Welcome to the latest installment of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this installment, we travelled to the Republic of Ireland for a sample of Irish football as Shamrock Rovers took on University College Dublin at the Tallaght Stadium.
It's All In The Name
Shamrock Rovers are from Ringsend, a southside inner-city Dublin suburb. The club's name is derived from Shamrock Avenue in Ringsend, where the first club rooms were established. Shamrock Rovers' nickname is the Hoops, which comes from the green hoops on their uniform.
Some Notable People From Dublin
Brendan O'Carroll- Actor
Aiden Gillen- Actor
Sinead O'Connor- Singer
Oscar Wilde- Author
Conor McGregor- Boxer
Some Notable Former Players
Gavin Bazunu
Damien Duff
Paddy McCourt
Stephen Macphail
Noel Hunt
Enda Stevens
Rohan Ricketts
Bobby Tambling
A History Lesson From AFC Finners
Shamrock Rovers were said to have been founded in 1899, though the exact date is debatable. They began with exhibition matches before winning the County Dublin League and the Leinster Junior Cup in 1905. They were forced to leave the Leinster Senior League a few years later, but were re-established in 1914.
They won the Irish Junior Cup in 1915, but were forced to disband after losing their home. They were reborn in 1921 and won the League of Ireland championship in 1923. They won it again in 1925 and 1927, and they also won the FAI Cup in 1925 and 1929. In the 1930s, they added three more league titles and five FAI cups to their collection. The accolades kept coming, with large crowds of around 30,000 regularly turning out to watch the team play as they became Ireland's most successful team. However, their victory in 1939 resulted in a league title drought.
When manager Jimmy Dunne died in 1949, he was succeeded by player manager Paddy Coad. Coad prioritised youth and technical training, and he led them to their first championship in 15 years in 1954. Coad's Colts, as they were known, would go on to win two more league titles and two FAI Cups, as well as being the first Irish team to compete in European competition, losing 9-2 on aggregate to Manchester United's Matt Busby in the European Cup.
After Coad left in 1960, they won the double in 1964, and Liam Tuohy would help them win six FAI cups in a row. Despite Mick Leech's 56 goals in the 1968-69 season, it would be a long time before they would taste league glory again.
They declined throughout the 1970s, due to disagreements between players and directors, as well as declining attendance. Shamrock had to apply for re-election to the Irish league in 1976, despite a successful tour of Japan.
They rose again in the 1980s, winning their first league title in 20 years, the first of four in a row, and adding three FAI Cups to their success. Between August 1983 and April 1987, they only lost 11 league games.
They were dealt a bitter blow in 87, however. Shamrock's owners announced that they were selling Glenmalure Park, the club's home, and that they would not have a permanent home until 2009.
This resulted in their success slowing, with one league title being their only major honour in the 1990s, and they faced financial difficulties in the early 2000s, leading to their relegation in 2005. They were promoted after being taken over by fans. In 2009, they finally moved into their long-awaited Tallaght Stadium home, and Michael O'Neill led them to a second-place finish. In 2010, they won their first league title in 16 years, and they defended it in 2011.
After O'Neill's departure, the club struggled, but in 2019, they won their first FAI Cup in 22 years. Three more league titles followed in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and Shamrock is hoping to make it four in a row and add to their incredible trophy cabinet as the new season begins.
Shamrock Rovers hosted Cristiano Ronaldo's debut for Real Madrid in 2009, when the Hoops lost 1-0 at home to Los Blancos in a friendly.
Honours
🏆 League of Ireland/League of Ireland Premier Division (Champions: 1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1993–94, 2010, 2011, 2020, 2021)
🏆 FAI Cup (Winners: 1924–25, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1939–40, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2018-19)
🏆 League of Ireland First Division (Champions: 2006)
🏆 League of Ireland Shield (Winners: 1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1941–42, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68)
🏆 League of Ireland Cup (Winners: 1976–77, 2012-2013)
🏆 LFA President's Cup (Winners: 1929–30, 1932–33, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88)
🏆 Dublin City Cup (Winners: 1944–45, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1983–84)
🏆 Top Four Cup (Winners: 1955–56, 1957–58, 1965–66)
🏆 FAI Super Cup (Winners: 1998–99)
🏆 Setanta Sports Cup (Winners: 2011, 2013)
🏆 President of Ireland's Cup (Winners: 2022)
🏆 Leinster Senior League (Winners: 1921–22)
🏆 Leinster Senior Cup (Winners: 1922–23, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1937–38, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1996–97, 2011–12, 2012–13)
Matchday: Shamrock Rovers 3-0 University College Dublin
We travelled to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland on a rainy Monday morning. Apart from the obligatory thirty minute delay to our flight, we arrived in Ireland safe and sound. We ambled around Dublin for a while, hoping (and failing) to find the Aviva Stadium. We then headed to our hotel. The journey to the stadium was long one, as we were travelling from Drumcrondra to Tallaght, which is about an hour and twenty minutes on public transport. After being on the tram to Tallaght for what felt like an eternity, we headed to the stadium.
Arriving at the stadium, we first went to the club shop. For a team that competes in European competitions, the selection on offer in the shop was very limited. A couple of replica shirts, some foam fingers (yes they still exist) and a couple of pin badges. That was just about it.
We did our customary circuit of the ground, and to be quite honest with you, there wasn't really much to see. The stadium is still relatively new, so lacks the character you hope to see in some football grounds with such a passionate fanbase. There are three stands at the stadium, and one still being built. What we couldn't quite work out was what the colour scheme of the seats in the ground is trying to connote. You could argue that the colours represent something, but to us uneducated folk, it just looks like a game of Tetris.
The fans at the ground were fantastic. They were all really friendly and engaging, and willing to chat about football from all over the world. They sang throughout the game, but unfortunately the acoustics of the ground mean that weren't very loud. However, that wasn't their doing.
There was one strange event though: around halfway through the first half, some random girl called Stephanie started airdropping me photos of a random couple. You could argue that I shouldn't have accepted the request, but curiosity got the better of me.
The food at the ground was reasonable at best. It is your standard football burger. That is, with a bit of salad thrown in, something us English folk down really don't see very often at football matches. It tasted nice though, and was probably reasonably priced as well.
Teamsheet
Shamrock Rovers
Manager: Stephen Bradley
Alan Mannus
Sean Hoare
Roberto Lopes (c)
Lee Grace
Dylan Watts
Graham Burke ⚽️ ⚽️
Darragh Nugent
Trevor Clarke
Markus Poom
Rory Gaffney
Jack Byrne ⚽️
Substitutes
Leon Pohls
Sean Gannon
Daniel Cleary
Sean Kavanagh
Gary O'Neill
Justin Ferizaj
Neil Farrugia
Johnny Kenny
Conan Noonan
University College Dublin
Manager: Andrew Myler
Kian Moore
Jack Keaney
Brendan Barr
Kieran Behan
Jesse Dempsey
Dara Keane
Sami Clarke
Danny Norris
Luke O'Regan
Jake Doyle
Colin Bolton
Substitutes
Alex Nolan
Harry O'Connor
Donal Higgins
Sam Healy
Harvey O'Brien
Devine Izekor
Shane Donohue
Daniel McCarthy
Shamrock Rovers dominated the duration of the game as the Irish champions took a quarter-hour to get going, but the outcome was never in doubt. In the 16th minute, a Byrne sliderule pass to Clarke resulted in a wayward volley into the side netting.
Rovers took the lead five minutes later. Byrne took the initiative once more, threading a sleek ball into Gaffney's path in the inside right channel. Gaffney squared for Burke to sidefoot home from close range with UCD stretched.
After Moore denied Gaffney, Byrne was once again the creator, and Burke added a second when UCD couldn't deal with a Byrne corner. The ball bounced about the box before falling to Burke, who drilled a left-footed shot high into the net.
The second half was as dominant for Shamrock as the first. Burke and Gaffney demonstrated a deft touch that nearly resulted in a goal; Pico Lopes came close with a header from a corner, before Burke's shot was deflected for another corner.All night, UCD struggled to deal with Byrne's set-piece attacks, and this corner was no exception. The ball was only half-cleared as far as Byrne, who chose to shoot.
Moore flapped at the ball and only succeeded in putting it into the net. Soon after, Gaffney raced into the box and beckoned the ball back. Burke arrived right on time, drew back his trusted left peg, and swept a viciously struck shot inches over the bar. It was his final contribution of the night as Stephen Bradley emptied the bench, however he did receive the well-deserved Man of the Match award.
Late in the game, Lee Grace headed a whisker over as UCD failed in the aerial duels yet more, and in the end, Rovers triumphed easily.
Scores On The Doors
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Food and Drink: 7/10
Stadium: 7/10
Welcome: 7/10
Overall Experience: 7/10
GG
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