Tag: shamrock rovers

1932-33 Free State League season

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While Shamrock Rovers had taken a clean sweep of league, cup and shield during the 1931-32 season, Dundalk had won all three of the sides’ meetings, and buoyed by their first league victories over Bohemians and Shelbourne this season, became the first regional club to win the Free State championship, a full five points clear of Shamrock Rovers. The Milltown club (who returned the favour this year by handing the Louth side their only two league defeats) could more than take comfort, however, from a second consecutive Free State Shield (with the competition held over two rounds for the first time since 1922, Rovers finished two points ahead of the new league champions), and an incredible fifth Free State Cup in succession.

With Bohemians being dispatched in the cup semi-finals for the third year in a row, Shamrock Rovers defeated Dolphin in the final for the second successive season, the challengers seeing a three-goal lead (Irish international George Lennox had scored two penalties for Dolphin) slip to allow Rovers force a replay, which they won on an emphatic 3-0 scoreline. Two goals from Jimmy Daly and one from David Byrne (who this season became the first player to register 100 Free State league goals, before being transferred to Manchester United) did the trick in the second game, and William ‘Sacky’ Glen, John Joe Flood and John ‘Tipp’ Burke each collected their fifth Free State Cup winner’s medals. It was not until a 2-1 defeat to St. James’s Gate in a first round replay in the following year’s competition that the Hoops’ remarkable 28-game unbeaten Free State Cup run would finally come to an end.

Off the field, the government’s 1932 budget had included the creation of a new “entertainment tax” for all outdoor events, with Free State League clubs now having to part with roughly a fifth of all gate receipts. Clubs were already required to pay a 5% share of gate receipts to the league management committee, so the new tax, along with the after-effects of the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression (the Free State’s economic war with Britain was also in session), ensured difficult financial times for many clubs during the early 1930s. Many of them increased admission prices to offset the loss, and the Football Association of the Irish Free State took the opportunity to criticise the new tax in a June 1932 statement that also happened to announce a ban on southern clubs from playing any matches against clubs from north of the border. Disagreements between the F.A.I.F.S. and the I.F.A. over the selection of players for international games had yet to be properly resolved, and the ban (which would last until 1937) was intended to remain in place until the Dublin-based body received “its just share in the use of the name Ireland in international matches”. The F.A.I.F.S. were forced to flex their muscles again a few months later, when betting and bookmaking were reported to have been openly taking place at the Cork Bohemians vs (Dublin) Bohemians match at Ballintemple Greyhound Stadium. A ban on betting was announced by the governing body, but the Cork club escaped further censure and the 3-1 opening day win ultimately helped them to finish one point (and two places) ahead of their Dublin namesakes in the Free State League table.

Free State League 1932-33

PWDLFAPts
Dundalk181332442129
Shamrock Rovers181125483224
Shelbourne181035452623
Cork181017353521
Bray Unknowns18675292919
St. James’s Gate18819394117
Cork Bohemians18468303814
Dolphin18549283914
Bohemians18459244013
Drumcondra18141322436

League top scorers : George Ebbs St. James’s Gate, 20 Tommy Doyle Shamrock Rovers, 17 Jimmy Rorrison Cork, 16

Representative match : Free State League 2-0 Welsh League

1931-32 Free State League season

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Although the shield trophy was now spending its first year outside of Dublin, the wait for a non-Dublin winner of the league itself would go on, with Shamrock Rovers capitalising on late slip-ups by Cork (nicknamed the “League of Nations” due to the amount of non-Irishmen now in their squad) and Dundalk (who were beaten into third by Waterford) to collect their fourth league championship in 1932. The Glenmalure Park side were in fact rampant this year, taking the Free State Shield (they remained unbeaten to finish five clear of nearest challengers Cork) along with a fourth successive Free State Cup to complete a second domestic treble.

A Dolphin side containing a number of Irish internationals were their opponents in the cup final, with another Paddy Moore goal proving enough for Rovers in front of a record crowd of 32,000 (the league’s two highest-scoring teams had played to a record crowd of 30,000 in a league match at the Iveagh Grounds a few months earlier). The Hoops’ success this season was perhaps not so surprising given that they boasted a whole host of Irish internationals of their own (Moore, Byrne, Fullam, Flood, Glen, Burke), as well as a former English international midfielder in Vincent Matthews, and the ultra-prolific Scot Jimmy Smith, who would eventually total some 249 goals in 259 games for Glasgow Rangers. Moore had scored in every round (netting nine goals in total) of a cup competition that had been completed without the need for a single replay, and the final had also been the first to take place on a Sunday (Sundays were gradually becoming the day of choice for most Free State football matches).

Shamrock Rovers win the Free State Cup for the fourth year in a row

Finishing bottom for the third consecutive campaign (they had failed to win a single league, shield or cup match in 1929-30, and had finished bottom of the shield every year since 1927), 1931-32 proved to be the final league season for Jacobs A.F.C., who conceded a whopping 145 goals in their 28 competitive fixtures this year. The Rutland Avenue club’s place was taken by a new Cork side, Cork Bohemians, who had enjoyed Munster Senior Cup and F.A.I. Intermediate Cup success over the course of previous seasons. With Waterford (in spite of their impressive third place finish) and Brideville also absent for the start of 1932-33, the league was now once again made up of 10 club sides.

Free State League 1931-32

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers221363703432
Cork221093572729
Waterford221246644228
Dundalk221156563127
Bohemians221237433527
Shelbourne221066433426
Dolphin221138654425
Bray Unknowns22958455123
Drumcondra226511334817
Brideville226313274715
St. James’s Gate224216276210
Jacobs22131815905

League top scorers : Pearson Ferguson Cork, 21 Jack Forster Waterford, 21 Paddy Moore Shamrock Rovers, 18 Jimmy Shiels Dolphin, 18

Representative match : Welsh League 2-4 Free State League

1930-31 Free State League season

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1930 saw Dundalk G.N.R. become Dundalk F.C., Fordsons (the Ford company having chosen to end its association with the club) change their name to Cork F.C., and Bray Unknowns finally begin playing in their home town, moving from Woodbrook in south Co. Dublin to the Carlisle Grounds in Bray. The changes seemed to benefit Dundalk the most, a late surge helping them finish closest to the eventual league winners, Shelbourne, who were grateful that three-quarter-mark leaders Brideville (whose wholly Irish side contained international forward Charlie Reid and a promising young player named Joe O’Reilly) took just three points from their last seven games to eventually wind up in sixth place, five points adrift of the Reds. Shels, by contrast, had shown tremendous composure during the run-in, defeating Brideville in a crucial fixture on the second last day, and winning two matches against fellow title contenders Cork in the latter weeks of the campaign. The Reds’ Scottish centre-forward Alexander ‘Sandy’ Hair not only topped the national goalscoring charts, but by scoring 29 of Shelbourne’s league goals, accounted for more than half of their total tally of 52.

One other club who had entertained serious title aspirations this season were the previous year’s league champions, Bohemians. After beginning the campaign strongly by taking 15 points from their first 20, the naming of four Bohs players in an I.F.A. amateur squad for a match against England would ultimately deal a severe blow to their season. Although the club initially expressed no problem with Fred Horlacher, Jimmy Bermingham, Alex Morton and Johnny McMahon lining out for the Belfast organisation, the F.A.I.F.S. soon came out as being strongly opposed to their inclusion, eventually causing a split within the ranks of Bohemian F.C. The club voted to adhere to the F.A.I.F.S.’ wishes, but with Horlacher, Bermingham and Morton (McMahon was born in Derry and so did not become part of the issue; he would actually end up being the only player to win a full I.F.A. cap while with a Free State League club) electing to retain their original agreement with the I.F.A., the three players received a three-month suspension from the F.A.I.F.S. on their return. Bohs’ form consequently became quite patchy between November and February, meaning that by the time the trio returned for the final weeks of the season, the league was already more or less beyond the Gypsies, the club eventually finishing four points behind Shelbourne in third position.

In addition to their strong league showing, Dundalk also progressed to their first Free State Cup final in 1931, and found themselves with the chance to prevent Shamrock Rovers from performing a Blue Riband “three-in-a-row”. The Louth side had earlier recorded two league wins over the Hoops (including a 6-0 rout at the Athletic Grounds), and thanks to a goal from Gerry McCourt, appeared to be on course for a victory in the cup final, until Paddy Moore popped up with a last-minute equaliser for Rovers. Dundalk defeated the Milltown club 4-3 in the shield a couple of weeks later, before the cup final replay finally took place on the 9th of May (due to the league’s new 12-team format, the original game had taken place in mid-April; the league itself was now contested from August to February), with another goal from Moore (like Byrne the previous year, Moore appeared to use his hand on the way to putting the ball in the net) eventually settling the issue in Rovers’ favour.

Shamrock Rovers beat Dundalk to win their third consecutive Free State Cup

A debut season success for Waterford in the Free State Shield at last meant an end to the Dublin monopoly of the competition, and despite having to play their last two games of the season on successive days (both were in Dublin, and one was a crucial shield match against second-placed Bohemians), the Suirsiders beat Bohemians 4-1 at Dalymount Park to clinch the trophy, and also register an unbeaten record throughout their 11 shield games. The other venue Waterford visited that weekend had witnessed a record goal haul earlier on in the season, when Cork’s Jimmy Munro netted all seven in his side’s 7-3 league win at St. James’s Gate’s Iveagh Grounds.

Due to situations such as the maximum wage in the English league, and an “open door” policy that allowed players to move between the jurisdictions without too much difficulty, the signing of cross-channel players by some Free State League clubs was now very much on the increase. Shelbourne, Cork and Waterford, for example, were very much embracing the new possibilities, and the influx of cross-channel players helped to maintain (or even strengthen) public interest in a league that was still largely dominated by Dublin clubs. Attendances were increasing all the time (crowds of 10,000-15,000 were starting to become the norm for the bigger clubs from the capital), and the fortunes of the league’s representative team also seemed to have been improving as a result of all the new talent that was available.

Free State League 1930-31

PWDLFAPts
Shelbourne221354522231
Dundalk221165644328
Bohemians221075453227
Cork221237554527
Dolphin221147544326
Brideville221066494426
Shamrock Rovers22958544923
Bray Unknowns228410414520
Waterford228311435219
St. James’s Gate227411364818
Drumcondra225512334915
Jacobs22121921724

League top scorers : Alexander Hair Shelbourne, 29 Johnny Blair Cork, 21 David Byrne Shamrock Rovers, 21 Owen McNally Bray Unknowns, 21

Representative match : Free State League 3-1 Welsh League

1929-30 Free State League season

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On the back of a good relationship having been established between the F.A.I.F.S. and the Belgian F.A. in recent times, Bohemians were invited to travel to Belgium in August of 1929 to take part in a pre-season tournament. They registered friendly wins over Charleroi and a ‘Royal Flemish XI’ in advance of the main event, which was called the “Aciéries de’Angleur Tournoi” and was to feature the Dublin club along with three teams from the Liège region. Bohs carried their good form into the competition proper, defeating R.F.C. Tillier by a goal to nil before beating Standard Liège 3-2 and being awarded the trophy.

The top of the league table at the end of December ended up having a somewhat familiar look, with Bohs taking maximum points from their Dalymount Park fixtures to triumph ahead of Shelbourne in second, Shamrock Rovers, and Fordsons (who had this year relocated to Cork’s Mardyke ground) some distance back in fourth. A last-minute David ‘Babby’ Byrne goal saw Shamrock Rovers defeat Brideville (now playing their home games at Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium, having relocated from Richmond Park, Inchicore in late 1929) 1-0 to become the first team to retain the Free State Cup, although Byrne would later admit that he had used his hand to net the all-important goal. Bohemians’ Bill Cleary, meanwhile, set a cup scoring record in his side’s first round clash with Bray Unknowns, when he netted six in the Gypsies’ 7-3 victory over the Wicklow side.

Shelbourne v Shamrock Rovers in a Free State Cup first round replay

Shelbourne’s victory in the Free State Shield after a 2-0 win over second-placed Shamrock Rovers in the penultimate round meant a continuation of the strangehold that they, Rovers and Bohemians had had on that competition since its 1922 inception. The tail-end of the 1929-30 season saw the introduction of a new competition for those three clubs to concern themselves with, the Leinster Football Association launching the first edition of the L.F.A. President’s Cup, which was to be competed for this year by the top four Leinster-based Free State League clubs. The competition got off to a less than ideal start, however, with Shelbourne (who had defeated Brideville) and Shamrock Rovers (who had defeated Bohs) drawing the first President’s Cup final and the intended replay never actually taking place. Each Free State League club was present and correct for the beginning of the 1930-31 season, with the existing teams now being joined by Waterford A.F.C., and also Dolphin F.C. (a club founded by the Dublin Butchers’ Social Union), meaning that a 12-team structure would be in place for the beginning of the new campaign.

Free State League 1929-30

PWDLFAPts
Bohemians181422511830
Shelbourne181413552529
Shamrock Rovers181224442226
Fordsons18837333319
Brideville18837343919
Dundalk G.N.R.18639383615
Drumcondra18558263715
Bray Unknowns18459344813
St. James’s Gate184311303811
Jacobs18031523763

League top scorers : Johnny Ledwidge Shelbourne, 16 Stephen McCarthy Bohemians, 13 David Byrne Shamrock Rovers, 11 Fred Horlacher Bohemians, 11

Representative matches : Free State League 1-6 Irish League, Welsh League 6-1 Free State League

1928-29 Free State League season

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With David ‘Babby’ Byrne having joined during the close season (the former Shamrock Rovers and Bradford City player would receive a wage packet of £4 per week), his 15 league goals were combined with a very miserly defence (which conceded just 12 times) to ensure a second Free State League title for Shelbourne in the 1928-29 season. The Reds would win all nine of their home matches to hold off the challenge of outgoing champions Bohemians (who introduced 19-year old utility player and future club legend Fred Horlacher to their line-up during this season) by a single point, even though the Phibsboro team had also remained unbeaten at home and won each of their last nine league fixtures.

Shamrock Rovers (11-0 winners over Bray Unknowns this season, a record winning margin for a League of Ireland fixture) were the only other side to win more games than they lost this year, with new boys Drumcondra finishing the best of the chasing pack, a full 15 points behind the league champions. Rovers ensured that Bohemians missed out on both of the season’s top prizes, winning a cup final replay (again at Shelbourne Park) 3-0 thanks to two goals from John Joe Flood (who would score a hat-trick for Ireland against Belgium two weeks later) and another from Bob Fullam, following a scoreless draw first time out in Dalymount (it was only the second all-Free State League decider). The latter clubs also vied for this season’s Free State Shield, and with a virtually identical record in the competition (both teams had gone unbeaten, and Bohs’ extra goal scored was the only difference between the sides in the table), a 2-0 play-off victory for Bohemians at Shelbourne Park finally settled the issue.

Rovers defeated Dundalk in a replay to win the final of this season’s Leinster Senior Cup, but it was a game in an earlier round of the competition that had ended up becoming headline news. Recently-crowned champions Shelbourne made a trip across the river to play Drumcondra at Tolka Park, but found themselves two goals in arrears early in the second half. In the midst of a stirring comeback that saw the visitors eventually winning 4-2, a hoarding behind the Drumcondra goal gave way, and some of the large group of supporters that had been positioned on it suffered injuries. The match was allowed to continue, but a number of people had to be taken to hospital, with one young spectator suffering a broken arm and two broken legs.

After two draws and three defeats in previous meetings, the Free State League representative side gained a first victory over their Welsh counterparts this season, with league top scorer Eddie Carroll among those to find the net in a 4-3 Dalymount Park success. The selection panel had been vindicated for choosing form players over some of the league’s more established names, and the Welsh contingent continued their tradition of traveling to play a match in Cork the following afternoon. Although a few more games took place against the Welsh during the first half of the 1930s, the fixture was to more or less disappear from the calendar after that. For the Free State League’s first decade, however, the annual match against the Welsh League was to be something of a defining feature. In an apparent sign that the league was at last beginning to find a sense of stability, there were no demotions or admissions for the beginning of the 1929-30 season.

Free State League 1928-29

PWDLFAPts
Shelbourne181611491233
Bohemians181521612332
Shamrock Rovers181044582824
Drumcondra18747283118
Dundalk G.N.R.18738434417
St. James’s Gate18549374414
Fordsons185310273613
Brideville184311285711
Jacobs182610264810
Bray Unknowns18241224588

League top scorers : Eddie Carroll Dundalk G.N.R., 17 David ‘Babby’ Byrne Shelbourne, 15 Billy Dennis Bohemians, 15

Representative matches : Free State League 4-3 Welsh League, Irish League 2-1 Free State League

1926-27 Free State League season

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In 1926-27, the top four of the previous two seasons again jostled for position, with an unbeaten Shamrock Rovers (who would this year adopt their famous green and white hooped jerseys, and also move to a new Milltown ground, Glenmalure Park) claiming a third league title ahead of Shelbourne, Bohemians and Fordsons. A 3-0 win at Shelbourne Park on the opening day of the season allowed Rovers to steal a march on the previous season’s champions, and the emergence of a talented young striker called David ‘Babby’ Byrne (whose goalscoring form earned a move to Bradford City at the end of the season) had helped the “Hoops” to overcome the loss of star forward Billy Farrell with what would prove to be a career-ending motorcycle accident injury.

None of the top four teams would contest the cup final, with Leinster Senior League side Drumcondra (who had qualified for the cup as inaugural winners of the F.A.I. Intermediate Cup this season) surprisingly overcoming Brideville after a replay at Shelbourne Park to become the second non-league winners of the competition, and complete a unique Intermediate and Senior Cup double. The replay (the first game had, as other years, taken place at Dalymount Park) was the first Free State Cup final to go to extra-time, with Drumcondra’s Johnny Murray (who had represented Bohemians and Ireland at the 1924 Olympics) getting the only goal of the game.

For the fourth year in a row, the league winners went on to capture the Free State Shield, with Shamrock Rovers ensuring the trophy remained in Dublin for the sixth successive season. Rovers had again remained unbeaten, and a 1-0 victory at Shelbourne Park on the very first day of the competition was again to prove crucial, as the Reds had proceeded to win all eight of their remaining shield matches. St. James’s Gate’s ninth-place league finish this year was notable, as it represented a continuation of the deterioration of their league fortunes since their 1922 championship success. In 1927, for the first time since the league began, there would be no changes to the teams involved for the new season, with all 10 clubs re-appearing for the seventh League of Ireland campaign.

Free State League 1926-27

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers181440602032
Shelbourne181332632929
Bohemians181053362425
Fordsons18738343217
Athlone Town18657414317
Bray Unknowns186111375813
Jacobs185310334713
Dundalk G.N.R.18369304012
St. James’s Gate185211304912
Brideville182610223910

League top scorers : David ‘Babby’ Byrne Shamrock Rovers, 17 Jock McMillan Shelbourne, 17 Ned Brooks Athlone Town, 14 Bob Fullam Shamrock Rovers, 14

Representative matches : Irish League 1-1 Free State League, Free State League 1-2 Welsh League

1924-25 Free State League season

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An interesting curtain-raiser for the 1924-25 Free State League season was the visit of a South African team to Dublin to play a match against reigning league champions Bohemians. Dalymount Park was actually the first stop on the itinerary of the visiting ‘Springbok’ side, who played 25 more matches over the next few months as they toured the UK and the Netherlands. A crowd of about 6,000 saw Ned Brooks score twice for Bohemians in a 4-2 defeat, and the South African team went on to enjoy a successful tour that saw them winning 16 matches (they also recorded a 9-1 win over a North-West Ireland XI in Derry) and scoring 83 goals.

Having slipped to seventh the previous season, the return of Bob Fullam and John Joe Flood from Leeds United helped Shamrock Rovers win a second Free State League title this year, with Bohemians and Shelbourne again keeping them company at the top of the table. The return of those players saw the famous “Four F’s” forward line of Fagan, Farrell, Flood and Fullam being assembled for the first time (only Farrell had not been with the club in 1922-23), and the foursome contributed 56 of the club’s 67 league goals this season, as the south Dublin side eclipsed their scoring rate of two seasons ago. The Rovers revival, in fact, took the form of a domestic “treble”, with goals from Fullam and Flood securing a 2-1 victory over Shelbourne in the 1925 Free State Cup decider (the first between two Free State League clubs; it was also the first where takings exceeded those of the I.F.A. Cup final), and the club also getting their hands on the Free State Shield for the first time. A 2-1 win at Dalymount Park on the last day of the shield not only snatched the trophy from Bohemians by a solitary point, but ensured that Rovers went through the entire season unbeaten.

Meanwhile, Fordsons F.C. showed themselves to have been very worthy of their inclusion in the league (they only entered the fray when Shelbourne United resigned their place after the opening day of the season), with a respectable fourth-placed finish for the newcomers. 1925 again saw a change in the league’s make-up, with Brooklyn’s disastrous shield campaign (34 goals were conceded in just nine games) contributing to their exclusion for the following year. Their place was taken by Brideville F.C., a club from the Liberties area on the south side of Dublin city.

Free State League 1924-25

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers181350671231
Bohemians181161401128
Shelbourne181233552027
Fordsons181017353221
Jacobs18819363517
St. James’s Gate18576303617
Athlone Town18549153214
Brooklyn184311245711
Bray Unknowns18331221449
Pioneers18211521655

League top scorers : Billy Farrell Shamrock Rovers, 25 Bob Fullam Shamrock Rovers, 20 Ned Brooks Bohemians 20

Representative match : Free State League 1-2 Welsh League

1922-23 Free State League season

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With the expanded format meaning the league ran from September through to April, Shamrock Rovers stormed to the league title in their very first season, averaging three and a half goals a game, and securing 21 points out of a possible 22 from their away programme. While they did lose their debut league fixture 1-0 at home (Rovers had set themselves up at a ground called “Elm Park” in Milltown in south Dublin, having spent much of their existence playing at Ringsend Park) to fellow newcomers Shelbourne United (the latter club would move into Elm Park with Rovers for the 1923-24 campaign), Rovers proceeded to go unbeaten for the remaining 21 games, and eventually finished five points clear of their nearest challengers Shelbourne. Like Rovers, both Shels and third-placed Bohemians had found goals very easy to come by, with each scoring 72 in their 22 league games. Indeed, this was the first campaign to feature an inordinate amount of one-sided fixtures, with Shelbourne’s 9-0 win over Pioneers (Shels won the teams’ other league meeting 7-0) and Shamrock Rovers’ 9-1 defeat of Midland Athletic being the most extreme examples.

The F.A.I.F.S.’s affiliation with the Falls Road Football Association in nationalist West Belfast led to a surprise in the Free State Cup, with junior Falls Road side Alton United defeating Shelbourne 1-0 in the final (like the previous year, the final took place on St. Patrick’s Day at Dalymount Park). The victory could perhaps be explained by the presence of several former Belfast Celtic players in the side, with the latter club being suspended from the Irish League at the time. Indeed, due to the tense political situation north of the border, the cup was not actually brought back to Belfast, and with the club affiliating to the I.F.A. for the following season, Alton would never actually have the opportunity to defend the trophy.

Shelbourne could take a little consolation from a retention of the Free State Shield following a 2-1 victory over Athlone at Dalymount Park in May, the competition having been run on a straight knockout basis this season. 1922-23 would unfortunately prove to be the only Free State League campaign for Rathmines Athletic (they resigned with one of their league matches still to be completed), with Olympia and Dublin United also bowing out. Brooklyn F.C., yet another Dublin side (they played out of Chalgrove Terrace on the South Circular Road), would be the only new addition for the 1923-24 league season.

Free State League 1922-23

PWDLFAPts
Shamrock Rovers221831771939
Shelbourne221543721434
Bohemians221444722332
Shelbourne United221237433727
St. James’s Gate221138493525
Athlone Town221138463325
Jacobs22688383420
Pioneers228311386519
Midland Athletic227213306816
Dublin United224315307011
Olympia222713135711
Rathmines Athletic22211921745

League top scorers : Bob Fullam Shamrock Rovers, 27 Ralph Ardiff Shelbourne, 26 Stephen Doyle Shelbourne, 14 Paddy Duncan St. James’s Gate, 14 Christy Robinson Bohemians, 14

French side Gallia draw 1-1 with Bohemians at Dalymount Park in March 1923

1921-22 League of Ireland season

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The first League of Ireland season, kicking off in September of 1921, saw St. James’s Gate capturing a league and cup double. The competitions, originally the Football League of Ireland (with, like the British leagues, two points for a win and one for a draw) and the F.A.I. Cup, were renamed the Free State League and Free State Cup in the aftermath of the opening league campaign. This was done in anticipation of the foundation of the new, 26-county southern Irish “Free State”, which, in accordance with the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, was due to come into existence in December of 1922. The F.A.I. itself was to undergo a similar change, becoming the “Football Association of the Irish Free State” (F.A.I.F.S.) upon its successful entry to F.I.F.A. in 1923.

St. James’s Gate had secured both national trophies in rather dramatic circumstances. The league championship race had boiled down to a last-day (December 17th) showdown with second-placed Bohemians at St. James’s Park, a 1-0 “Gate” victory enough to clinch the title by two points, with Shelbourne a further three points back in third. The Free State Cup final (held at Bohemians’ Dalymount Park), meanwhile, almost descended into complete pandemonium. With non-league Shamrock Rovers having forced a replay following an initial 1-1 draw on St. Patrick’s Day (a game that had attracted a very satisfactory crowd of 15,000), a first-half goal from Jack Kelly was enough to see off their spirited challenge in the second match, or so it appeared. An on-field dispute between Rovers’ Bob Fullam and St. James’s Gate’s Charlie Dowdall escalated into full-blown fisticuffs after the final whistle, and with Rovers players and fans taking the opportunity to assault members of the winning team (the incident was typical of the general lawlessness that was prevalent during the aftermath of the Irish Civil War), the fracas continued all the way into the St. James’s Gate dressing room. It was only when Dowdall’s brother Jack (who had seen active military service) fired a gunshot into the ceiling that order was restored. (The format of the Free State Cup was similar to that of the F.A. Cup in Britain, with non-league sides competing in a number of preliminary rounds, before joining up with the Free State League sides for the first round “proper”. The winners of the first round ties then proceeded to the quarter-final stage.)

With the league season having been wrapped up by December, it was decided to provide for the creation of a Free State Shield, which would come to be seen as the third most important competition in Irish Free State football. The tournament initially ran from December to April, and took the form of a full league programme for the inaugural season, with each Free State League club facing each other twice. The inaugural Free State Shield was won by Shelbourne, who, bar two defeats by second-placed Bohemians (who collected full points from their Dalymount Park outings, and conceded just seven goals in their entire shield programme), recouped maximum points from their 14 shield fixtures.

It had perhaps been no surprise that only Bohemians and Shelbourne had mounted realistic challenges to St. James’s for that first league title. The campaign would prove to be the first and only season for Frankfort (they resigned with three of their shield games still unplayed) and Y.M.C.A., the latter having failed to record a single league victory, taking just three draws from their 14 league games. Shamrock Rovers, who had been formed in the Ringsend / Irishtown (they took their name from nearby Shamrock Avenue) area of Dublin as far back as 1901, would be one of six new league recruits for 1922-23. Of the others, Shelbourne United (with no links to Shelbourne F.C., this club played at Angelsea Road, Ballsbridge for their first season), Pioneers (who drew from membership of the alcoholic abstinence organisation of the same name, and played out of Strand Road, Clontarf for their first season), Midland Athletic (a railway works team based at “The Thatch” in Whitehall; they would share the venue with Pioneers from 1923 onwards) and Rathmines Athletic (based at Rathmines Park) were also from Dublin, while Athlone Town (one of the oldest clubs in the Free State, having been established in 1887; their first home was the Sports Ground) had the distinction of being the first Free State League side from outside the capital city.

League of Ireland 1921-22

PWDLFAPts
St. James’s Gate14111231823
Bohemians141013351321
Shelbourne14824312118
Olympia14545202114
Jacobs14446232712
Frankfort14356223211
Dublin United14509253910
Y.M.C.A.14031117433

League top scorers : Jack Kelly St. James’s Gate, 11 Paddy Smith Jacobs, 10 E. Pollock Bohemians, 9

Bohemians play a pre-season friendly against a Falls League selection