#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
Yep. They didn't remove them
They were too cheap to change the design. The Programme was printed on a template each week
The merger didn't happen. It was dead mid-season. Francis entered the LSL as soon as they could (and still play in Baldonnel)
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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St Pats also had "exciting plans" to play a game in the old Foxboro Stadium in Boston. It was to be held on Saint Patrick's day, against Bohs I think, and a crowd of 25,000 was going to go to it (according to Pat Doolan). However the spoilsports in the Dept. of Foreign Affairs' under a Kerryman at the time; who were expected to pay for the trip, did not come up with the money and the game was played in Inchicore instead. Foxboro Stadium was demolished and rebuild and is called Gillette now, and MLS and American football is played there. Would this be the greatest distance a LoI team travelled to play a home game?
ps I think the press call of the amalgamation of St Pats and St Francis was one of the best in Irish soccer. Anyone know who St Francis was that day?
It was filmed in 2006. 24 minute documentary iirc.
Long story short, GUFC needed a venue and for whatever reason (can't remember why exactly) no suitable one was available in Galway and the GAA told them where to go.
The GAA pitch in Carraroe is community owned and soccer was played on it until a full-size all-weather facility was built across the road a few years back.
They offered the use of it for the match and the inspectors obviously were happy with it. It doesn't and didn't have any seats, but the dressing rooms were top notch (for the mid-80s) and there was a covered stand. Stand being the operative word there. It was said in the doc that the facilities for the players and officials were on a par with those in the English top flight at the time.
It was Shels
http://www.independent.ie/sport/st-p...-26127104.html
http://irishecho.com/2011/02/shelbou...-at-foxboro-2/
Didn't hear who got the blame for it not happening but I'd like to think it was common sense more than anything
In the league that honour would now go to your beloved hoops I'd imagineWould this be the greatest distance a LoI team travelled to play a home game?
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
In relation to Galway the Ballinderrin pitch was also community owned so that got around the GAA ban. It would have been easier to get public grants if a pitch was community owned at that time, and both were new/redeveloped grounds. A good policy I think, as there is a danger that facilities that are privately owned may be sold to benefit the owners after public money had been given to them. Big money is being made out of the re-financing of the soccer half of Lansdowne Road. That is why the Shamrock Rovers model is the best.
A bit off topic. Was Ireland the first team to visit/play Chile after Pinochet took over in that country. The USSR refused to play them in the second leg of a world cup play-off. Ireland of course had a big win against the Soviets 40 years on Halloween night.
True about it being a good model, although the thing with the Carraroe pitch is that committee was almost always pro-GAA, so the soccer club would often get held to ransom for rent. I reckon it was so that the club would never get any ideas about developing an underage setup or anything like that. They trained and played in Galway city because of it for a number of years.
Yeah, the USSR refused to play because it was in the stadium where Pinochet had anyone that disagreed with him publicly executed when his American backed coup was successful.
Dunphy got **** over it for going, because he was so outspoken usually about such matters.
Last edited by gufcfan; 31/10/2014 at 4:41 PM.
More LOI grounds trivia.
In its first LOI season (1926-27), Dundalk was renting the Athletic Grounds (predominantly a GAA pitch) on a match basis.
When these grounds were not available, matches were played on the Recreation Grounds of local cigarette and tobacco company P J Carroll & Co Ltd.
The League visit of Shelbourne to the Carroll Recreation grounds on Dec 12th 1926 was a sell out, setting a season gate record of £156, an attendance estimated at almost 5,000. Many hundreds got in free, ‘when the gates were rushed by an over anxious crowd who feared disappointment at not being able to see the game.’ The Democrat reported that ‘there were several thousand from Dublin.’
For the Shield fixture against Bray Unknowns scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day 1929, the club moved to Blackrock, the seaside village about three miles from Dundalk,there being no other ground available in Dundalk on that day.
Back to the list: Limerick used Pike Rovers ground in 2003 as well.
Has anyone any further details on Bray Unknowns at Shelbourne Park? I only had them in Woodbrook and the Carlisle.
Home grounds used for league games for Pats;
Richmond Park 726
Harolds Cross 73
Dalymount Park 45
Milltown 33
Chapelizod 17
Tolka Park 2
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
Pays played Shamrock Rovers in Tolka in Sept 1993. Game was originally a Rovers away game scheduled for the RDS. RDS was unavailable so Rovers looked to swap. Pats said no as they were hoping to play first game in re-opened Richmond park against Rovers in late November.
The league decided to swap the fixtures and pats had to use Tolka park as harolds Cross wasn't available
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
What was the ground in Chapelizod that Pat's used?
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
It's an industrial estate now. Near the Church. It was a Greyhound track (and hosted Speedway too)
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
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