Month: June 2022

A club for all seasons – 1924-25

Posted on by gerrytastic

For the 1924-25 season the League of Ireland remained a 10- team league, Midland Athletic – the railway works team withdrew from the league, as did Shelbourne United, who withdrew just after the season had started. The League however, took on a more nationally representative characteristic with two non-Dublin clubs joining. The wonderfully named Bray Unknowns, (though still playing just over the county border in Dublin before reverting to the Carlisle Grounds a few seasons later), and Fordsons of Cork City.

Fordsons had been beaten in the previous season’s Cup Final and were associated with the Ford Factory, but they may never have become a sporting power if it wasn’t for Harry Buckle being thrown in Belfast Lough. Buckle was an Ireland international (IFA) who had starred for Sunderland but was back in his native Belfast working for Harland and Wolff. As a Catholic he had been subjected to sectarian attacks and decided to swap the shipyards for the Ford Factory. While there he helped re-establish the Munster FA and drive forward Fordsons to become Cork’s first (but not last) league of Ireland side where they’d finish a credible fourth in their debut season. His son Bobby Buckle, and great-grandson Dave Barry would also enjoy soccer success on Leeside.

Harry Buckle

At the top of the League it was Bohs and Rovers battling it out for supremacy and despite only losing once during the 18-game season Bohemians had to settle for 2nd place in the table. Shamrock Rovers went through the league season undefeated, with their famous “Four F” forward line propelling them to victory with a +55 goal difference. Top scorer that year was Billy “Juicy” Farrell with 25 goals and the other “F”s being Bob Fullam (who we met in an earlier instalment) Jack “Kruger” Fagan and John Joe “Slasher” Flood. Footballers and fans of the 20s clearly enjoyed the use of nicknames! Bohs top scorer that year was Ned Brooks, who we met in the last article after he had scored a hat-trick against the USA on his Ireland debut.

In the Cup Rovers made it a double with Fullam and Flood scoring in a 2-1 win over Shelbourne in front of 23,000 in Dalymount Park on St. Patrick’s Day 1925. Both teams were still playing in their original homes around Ringsend so the cup final made for something of a super-local derby.

Just three days before the Cup final the LOI had played its second ever inter-league game, once again the Welsh League provided the opposition with Bohemians’ Dave Roberts getting the only goal for the league as they lost 2-1 to their Welsh counterparts.

Roberts was to have an eventful season the following season but most of it would be spent away from Dalymount.

A club for all seasons – 1923-24

Posted on by gerrytastic

Second and third place finishes saw Bohs begin the first years of the League of Ireland as nearly men, despite being one of the most well-established sides in the new league. The third season however, would finally deliver some major silverware to Dalymount in the form of the clubs first League title as well as winning the League of Ireland Shield.

Joining an experienced group were some newcomers; adding firepower to the Bohs’ forward line was Englishman Dave Roberts who had previously played for Walsall and Shrewsbury Town. Roberts would finish the league season as its top scorer with 20 goals, followed by his teammate, the skilful inside forward Christy Robinson with 12. There were goals throughout the Bohs side that year with Mick O’Kane registering eight, and another recent arrival Billy Otto getting five from midfield.

Otto, the captain for that title winning season, had been born on Robben Island just off Cape Town and had ended up in Ireland via the trenches of the Somme and later a Civil Service job in Dublin. He led Bohs to victory as they would finish four points clear of their nearest rivals Shelbourne, clinching the league title by beating St. James’s Gate with a game to spare.

Dublin United, Olympia and Rathmines United had all exited the league that season, with only Brooklyn (named after Brooklyn Terrace off the South Circular Road) joining what was now a 10-team league.
In the Cup it was Athlone Town who triumphed in the St. Patrick’s Day final, they defeated Cork side Fordsons 1-0 with a goal coming from their veteran forward Dinny Hannon who had been a part of the Bohemian side who had won the Irish Cup way back in 1908. Athlone had knocked Bohs out in the semi-final that year and amazingly won the cup without conceding a goal in the entire competition.

At international level February 1924 saw the first League of Ireland XI play an inter-league match, an exciting 3-3 draw with the Welsh League at Dalymount, the LOI side featured five Bohemians that day; Bertie Kerr, Johnny McIlroy, Christy Robinson, Harry Willits and Dave Roberts who scored two of the League’s three that day. Of those players Robinson and Kerr would be selected to represent Ireland in football at the 1924 Olympics along with their fellow Bohemians Jack McCarthy, Johnny Murray, John Thomas and Ernie Crawford. Ireland opened the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Bulgaria thanks to a Paddy Duncan goal before exiting at the quarter final stage to the Netherlands who won 2-1 after extra time.

Ireland v USA in Dalymount, 1924

Further international games were arranged by the FAI including a 3-1 win over Estonia in a friendly in Paris directly after elimination at the Olympics as well as a first home international, another 3-1, this time over the United States in Dalymount in June 1924. The star of the show was hat-trick hero Ned Brooks of Bohemians who had helped the club to success in the League of Ireland Shield a few months earlier.

To read about the 1924-25 season click here.