towards the middle and lower reaches of the league suddenly finding themselves in financial difficulty. While bad weather might have been a possible factor, heavy defeats for both Shamrock Rovers and Drumcondra in the European Cup, and reduced representation for League of Ireland players in the Irish national team did seem to have robbed the league of some of its gravitas. The 1950s had been a very difficult decade for Ireland that saw rising unemployment and emigration, but the league had been something of a success story. With a new decade on the horizon, it seemed that there might be some challenging times ahead.

League of Ireland 1958-59

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers221543582934
Evergreen United221336492729
Waterford221417583629
Limerick221156483127
Drumcondra221147302626
Shelbourne22787353322
Transport228311303719
St. Patrick’s Athletic229013455918
Cork Hibernians225512294315
Sligo Rovers226313345115
Dundalk226313345315
Bohemians226313255015

European Competition : European Cup Preliminary Round (second leg at Dalymount Park), Atlético Madrid 8-0 Drumcondra, Drumcondra 1-5 Atlético Madrid

League top scorers : Donal Leahy Evergreen United, 22 Alfie Hale Waterford, 18 Peter Fitzgerald Waterford, 17

Representative matches : Scottish League 1-0 League of Ireland, Irish League 2-3 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 0-0 English League

1957-58 League of Ireland season

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Despite losing both league encounters between the sides, Drumcondra garnered a third league championship in 1958, following another season-long battle with Shamrock Rovers. One of the most significant games of the year (and indeed the decade) was the meeting of the sides at Tolka Park in January 1958. Billed as the League of Ireland’s first all-ticket game, by kick-off time it was apparent that many fans had gained unauthorised entry, and with the Tolka stands creaking and swaying, many supporters were forced to decamp to the touchlines. Then, with Rovers leading 2-1 midway through the second half, Hoops’ forward Tommy Hamilton (having been taken down by Drums’ goalkeeper Alan Kelly, who was arguably the league’s best player this season) careered into a number of spectators behind the goal-line. As he struggled to free himself, and chaos suddenly threatening to break out, the match was abandoned. Amazingly, the result stood, but was not enough to prevent Drums from eventually becoming champions with two points to spare.

Two 1-0 defeats to Dundalk had not helped Rovers’ championship aspirations, but the Milltown side had the chance to gain some revenge when the two clubs locked horns in the final of the F.A.I. Cup. With Tommy Hamilton (like last season) having been controversially dropped from the Rovers team at the behest of the Cunningham family, a header from former Hoop Hughie Gannon (who broke his cheekbone in the process) was enough to ensure a fourth Blue Riband success for the Lilywhites. The Louth side kept clean sheets in all five of their cup games, and bizarrely, before the first round of this season’s competition, had not won an F.A.I. Cup match since their victory in the decider of 1952.

While it was only Rovers’ fifth defeat in 18 F.A.I. Cup final appearances, they could take some solace from a fourth successive League of Ireland Shield (three points clear of St. Patrick’s Athletic and Waterford), and an incredible four cup final victories over Drumcondra. In addition to triumphing in the Leinster Senior Cup and L.F.A. President’s Cup deciders (both replays – the drawn games were Drumcondra’s only joy against the Hoops in nine meetings this season), Rovers defeated Drums in the Dublin City Cup final (in front of a crowd of 14,000) for the fourth time in six years, and a 2-1 victory in the Top Four decider meant that the Hoops now led the roll of honour in all five of the main domestic competitions (league, F.A.I. Cup, shield, Dublin City Cup and the Top Four Cup).

It was perhaps fitting, therefore, that Rovers had earlier had the honour of being the first League of Ireland side to participate in the European Cup. Over 45,000 packed Dalymount Park to see them take on the mighty Manchester United, and although humbled 6-0 by a far fitter team in that first leg (it was just 1-0 at half-time, and three goals came in the last 10 minutes), they achieved a more respectable 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford. Tragically, six months later, five of the players who had lined out against Rovers (including Dubliner Liam Whelan, scorer of two goals in the Dalymount game) would perish in the Munich air disaster.

With the League of Ireland’s involvement with the Irish national side being at the mercy of a seemingly extremely volatile and capricious five-man selection committee, the decision to create a Republic of Ireland ‘B’ team was viewed as a very welcome development this season. It was envisaged it would provide another avenue for home-based players to attain some international experience, and indeed three home-leaguers (all Shamrock Rovers players) took to the field for the team’s debut outing against Romania ‘B’ in October of 1957. Although three more matches (with each of them featuring entirely home-based XI’s) would be arranged for the ‘B’ team during the coming seasons, the initiative would surprisingly be shelved indefinitely in 1960.

While the 1950s had seen the League of Ireland’s profile rise to previously unscaled heights, the increase in attendances had seen a corresponding increase in crowd disturbances, with the Tolka Park match of early 1958 being just the latest (though perhaps the most notable) of several such incidents during the decade. Cork Athletic’s double-winning season of 1950-51 had seen a league game against Shelbourne and a cup game against Limerick produce unsavoury scenes, while the 1955-56 season saw a section of Shamrock Rovers fans respond with distaste to their team’s damaging late-season defeat by Waterford at Kilcohan Park. On the very first day of the 1957-58 season, a Dublin City Cup game between Rovers and St. Pat’s almost had to be abandoned due to crowd encroachment, while Cork Hibernians’ first ever home League of Ireland match was also marred by crowd trouble, as a group of supporters surrounded the pavilion after the game against Waterford at the Mardyke and chanted “we want the referee”. In the wake of the Tolka Park match, serious questions were raised regarding safety at League of Ireland games (only six gardaí had been on duty at the ground), leading to a more vigilant attitude to fixtures on the part of league authorities.

League of Ireland 1957-58

PWDLFAPts
Drumcondra221534512333
Shamrock Rovers221516552631
Evergreen United221336533029
St. Patrick’s Athletic221066453226
Shelbourne221138412925
Waterford221039433723
Limerick227510314019
Dundalk227312384617
Bohemians226412365216
Transport226412305016
Sligo Rovers225512326115
Cork Hibernians226214376614

European Competition : European Cup Preliminary Round, (first leg at Dalymount Park) Shamrock Rovers 0-6 Manchester United, Manchester United 3-2 Shamrock Rovers

League top scorers : Donie Leahy Evergreen United, 16 Johnny McGeehan Transport, 15 Austin Noonan Evergreen United, 15

Representative matches : League of Ireland 1-5 Scottish League, English League 3-1 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 2-2 Irish League, Irish League 3-1 League of Ireland

1956-57 League of Ireland season

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Despite winning the championship in each of their two seasons at the venue, St. Patrick’s Athletic vacated the Chapelizod Stadium during the summer of 1956, meaning that their 4-2 defeat by Shamrock Rovers (regarded as one of the best matches of the era) ended up being the last League of Ireland game to be played at the ground. St. Pat’s would move to Dalymount Park for the new season, but in spite of adding a couple of promising young players to their squad (these players went by the names of Jimmy Dunne and Ronnie Whelan), the 1956-57 season would be something of a transitional one for them. This meant that their growing rivalry with Paddy Coad’s Shamrock Rovers was to be put on ice for now, but a club from the northside of Dublin were ready to step back into the breach.

The 1956-57 season ended up being a year-long struggle for supremacy between two clubs, taking in six different competitions. Shamrock Rovers and Drumcondra (both registering unbeaten home records in all competitions) first met in the final of the Dublin City Cup, with Rovers being awarded the trophy on corners after a 1-1 draw between the sides. Although Rovers were comfortable winners of the subsequent League of Ireland Shield (winning 10 of their 11 matches), Drumcondra were still their closest challengers, finishing four points behind the Glenmalure Park outfit. A 2-0 win for the Hoops in the final of the Leinster Senior Cup condemned Drums to a third set of runners-up medals, and then, despite dropping four of their last six points (their only league loss of the season came against Cork Athletic on the last day), Shamrock Rovers secured an eighth league championship in 1957, five points ahead of their bitter Dublin rivals. Thus, having taken three national trophies at Drumcondra’s expense, only Drums, in the F.A.I. Cup final, now stood between them and an unprecedented “quadruple”.

It was the fourth time in 12 years that the teams had met in the F.A.I. decider, and goals from Bunny Fullam and Willie Coleman were enough to level the amount of victories in these matches at two all, and shatter Rovers’ quadruple dreams in the process. Drums followed up that victory with a 3-0 win over Rovers in the semi-final of the Top Four Cup, but Evergreen United (who this season stumbled upon the lethal strike partnership of Austin Noonan and Donal Leahy, which would yield some 267 league goals over the next 11 seasons) upset the script somewhat by beating the Dubliners 2-1 to claim their first national honour.

Despite missing out on that third successive F.A.I. Cup, Paddy Coad’s charges were of course by now easily the League of Ireland’s main attraction, with crowds of up to 20,000 going to see them at every venue in the country. Backed by the cash-rich Cunninghams (legend has it that they were sometimes known to drop fistfuls of coins from their horse-drawn carriage as they made their way to Rovers matches), the club’s travel arrangements were the envy of other sides, with fancy cars, top hotels, and steak dinners being par for the course. Players like Gerry Mackey, Ronnie Nolan and Paddy Ambrose had also several international caps (eight Rovers players took to the field for an inter-league game with the Irish League in March 1957) to their names, and turning up at away grounds in a club blazer and tie, the Colts were some of Ireland’s first real football celebrities.

With a one-armed winger called Paddy Cody as their top scorer, and future Ireland international Ray Brady also a part of the side, Transport finished in fifth place this season to record what would ultimately prove to be their best ever League of Ireland performance. The Busmen’s league campaign began with high drama at Harold’s Cross, when they conceded four first-half goals to Shelbourne before scoring five of their own in the second half to register an incredible 5-4 win. They went on to record a positive goal difference this season for the first and only time, but along with league runners-up Drumcondra, were left to rue an excessive amount of draws in a season that (like the 1949-50 edition) had been impacted by a lot of bad weather and muddy pitches.

Not too many could have predicted that Cork Athletic’s last day victory over Shamrock Rovers would prove to be their last-ever League of Ireland fixture. Long-standing financial problems (although this was not explicitly stated at the time of the expulsion), not aided by their fondness for full-time footballers, saw their membership being cancelled in July of 1957, their place being taken by a new club from the southern capital, Cork Hibernians. Hibernians, like several previous Cork teams, were initially based at the Mardyke, but intended to move into a new stadium in the Ballintemple area of the city in the coming years. The ground, Flower Lodge, had already had an unofficial opening for an F.A.I. Cup first round tie between A.O.H. (an amateur Cork club whose members had helped in the creation of Cork Hibernians) and Sligo Rovers in February of 1957. The match programme for that day spoke of what was hoped would become “Munster’s Finest Sports Stadium”, with a capacity of up to 60,000 people ultimately being envisaged.

September 1956 saw goals from Shay Gibbons, Liam Tuohy and Dermot Curtis (who would soon leave Shelbourne for Bristol City for a fee of £8,000) help the League of Ireland representative side finally avoid defeat against the English League. With the Irish selection having lost the sides’ 10 previous meetings, a 3-3 draw in front of a crowd of 32,000 at Dalymount Park was therefore extremely welcome. The League of Ireland’s finest ever hour on the international stage, meanwhile, occurred in Dalymount two months later, with seven home-based players helping Ireland to a 3-0 friendly victory over world champions West Germany. The other four members of the team had played in the League of Ireland previously, and Noel Cantwell, Joe Haverty, and Shamrock Rovers’ Jimmy ‘Maxie’ McCann scored the all-important goals.

League of Ireland 1956-57


PWDLFAPts

Shamrock Rovers221561682436

Drumcondra221192492831

Sligo Rovers221174422929

Evergreen United221156483127

Transport228104423626

Shelbourne221066473924*

Waterford22949444122

Cork Athletic22589324618

St. Patrick’s Athletic226511335517

Dundalk224810334016

Bohemians22251520569

Limerick22231721597

* Shelbourne deducted two points

League top scorers : Tommy Hamilton Shamrock Rovers, 15 Donie Leahy Evergreen United, 15 Austin Noonan Evergreen United, 13

Representative matches : League of Ireland 3-3 Football League, Scottish League 3-1 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 2-2 Irish League, Irish League 1-2 League of Ireland

1955-56 League of Ireland season

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Having defeated Waterford 2-1 to land a second Dublin City Cup in three seasons, a third league success for St. Patrick’s Athletic followed in 1956, with Shay Gibbons’ 21 league goals being complemented by 17 from Paddy ‘Ginger’ O’Rourke. St. Pat’s rode their luck at times this season, winning several games where their opponents had played as well if not better, and they also had third-placed Waterford to thank for doing a “double” over runners-up Shamrock Rovers, with both of these wins coming at very important points in the league race. Rovers had beaten Pats 4-2 in a thriller at Chapelizod in the closing stages to place control of the league title’s destiny in their own hands (and to deprive their rivals of a clean sweep of points from their home matches), but a 3-1 loss at Kilcohan Park in their next outing combined with a St. Pat’s win in Sligo meant that the league trophy would be retained by Alec Stevenson’s side.

Paddy Coad’s side (or “Coad’s Colts” as they had now come to be known by fans and the media, a moniker to rival that of the “Busby Babes” of Manchester United) met with Cork Athletic in the F.A.I. Cup final, a game that gave rise to what was perhaps the finest ever example of League of Ireland / F.A.I. Cup folklore. The Leesiders’ team featured one Jimmy Delaney, a Scottish international who had already pocketed F.A. Cup, Scottish Cup and I.F.A. Cup medals in a glittering 20-year career, and with Athletic leading 2-0 (Delaney, who was in receipt of a salary similar to that of Raich Carter in ’53, netted the first) with just 12 minutes remaining, Cork Athletic Secretary Donie Forde left the ground to fetch champagne for the celebrations. Forde was unnerved by the sound of three loud cheers coming from the Dalymount stadium, however, and when he saw the ecstatic Rovers fans walking out as he returned, he knew that Coad’s side had done the unthinkable. Their 3-2 win meant a thirteenth cup success for the Hoops, and ensured that Delaney missed out on that historic quadruple of cup winner’s medals.

An unbeaten Rovers had secured an equally incredible eleventh League of Ireland Shield (Shelbourne, with seven, were the Hoops’ nearest challengers in that roll of honour) earlier in the campaign, following a 2-1 win at leaders Waterford on the last day, and also defeated the Suirsiders (who registered an unbeaten league record at Kilcohan Park) to capture the inaugural Top Four Cup, a new end-of-season competition for the league’s four highest-placed sides. Officially titled the ‘Independent Cup’ (after the Irish newspaper group), the tournament ran on a straightforward semi-final and final format, with a draw determining who would meet who. With the aim of reducing the amount of meaningless end-of-season games, it seemed to pay dividends straight away, with Sligo Rovers going on a six-game winning run (during which their prolific Scottish winger Johnny Armstrong scored nine goals) to move from 10th place to 4th with just one match to play. Evergreen United (who had been in the top four for most of the season) pipped them on goal average, however, and after Shamrock Rovers had beaten St. Pat’s 9-8 on corners in the competition’s very first match (following a thrilling 3-3 draw), a James ‘Maxie’ McCann goal eight minutes from the end ensured not just a win over Waterford in the final, but also that Rovers had scored in every match of the 1955-56 season.

In what was a fairly turbulent year for Shelbourne, a number of the club’s more established players had been released during the close season, and a slightly more youthful side was assembled under the tutelage of returning former player Eddie Gannon (who had spent some time in England’s top division with Sheffield Wednesday and also won 14 international caps). The club had been hoping to free up some funds in advance of moving into their new (but still quite incomplete) stadium in Irishtown, but mediocre league form and a lack of spectator facilities at the ground had a significant impact on their attendances. With the financial situation not looking too favourable, Shels took the difficult decision to vacate the ground after just one season. Signing off with an impressive 7-1 win over Limerick in their last Irishtown match, the Reds returned to being tenants at Tolka Park, and apart from a spell at Harold’s Cross in the ’80s, have played at the northside venue ever since.

League of Ireland 1955-56

PWDLFAPts
St. Patrick’s Athletic221624613434
Shamrock Rovers221516543031
Waterford221426663930
Evergreen United221048342824
Sligo Rovers221129475024
Shelbourne228410454220
Bohemians227510293619
Drumcondra228212415118
Cork Athletic227312384317
Dundalk226511375417
Limerick226511355417
Transport225314335913

League top scorers : Shay Gibbons St. Patrick’s Athletic, 21 Paddy Ambrose Shamrock Rovers, 20 Paddy ‘Ginger’ O’Rourke St. Patrick’s Athletic, 17

Representative matches : League of Ireland 2-4 Scottish League, English League 5-1 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 4-1 Hessen League, League of Ireland 1-0 Irish League, Irish League 6-0 League of Ireland

1954-55 League of Ireland season

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Having played a number of games for the club the previous season, former Everton and Ireland inside-left Alec Stevenson took over as manager of St. Patrick’s Athletic during the summer of 1954 (he had recently been serving as Irish international coach), and former Shamrock Rovers defender Tommy Dunne (son of the late Jimmy, and a future Irish international) was a notable addition to a squad that had finished second from bottom at the end of the most recent league campaign. Several other young players were introduced, and a move to Chapelizod Greyhound Stadium seemed to be the final piece of the jigsaw, as the West Dublin club finished three points ahead of Waterford (who they defeated 4-1 in a crunch fixture during the closing stages) to collect their second League of Ireland championship.

Waterford were themselves five points clear of the previous season’s champions, Shamrock Rovers, who had failed to fully recover from a shaky start that had seen them lose three of their first five league matches. The Milltown club could look back on a tremendous season overall, however, having earlier picked up the Dublin City Cup (beating Drumcondra 2-0), the League of Ireland Shield, the Leinster Senior Cup and the L.F.A. President’s Cup. A semi-final win over Longford Town (the non-leaguers in the semi-finals for the second time) then set up another F.A.I. Cup final meeting against bitter rivals Drumcondra, with a Liam Tuohy goal (Tuohy scored in every round of the competition) giving Rovers their twelfth F.A.I. Cup success.

In spite of the offside trap becoming increasingly common, and an overall feeling in recent years that defences had very much been on top, there was a noticeable increase in goals scored during the 1954-55 league season, with the highest goals-per-game ratio since 1946 being recorded. A revitalised Shay Gibbons at St. Pat’s (a haul of 28 league goals was the highest-ever tally for the player who had topped the goalscoring charts in 1952 and 1953), and a productive partnership between Rory Dwyer and Dermot Curtis at Shelbourne were among the contributing factors, but it was Waterford’s centre-forward pairing this year that had really caught the Irish football public’s attention. Scottish striker Jimmy Gauld (who would later serve four years in prison for his part in a match-fixing scandal in the English league) bagged 30 goals to finish top of the season’s scoring charts, and he was ably assisted by local hero Jack Fitzgerald (one of six Fitzgerald brothers that would play for the Kilcohan Park club), who finished the season off by scoring the only goal of the game in his Irish international debut against Holland in May.

The inordinate amount of goals being scored led to some very eye-catching scorelines this season. It began on the opening day, with Shelbourne spoiling St. Patrick’s Athletic’s first league match at Chapelizod by turning a 4-1 half-time deficit into a remarkable 6-4 success. The 1953 champions then went on an excellent run that saw them take 17 points from their first 18, and this set up an eagerly-anticipated mid-January clash with Waterford that got switched to Dalymount Park (Shels had become tenants at Tolka Park this season). However, the crowd of almost 22,500 saw Waterford take the Reds apart by six goals to one, a result that triggered a dramatic mid-season collapse for Shels that saw them take just one point out of 16, before they recovered at the end of the season to win their last five league matches.

On the same afternoon that Shelbourne faced Waterford at Dalymount, St. Patrick’s Athletic were due to host a struggling Dundalk side at Chapelizod. Conditions weren’t ideal, as there had been sleet and snow showers the night before, and a frost had then set in that caused the ground to harden and create a very slippery playing surface. The match went ahead, but the harsh conditions, combined with the Dublin football public’s attention being focused on the other match, meant that a relatively small crowd would be in attendance. With the players slipping and sliding all over the pitch, the champions-elect recorded a slightly bizarre / bonkers 10-3 victory, the total of 13 goals scored being a record for a League of Ireland game.

League of Ireland 1954-55

PWDLFAPts
St. Patrick’s Athletic221723623136
Waterford221615704333
Shamrock Rovers221246633728
Shelbourne221327624128
Cork Athletic221057535125
Drumcondra22958383023
Bohemians229112515519
Limerick228113325017
Sligo Rovers226313343915
Transport225413225114
Evergreen United224513344613
Dundalk225314396613

League top scorers : Jimmy Gauld, Waterford, 30 Shay Gibbons St. Patrick’s Athletic, 28 Rory Dwyer Shelbourne, 19

Representative matches : League of Ireland 0-6 English League, Scottish League 5-0 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 2-1 Irish League, Hessen League 7-2 League of Ireland, Hessen League 5-0 League of Ireland

1953-54 League of Ireland season

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The race for the 1954 championship came down to the very last day of the season, with a near-perfect (nine wins, two draws) record at Turner’s Cross propelling Evergreen United to within touching distance of their first league title. Having defeated Drumcondra the previous week to end that club’s title aspirations, the Corkmen now looked forward to a last day showdown with Shamrock Rovers, with the two sides level on 28 points after 21 matches. A solitary Liam Tuohy strike at Glenmalure Park was enough to secure the Hoops’ seventh League of Ireland championship title, their first for 15 years.

In the F.A.I. Cup, St. Patrick’s Athletic reached the decider for the first time, and with the squad having placed a bet on themselves to win the trophy much earlier in the season, each man was set to pocket a considerable sum of money if they could get the better of Drumcondra (whose manager Billy Behan had played in two finals for Shamrock Rovers, and refereed the decider of 1943) in the Dalymount showdown. The omission of Pats’ star striker Shay Gibbons from the line-up (which did include a 19-year old Joe Haverty, who would soon join Arsenal) was even more bizarre given these circumstances, and a Dessie Byrne own-goal was enough to give Drumcondra a 1-0 win, and their fourth F.A.I Cup success. The defeat meant that St. Pat’s would not add to the Dublin City Cup that they had secured earlier in the season, after a 4-3 win over Shelbourne.

1953-54 saw Limerick F.C. capture the first national honour of their 16-year existence, and in extremely dramatic circumstances. Needing a win at Oriel Park in their last League of Ireland Shield (a competition that they had finished in the bottom two of for five of the last seven seasons) match to overtake leaders Shamrock Rovers, the Shannonsiders found themselves two goals in arrears early in the second half. The match was turned on its head between the 65th and 68th minutes, however, with the visitors scoring three times (Irish international Sean Cusack scored the first from the penalty spot) to fashion a famous 3-2 victory, and trigger wild celebrations in the Treaty city.

Drumcondra had actually gone on to secure second position in the shield, and days before their league defeat to Evergreen, they had played host to a slice of League of Ireland history at Tolka Park. Owner Sam Prole, who had taken over the club during the close season after 25 years as secretary of Dundalk (a hugely influential figure, Prole was often described as the “godfather” of Irish football, and later became President of the F.A.I.), fittingly welcomed his former club to the Richmond Road venue for the first ever League of Ireland match to take place under floodlights (he would later oversee the introduction of pitchside advertising at the ground, Drums being the first League of Ireland club to make such a move). Although a 4-0 victory for the home team would probably have pleased Prole, the fact that the result helped condemn the Lilywhites to finish in twelfth and last position (they took just one point from 11 away matches, and also lost their long-standing unbeaten F.A.I. Cup home record this season) for the first time in their history would not have been so agreeable. Prole’s shrewd financial management of the club over the previous years had been instrumental in ensuring that Dundalk not only competed for footballing honours, but that it had even survived. He had been commended for garnering very respectable transfer fees from English clubs for several Dundalk players in the late 1940s and early 1950s, monies which had, in essence, saved the Louth club from bankruptcy.

League of Ireland 1953-54

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers221183442030
Evergreen United221165442928
Drumcondra221075372527
Cork Athletic221138404625
Limerick22886424324
Shelbourne221039353523
Waterford22868454522
Bohemians228410414620
Sligo Rovers228410333720
Transport227411424918
St. Patrick’s Athletic224711274315
Dundalk224414325412

League top scorers : Danny Jordan Bohemians, 14 Paddy Ambrose Shamrock Rovers, 13 Christy Bergin Waterford, 12 Eddie Doran Evergreen United, 12

Representative matches : League of Ireland 3-1 Welsh League, English League 9-1 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 1-3 Scottish League, Irish League 0-0 League of Ireland, League of Ireland 1-0 Hessen League (Germany)