Bohemians entered the new season as champions and were fancied to retain their crown after their clean-sweep the previous year. The league remained at 10 teams with Athlone Town, who had finished bottom and been on the end of a number of drubbings failing to be re-elected to the League and their place being taken by Drumcondra who had been Cup winners in 1927 and beaten finalists a year later.

It was one of the tightest title races ever with a ding-dong battle between Shelbourne and Bohs for the Championship, despite only losing once and drawing twice in the League campaign Shelbourne pipped Bohs to the title by a single point. David “Babby” Byrne and Jock McMillan supplying the goals while Shels had also added Bob Thomas, a star of the all-conquering Bohs the previous season to their midfield where he’d play alongside his brother Paddy.

For Bohemians Billy Dennis was once more top scorer but getting in among the goals was a young inside-left named Fred Horlacher who made his debut that season and would go on to become one of the greatest players in the club’s history. The son of a Mormon, German, pork-butcher Freddie Horlacher would play in numerous positions for Bohs as well as making several appearances for Ireland in a career that would see him become one of the club’s highest ever goalscorers.

Top scorer in the League overall however, was Eddie Carroll (left), a former Northern Ireland international who had spent the previous seasons playing in Scotland for Aberdeen and Dundee United, Carroll was in his first of three spells with Dundalk.

There was further disappointment in the Cup for Bohemians, despite knocking out St. James’s Gate, Jacobs and Drumcondra on the way to the final, we were ultimately defeated in a replay by Shamrock Rovers as they won their first of five consecutive Cup titles. The initial final had been played at Dalymount and ended in a 0-0 draw, however the replay was moved to Shelbourne Park and Rovers would triumph on the southside 3-0, with two goals from John Joe Flood and one from veteran forward Bob Fullam.

Bohemians would get a modicum of revenge when they defeated Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in a test match to settle the winner of the League of Ireland Shield later that season. Although Bohs were comfortable winners in that game with Jimmy White grabbing both goals it was Rovers teenage forward Paddy Moore who caught the eye of a Cardiff City scout who signed up the prodigious talent the following month.

At Inter-league level the LOI had mixed fortunes, beating the Welsh League 4-3 in Dublin, with Johnny McMahon and Peter Kavanagh of Bohs getting three of the goals, but then losing to the Irish League 2-1 later the same season. At international level Ireland only played one game, a resounding 4-0 victory over Belgium in April 1929 front of 30,000 fans in Dalymount. John Joe Flood scored a hat-trick with Babby Byrne getting the other goal. Jimmy Bermingham was the sole Bohemian in the starting XI for Ireland that day. Just four months later Bermingham and his Bohs teammates would be part of a visit to Belgium that would see them enjoy further success.

For the 1927-28 season click here.