SHELBOURNE TRIVIA!
Did you know that…
… the club’s first senior trophy was won in 1900 in the City and
Suburban Grounds on Jones Road, where Croke Park now stands? The opponents were
local rivals, Freebooters.
… in September 1901, Shelbourne played in the first ever game in
Dalymount Park? The opponents, unsurprisingly, were Bohemians, who won 4-2.
… Shelbourne legend and Irish international, Val Harris, also won
a GAA All-Ireland winners’ medal with Dublin in 1901?
… Partick Thistle was the first foreign club that Shelbourne ever
played? The result was a 2-1 friendly win for the Reds in the 1903/04 season.
… Shelbourne became a professional club in September 1905?
… Shelbourne was the first team from the south of Ireland to win
the IFA Cup when they defeated Belfast Celtic in 1906?
…Billy Synnott was the first player to be transferred abroad from
an Irish club when, in 1906, he joined the English Second Division club,
Glossop North End from Shelbourne?
… one-time Shelbourne goalkeeper Matt “Ginger” Reilly was
responsible for the introduction of the rule that a goalkeeper cannot handle
the ball outside of his area? Matt, who played for Shelbourne between 1907 and
1909, was a former Gaelic footballer and was known for his habit of bouncing
the ball up to half-way, while swerving around his opponents.
… Shelbourne secretary, Basil Mainey, was the first-ever secretary
of the FAI?
…both Shamrock Rovers goals in the 1925 Cup Final against
Shelbourne were scored by ex-Reds players - Bob Fullam and John Flood. Bob had
also played in the 1920 Shelbourne team that won the IFA Cup, as had Alec
Kirkland – the third former Shelbourne player to represent the Hoops in the
1925 Final.
… Shelbourne’s Mick ‘Boxer’ Foley captained the first full FAI
international team in March 1926? The opponents were Italy, the venue was
Turin, and the result was a 3-0 defeat.
… Shelbourne was represented by at least one player in the first
eight full FAI international matches?
… as a Shelbourne player, Billy Lacey became the oldest player to
ever make his debut for Ireland, when selected to face Italy in 1926 at the age
of 37 and then the oldest player to ever represent Ireland when he played
against Belgium in 1930 at the age of 41? Billy had earlier won 23 IFA caps and
went on to coach Ireland in the 1930s.
… Tom Priestly did not play in the 1939 Cup Final against Sligo
Rovers because it fell on a Sunday? Fortunately for him, Sammy Smyth scored a
late equaliser and Tom was restored to the side that won 1-0 in the replay.
… Shelbourne’s first win over English opposition came in 1948 with
a 3-1 friendly victory over Everton?
… Shelbourne first played abroad in 1951 when they competed in a
Festival of Britain tournament, in which they won once, drew once, and lost
twice against English and Welsh competition?
… Tommy Carberry scored in every round of the 1951 FAI Cup
competition? Sadly, the Reds lost the final in a replay.
… Peter Keely, father of
former team manager, Dermot, played almost 200 first team games for Shelbourne
between 1944 and 1955?
… the legendary Manchester United full-back, Tony Dunne actually
won his first senior medal in the FAI Cup Final of 1960 while playing in the
red of Shelbourne? As it happened, Tony moved to Old Trafford that summer for a
fee of £5,000.
… Jimmy O’Connor set the current world record for the fastest ever
hat-trick when he scored three goals in the space of two minutes and fourteen
seconds against Bohemians in November 1967? These second-half goals saw
Shelbourne recover from being 2-0 down to win 3-2. It actually took thirty
years and a concerted campaign by the club, friends, and family for the feat to
gain official recognition! (Click here for a photo and a description of the
goals.)
… the Reds played in the only FAI Cup Final to be held outside of
Dublin? It was the 1973 Cup Final replay, which was staged in Flower Lodge,
Cork. Unfortunately for the Reds, Cork Hibernians won the game 1-0.
… both Paul McNaughton (80 league and cup appearances) and Barry
McGann (6 league and cup appearances) also played international rugby for
Ireland?
… the club first wore shirt sponsorship in the 1980/81 season? The
sponsor was bookmaker Kenny O’Reilly.
… in the last match of the 1984/85 season, Shelbourne staged a
second-half recovery from 2-0 down away to Galway to win 3-2 and thus avoid
relegation that season?
… Shelbourne were the first club to be ever eliminated on
penalties from the FAI Cup when they were so beaten by Bray Wanderers in 1990?
Bray went on to win the Cup that year with a 3-0 win over St. Francis.
… in 1992, Pat Byrne (Personality of the Year) and Tony
McCarthy (PFAI Young Player of the Year) were the first representatives of
Shelbourne to receive such end-of-season awards?
… Tavria Simeropol, Shelbourne’s 1992 European Champions’ Cup opponents,
actually bribed their way to the previous season’s Ukrainian league title? In
“Football Against the Enemy” by Simon Kuper, Russian journalist, Vsevolod
Kukushkin makes the following comment on the matter:
“Their coach – well, he is not really their coach, but he is a
good dealer.”
…
Shelbourne played in the first-ever National League game to be televised live by
RTE when they drew 1-1 in a top-of-the-table clash with Derry City in 1997?
Derry went on to win the title that year.
… Tony Sheridan is the only player to have won the
“Man-of-the-Match” award in two consecutive Cup Finals for his performances for
Shelbourne against St. Patrick’s Athletic in 1996 and Derry City in 1997
respectively?
…
with ten defeats, Shelbourne has lost the most FAI Cup Finals ever? In comparison, Shamrock Rovers has lost eight
and Waterford United, six. On the other hand, the Reds have won seven times, a
feat only bettered by Dundalk (nine times) and the Cup specialists, Shamrock
Rovers (twenty-four times).
… Mark Rutherford scored in three consecutive away games in Europe
for Shelbourne between 1996 and 1998, but ended up losing on all three
occasions?
…
that the championship winning squads of 1952/53 and 1999/00 both contained two
sets of brothers? The earlier squad featured Rory and Sean Dwyer and Gerry and
Frank Malone, while Declan and Stephen Geoghegan and Dessie and Richie Baker
played in the later one.
… despite both clubs being founder members of the FAI in 1921 and
making a total of 26 cup final appearances between them in the intervening
years, it took 79 years for Shelbourne and Bohemians to meet in the FAI Cup
Final? Shelbourne won 1-0 in a replay.
…
Shelbourne only won its tenth league title in 2002 after St. Patrick’s Athletic
were deducted 15 points for infringing league rules?
… Mark Roberts was the first player to ever play for and against
Shelbourne in European competition? He played for Kilmarnock against Shelbourne
in a 1997 Cup-Winners’ Cup tie and for Shelbourne against Hibernians of Malta
in a 2002 Champions’ League tie.
…
Shelbourne played in the first game to be broadcast live by TV3, when it
defeated Bohemians 2-1 in Dalymount Park in 2002?
