Month: March 2016

Bohemians during Easter 1916

Posted on by gerrytastic

In April 1916 Bohemians were coming to the end of a season disrupted by war, but in which they were rewarded yet again with the Leinster Senior Cup, their fifteenth win in twenty years. It took two attempts to secure the trophy from old rivals, Shelbourne. The first was on St Patrick’s Day, a scoreless draw watched by 6,000 spectators, the second on 1st April.
No Dublin clubs took part in the Irish League that season due to the war and several Bohemian players had enlisted with the army. But the club insisted that football should continue and they managed to maintain Dalymount Park as a playing pitch when some rugby and cricket grounds were taken over for relief works.

Half-back Josh Rowe was with the East Surrey Regiment and was wounded many times. At the end of March he was reported to be returning to duty after convalescence and, it was said, “he hopes to play football again”. Full-back J.J. Doyle had joined the Officer Training Corps in early 1916 but got leave to play for Bohemians in the Irish Cup semi-final, which Bohemians lost to Glentoran in Belfast.

Also involved in that cup campaign was outside-left Harry Willits, who was team captain in 1915-16. An English-born civil servant, he played during 1916 both for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers’ regimental team and for Bohemians. By the start of the next season, however, he was at the war front with the Dublin Fusiliers and in November 1916 was reported as wounded. He survived and was back with Bohemians in 1917-18. Bohemians’ squad in 1916, coached by the everlasting Charlie Harris, included two internationals, Billy McConnell and Johnny McDonnell, whose 1915 Irish shirt hangs today in the JJ Bar at Dalymount Park. Others included regular goal-scorers Ned Brooks and Dinny Hannon, and defender Bert Kerr, who had joined in 1915 and was to have a notable career with Bohemians, including as team captain. He also had a remarkable career as a pioneer in the Irish bloodstock industry.

On Easter Monday 1916, a Bohemian team travelled to Athlone to play an end-of-season friendly, as they had done for several years. So friendly was it that McDonnell and Hannon played for Athlone, in a team that included several army officers. (Hannon later won the Free State Cup with Athlone Town.) Neither team can have been aware of what was happening in Dublin as they played their game in bad weather (3-2 for Bohemians) and were later entertained at the Imperial Hotel and at a dance at the Commercial Quadrille Class. “The Bohemians expressed themselves highly pleased with their visit,” the Westmeath Independent reported. However, the trip was to end less pleasantly for the Bohemian team. Due to the Rising, train services were disrupted from Mullingar, and they had to arrange car transport back to the capital.

Their late return was reported in the Irish Times among the repercussions of the Rising: “Some of the [Bohemian team] members who lived on the south side of the city had to stay in Phibsborough for the [Wednesday] night and, after walking via Islandbridge, Kilmainham, Goldenbridge, Rialto, Crumlin and Dolphin’s Barn, these did not get home until Friday (April 28), at 1.30 p.m.”

While the Bohemian party were concerned about getting back to the city from Athlone the rebels were worried about the arrival of British Army reinforcements from the same location. Many of the sites occupied by the rebels were chosen for their ability to delay the troops coming into the city, most notably the engagement with the Sherwood Foresters at Mount Street bridge.

Bohs 1916 pic3

In Phibsborough members of B Company of the Dublin Brigade built barricades on the railway bridges on the Cabra Road and North Circular Road close to St. Peter’s Church. They even went as far as to try and blow up both bridges with gelignite.
While B Company was able to hold off a number of attacks from small arms and machine gun-fire, the arrival of artillery onto the Cabra Road (outside what is now the Deaf Village) and the use of shrapnel-loaded shells raining down on the bridges just yards from Dalymount Park and as far down as Doyle’s Corner meant that the Volunteers could not hold their positions. A number of civilians were killed by over-shooting shells, while 15-year-old Fianna Éireann scout Sean Healy was shot dead outside his Phibsborough home.
The rebels eventually abandoned their positions hoping to link up with Thomas Ashe in Finglas but by the time they got there he and his men had already left for Meath and the Battle of Ashbourne. Many of B Company found their way back into the city and some joined the garrison in the GPO and then Moore Street.

While there is no record of Bohemians fighting with the 1916 rebels, some Bohemians did work in the British administration during that period. Highest-placed of these was founder member Andrew P. Magill. He was an 18-year-old clerk in the Land Commission when he attended the club’s first meeting, and later a clerk in the office of the Chief Secretary for Ireland. He rose to become private secretary to Chief Secretary Augustine Birrell, who resigned in May 1916 after failing to predict or take preventative action to stop the Rising. Magill later worked in the post-partition civil service of Northern Ireland.
While Magill was serving the Chief Secretary, fellow-Bohemian Joe Irons, an army reserve who was called up when World War 1 broke out, was posted to the Vice-Regal Lodge in Phoenix Park, to what is now Áras an Úachtaráin, to protect the Viceroy.

This article was co-written and researched with Brian Trench for the Bohemian FC website where it appeared in March 2016. In later articles we will look further into the life and career of Harry Willits, report on other Bohemians who fought in World War 1, and tell the stories of some Bohemians who were IRA volunteers in the War of Independence.

The history of Talbot Street

Posted on by gerrytastic

As part of a new work-related project I’m involved in around the Talbot Street area (stay tuned for more on this later) I’ve decided to look at the history of the Street and its surrounds. The street we know today as Talbot Street emerged in the early 19th Century and it reflected the style and design of that time. The Wide Street Commission was doing important work redesigning the centre of Dublin, it was shifting the city’s axis eastward and creating the broad boulevards that we know today like Dame Street, Westmoreland Street and D’Olier Street.

The Chief commissioner of the Commission was a man named John Beresford who was brother-in-law to Luke Gardiner whose family owned huge tracts of land in the North of city. These lands, known as the Gardiner Estate, included the area we know today as Talbot Street and the wider Gardiner family gave their name to many of the streets we know in the area today, such as Gardiner Street, Mountjoy Square, and Montgomery Street (now Foley Street), which infamously became known as the “Monto” red light district during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Talbot Map

One of the earliest developers in the area was Henry Moore, the Earl of Drogheda, who in the late 17th Century developed the upper end of what we know today as O’Connell Street, as well as Henry Street and North Earl Street, modestly deciding to name all the streets after himself. The earliest incarnation of Talbot Street was known as North Cope Street and had such lovely attractions as the Cow Pock Institution, which opened in 1804 to treat sufferers of Cow Pox. A fairly horrible contagious disease that could be transmitted from livestock to humans!

The more modern Talbot Street appears on William Duncan’s map from 1821 and the area sees some rapid development over the next few decades. In 1846 Connolly Train station (then known simply as Amiens Street station) opened its doors. It was constructed for the Drogheda and Dublin Railway Company and was the first of the four major Dublin Railway stations to be built. The commanding central tower of the station can be seen the length of Talbot Street as far down as O’Connell Street. This was followed with the prominent railway bridge that cuts across Talbot Street in 1891. The area became, over time, even more of a transport hub when the Busáras station opened on Store Street in 1953 and then in 2004 the Luas Red line started to run with stops on Lower Abbey Street, Store Street and at Connolly Station. The area is now arguably the most well connected area for transport in the country which explains one of the reasons that it is so popular with visitors with a proliferation of hotels and backpacker hostels in the district such as the Ripley Court, Isaac’s hostel and The Celtic Lodge.

Molloys

While the area is well known as a key historic shopping area, with famous traditional Dublin names like Guiney’s, FX Buckley Butchers, O’Neill’s Shoes and many more, it is also home to quality restaurants like 101 Talbot and Le Bon Crubeen. While around the corner is the world-renowned Abbey Theatre. The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world and played a central role in the cultural revival of the early 20th Century and many key moments in the early decades of the State. Beyond the other boundary of Talbot Street on Marlborough Street lies St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral. Across the road from this bishropic seat are the fine, impressive grounds of the Department of Education which was originally the site of the first stone-built mansion in Dublin, Tyrone House, which still stands there to this day. The Richard Cassells’s designed building was purchased by the state in 1835 and is now home to the Model School and the Scoil Caoimhín Gaelscoil. All of this shows the often overlooked architectural gems that are dotted around the Talbot Street area. Sure did you know that there was even a Welsh language Church on the street?!

FXB

During its history the street has been associated with a number of dramatic and tragic events from the death of Sean Tracey in a gun battle in front of what is now the Wooden Whisk cafe. Sean was one of the men who fired what could be viewed as the first shots of the War of Independence during the Solohedbeg ambush in Tipperary, 1918. At the time the Wooden Whisk was a shop that provided uniforms for the Volunteers. The street also witnessed one of the darkest days of the Troubles in 1974 as it was targeted as part of a coordinated bombing attack on the city. But the area has always bounced back, today Talbot Street is a link between the main transport hubs like Connolly Station, the IFSC and docklands and with areas further west like Henry Street and Capel Street while still retaining an appeal all its own. Of late we’ve profiled all the different places to dine in the area while several new companies have opened offices in the area bringing an influx of new workers and an extra vibrancy to the area.

Originally posted to DublinTown in March 2016

The Liberty Hall 1916 Banners

Posted on by gerrytastic

You may have noticed over the last weekend if you were strolling down by the Liffey that the towering edifice of Liberty Hall has gotten a bit of a make-over.

Draped over the different sides of the building are graphic representations of the build-up to the Rising, the action of the Rising itself and its aftermath. A number of the panels are based on the artwork of the renowned Irish artist Robert Ballagh and they have been erected by the SIPTU Trade Union.

Depicted on the various panels are images of the Citizen Army mustering at the old Liberty Hall ahead of the Rising, a depiction of the famous Starry Plough flag, a penal showing an injured James Connolly in the GPO and another of his execution in Kilmainham Gaol. Other images shown include the women of the ICA, a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and also the site of the Rebels imprisonment in Frongoch in North Wales.

A similar, visually impressive set of banners were displayed on the building to commemorate the 1913 Lock-out and it’s great to see such towering artistry in the city again for the 1916 Commemorations.

Originally published on DublinTown in March 2016

 

 

League of Ireland International XI

Posted on by gerrytastic

A good while back I did up a League of Ireland International XI elsewhere on this blog. It seemed to go down well and provoked a little bit of discussion. My previous version featured those players who had been capped by other nations and had featured in league football in Ireland, it included the likes of George Best, Bobby Charlton, Uwe Seeler and of course Avery John. That post deliberately excluded Irish internationals but I’d like to redress this by compiling my Irish International League of Ireland XI. My criteria are that all players included have to have been capped for Ireland while playing for a club in the League of Ireland. I’ve focused on players from the immediate years after the split with the IFA right up to the modern day. I’ve tried to represent various different eras basing much on pieces of research and reportage and the input of various older football fans. As always this is just a personal selection of players I like or that interest me so this will obviously reflect my own bias and interest but hopefully might create a bit of discussion, hence the sizeable bench! Anyway in goal I’ve gone for….

 

Goalkeeper – Alan Kelly Sr. (Drumcondra, 47 caps):  A man with a strong claim to be one Alan Kellyof Ireland’s greatest ever keepers and a founder of somewhat of an Irish goalkeeping dynasty. (Not the only one mind, hello to the Hendersons) Alan Kelly Sr. was a FAI Cup winner and a League champion with Drumcondra during their 1950’s heyday when he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland as they defeated World Champions Germany 3-0 in Dalymount Park. Before long a move to Preston North End beckoned and he spent 14 years as a player at Deepdale making a club record 513 appearances, including an impressive performance in the 1964 FA Cup final where the unfancied Preston were deafeated 3-2 by the West Ham of Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst. Such was his importance at Preston that in 2001 a redeveloped stand was named after him. Kelly would later manager Preston and would assist John Giles during his managerial reign as well as being caretaker manager for Ireland during a 2-0 win over Switzerland.

Right-back – Paddy Mulligan (Shamrock Rovers, 50 caps, 1 goal): Paddy was already a four-time FAI cup winner and an Irish international by the time he left Shamrock Rovers to head to West London and the glamorous surroundings of one of Chelsea’s pre-Abramovich high-points. While at Chelsea he tasted European glory as Chelsea beat the Paddy Mulliganmight of Real Madrid 3-2 on aggregate in the Cup Winners Cup final before moving onto Crystal Palace and later West Bromwich Albion, managed at the time by his international team-mate Johnny Giles. While Paddy finished his career with a very respectable 50 caps he didn’t have the easiest start to his international career, he was a part-timer with Shamrock Rovers while also holding down a job with the Irish National Insurance Company when he was called up to the Irish squad in 1966, his employers weren’t too happy about his decision to travel with the squad to face Austria and Belgium and he was issued with an official warning by the company directors!

 

Centre Back – Al Finucane (Limerick, 11 caps): An elegant, ball playing centre-half Al Finucane  won all of his 11 international caps while on the books of his home-town club Limerick. However his time in the green of his country coincided with a dreadful run of results and his international record reads played 11, won 0, drew 1, lost 10. There was to far most success on the domestic front where he captained Limerick to two FAI Cups (1971 & 1982 when he was 39!) as well as lifting the famous old trophy with Waterford in 1980. Only the second player to achieve this after Johnny Fullam who captained both Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians to victory. Finucane’s longevity was astonishing and along the way he picked up a number of records in his 28 year League of Ireland career including the record number of appearances by any player in the league and also becoming the oldest player ever to play in a UEFA competition. At the age of 43 years 261 days he lined out for Waterford United against Bordeaux in the Cup Winners Cup, breaking a record previously held by Dino Zoff. His final game was at the age of 45 for Newcastlewest.

Al finucane

 Centre Back – Con Martin (Drumcondra, 30 caps, 6 goals): Con Martin made his first two international appearances as a Drumcondra player and in somewhat unexpected circumstances as a goalkeeper. His first appearance came as a substitute away to Portugal. Con_Martin_(1956)With Ireland trailing 3-0, thanks in no small part to the prolific Sporting striker Fernando Peyroteo, the Irish keeper Ned Courtney is forced to go off injured. Courtney kept goal for Cork United and was an officer in the Irish Army, he had also won a Munster title in Gaelic Football with Cork. Brought on in his place was Con Martin, who at the time was in the Irish Air Corps and had also won a provincial GAA football title, with Dublin in 1941, he kept a clean sheet for the remainder of the game and started in goal in the next match, a 1-0 victory over Spain. Martin was a hugely versatile player, he lined out as a centre half for Drumcondra he played almost an entire season in goal later in his career for Aston Villa and also regularly played as a half back or at inside forward. He was a regular penalty taker for Ireland and it was Con Martin who opened the scoring in the ground-breaking 2-0 win over England at Goodison Park.

Left Back – Mick Hoy (Dundalk, 6 caps): While the selection of the likes of James McClean and Marc Wilson has generated some ire with those in the IFA they are certainly not the first men born north of the border to play for an FAI selection. Mick was born in Tandragee, Co. Armagh and began his career at Glenavon before moving south to Dundalk in 1937 the same year he made his international debut in a 3-2 defeat to Nroway. He started that game alongside his fellow Dundalk team-mate Joey Donnelly. Mick won five further caps and his debut was to be the only game where he finished on the losing side. His final match for Ireland was the 1-1 draw away to Germany in 1939, the nation’s final international fixture before the outbreak of War.

Midfield – John Giles (Shamrock Rovers, 59 caps, 5 goals): To celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2004 UEFA asked each of its member associations to select their greatest player of the preceding 50 years. The FAI selected Johnny Giles. While there will always beJohn Giles
differences of opinion regarding the selection of any one player over another there would be a general consensus that Giles was worthy of the accolade. He was a FA Cup winner with Man Utd in 1963 before moving to Leeds where he won two league titles, another FA Cup, a League Cup and two Inter-City Fairs Cups and played in the final of the 1975 European Cup where Leeds finished runners-up to Bayern Munich. Only two years after playing in that final Giles was lining out as player-manager for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland where he was attempting to make Rovers not only a force in Ireland but also in Europe with the introduction of a full-time, professional ethos, the “Milltown project” as it was dubbed by some. While this approach did yield an FAI Cup in 1978 it yielded little else in terms of silverware. During this time however Giles was a very busy man. As well as being player-manager at Rovers he was also the national team player-manager and also spent a summer in 1978 playing in the NASL for Philadelphia Fury! During this time he continued to add to his caps total, his final game coming in 1979 at the age of 38.

Midfield – Frank O’Neill (Shamrock Rovers, 20 caps, 1 goal): Frank O’Neill is the most capped League of Ireland player in history with a total of 20 to his name. All of these came during his time at Shamrock Rovers.Frank O'Neill Despite treading the well-worn path going from Home Farm schoolboy to England, joining Arsenal aged just 18 it was as one the classiest players in Rovers’ “Cup Kings” sides that he made his name. After only two league appearances for the Gunners, O’Neill, then aged 21 joined Rovers on their Summer 1961 tour of North American where they took part in the grandly titled Bill Cox International Soccer League against the likes of Dukla Prague, Red Star Belgrade and Monaco. O’Neill impressed grabbing six goals in seven games after which he was signed for £3,000. O’Neill would make over 300 appearances for Rovers, winning a league title as well as six consectutive FAI Cups, mostly playing on the right wing. His international career coincided with a downturn in the national team’s fortunes though there were highlights including the scoring of his only international goal against Turkey in a 2-1 victory.

Midfield – Mick Martin (Bohemian FC, 51 caps, 4 goals): The second member of the prolific Martin football family in our team, Mick, son of Con began his career at Dalymount Park with Bohemians. His early international career didn’t get off to a great start as he was selected by new manager Liam Touhy for his début in a 6-0 defeat to Austria. The Irish Mick Martinteam that day was comprised of League of Ireland players as the match had been scheduled just a day after a full English league fixture programme. He also made a number of appearances at the Brazil Independence Cup while still of Bohs player, scoring in a 3-2 win over Ecuador. Better was to come for Martin, he got to mark Pelé as part of a Bohs/Drumcondra select that took on Santos and shortly afterwards secured a move to Manchester United and later joining Johnny Giles at West Brom. In his club career he is probably most associated with Newcastle United, who he joined for £100,000 in 1978. He was hugely popular with the St. James’s Park faithful who dubbed him “Zico” and he got to play alongside the likes of Kevin Keegan and a young Chris Waddle during his time there.

Forward – Jimmy Dunne (Shamrock Rovers, 15 caps, 13 goals): Jimmy Dunne began and ended his playing career at Shamrock Rovers. In his first spell at the club the Ringsend native didn’t manage to get much playing time due to the dominance of Rovers’ “Four Fs” forward line of “Juicy” Farrell, Jack “Kruger” Fagan, Bob Fullam and John Joe Flood though when he did get a look in he usually scored. JIMMYDUNNE A move to New Brighton (a now defunct club on Merseyside) in the old Third Division North followed, as did the goals. He joined First Division Sheffield United in 1926 though he had to bide his time before getting a prolonged run in the first team. However he exploded into life in the 1929-30 season scoring 42 goals in 43 games and winning his first cap for Ireland (he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Belgium) that year as well. Dunne however wouldn’t be released by United for further fixtures (though he was allowed to play 7 times for the IFA selection) during his prolific scoring exploits over the next few years and he wouldn’t win a second cap until 1936 when he was playing for Arsenal by which stage he had fallen down the pecking order at Highbury due to the arrival of Ted Drake. A season at Southampton followed before Jimmy or “Snowy” as he was known to some returned to Dublin and to Shamrock Rovers in 1937 at the age of 32. It was while on the books of Rovers that Dunne would win nine of his 15 caps and score five of his international goals. Dunne still has by far the best scoring ratio for Ireland of any player who has scored 10+ goals at 0.87 goals per game and one wonders what his stats would have been like had he been made available to play for Ireland during his peak years at Sheffield United.

Forward – Glen Crowe (Bohemian FC, 2 caps): The best striker that I’ve personally Glen Crowewitnessed in the League of Ireland and the most recent player to feature on this list. Crowe during the years of his peak was unplayable for opposing defences, he had strength, aerial ability and a cracking shot. He’s Bohs record league goalscorer, FAI Cup scorer and European scorer and was the League’s top scorer three years running. He’s also won 5 league titles (4 with Bohs, 1 with Shels) and two FAI Cups. At international level he featured against Greece under care-taker manager Don Givens and then again early in the reign of Brian Kerr in a cameo appearance against Norway.

 

Forward – Alfie Hale (Waterford, 14 caps, 2 goals): The Hale’s are one of the great football families in Waterford, a Alfieplace that has given us plenty of them, including the Coads, the Fitzgeralds and the Hunts. Alfie’s father (Alfie Snr.) had been part of the first Waterford side to compete at League of Ireland level and at one stage formed an entire half back line for the club along with his brothers Tom and John in the 1930’s. Alfie Jnr. was born in 1939 and began his career with his hometown club before a somewhat peripatetic existence brought him to Aston Villa, where he would win his first international cap against Austria, and later to Doncaster Rovers where he would spend the majority of his stay in Britain. After seven years away Hale returned to Waterford where he was joined by Johnny Matthews and a little later by keeper Peter Thomas as part of a team that would dominate the League of Ireland, bringing five titles to the south coast between 1967 and 1973. Alfie’s final game for Ireland was as a Waterford United player in 1973 at the age of 34 when he came on to replace Don Givens in a 1-0 victory over a Polish side that had just finished ahead of England in World Cup qualifying.

XI

 

Subs: Peter Thomas (Waterford) Tommy McConville (Dundalk & Waterford) Johnny Fullam (Shamrock Rovers) Willie Browne (Bohemians) Shay Brennan (Waterford), Peter Farrell (Shamrock Rovers), Tommy Eglinton (Shamrock Rovers) Joe O’Reilly (Brideville, St. James Gate) Paddy Coad (Shamrock Rovers) Paddy Moore (Shamrock Rovers) Pat Byrne (Shamrock Rovers) Paddy Bradshaw (St. James Gate) Jason Byrne (Shelbourne)

*a note on the layout, I’ve listed players’ Irish clubs when they received their international caps only but have listed their total number of caps won at all of their clubs.