|
This will be Burnley's first ever game in the Republic of Ireland and I'm not so sure too many of our fans will be aware that former goalkeeper Wayne Russell has played for Bohs as well as current midfielder Garreth O'Connor. To look ahead to the game we thank Neil Bartley from Dublin who has kindly provided us with the following:
Burnley fans making their way along to the match on Friday night may appreciate a little background information on Bohemians and Dalymount Park.
Bohemians are the oldest football club in the Republic having been founded in 1890 but it wasn't until 1901 that they moved to ''Dalyer''. The ground had previously been common land including a vegetable plot and was known colloquially as -- and I'm not joking! -- ''Pisser Dignam's Field.'' It was to become the home of Irish football.
The League of Ireland -- the official name of the championship of the Republic of Ireland -- has been more or less dominated by the Dublin clubs. Shamrock Rovers lead the roll of honour with 15 Championships with Shelbourne in second on 13. Bohs are joint third on 9.
It's a complex picture with other Dublin clubs St Patrick's Athletic and the now defunct Drumcondra on 7 and 5 titles respectively. But the impression this writer has got, rightly or wrongly, is that in Dublin football, the classic derby match is Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers: two of the most successful clubs; and north-side of the city versus south-side for extra spice.
Somehow the other Dublin derbies involving Shelbourne - a club who had large backing and success in the last 10 or 15 years but disappointingly little support perhaps because they had relocated to Drumcondra from their original home in the south city - and St. Patrick's Athletic - an admirable club from Inchicore - didn't quite have the same buzz.
There was an excellent, rather nostalgic, programme on the national broadcaster RTE over Christmas about the history of Dalymount Park. It focused mostly on the international games which are the outstanding memory for most people. The first international was played there in 1924 and thereafter it was the home venue for all of Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaigns until the mid-80s.
|
Highlights that were picked out included the 1957 qualifier against England, where Ireland led 1-0 until the dying seconds when John Atyeo headed an equaliser from a Tom Finney cross to silence the 47,000 record crowd. Austria were defeated by a last minute penalty to advance to the last 8 of the 1964 European Championships amid farcical scenes - there were hundreds of supporters just behind the goal-line ready to spill onto the pitch to celebrate in spite of the best efforts of the hopelessly outnumbered police.
Don Givens' hat-trick in the 3-0 win over the Soviet Union in 1976 was one of Ireland's best performances of the era. My father tells me he was admitted to this game for free after the gate was burst open such were the crowds. Great players to have played on the ground include Pele, Gullit, Van Basten and Zidane.
However the ground's time as an international venue began to run out following a 1985 friendly with Italy. It attracted a huge crowd but in the climate of the mid 80s it was becoming obvious that, as the ground had seen no major renovation in decades, it was no longer safe to pack so many people in and so Ireland began playing qualifiers at Lansdowne Road. A friendly match against Morocco in 1990 ended Dalymount's days as an international venue.
Bohemians have continued to play there to this day. The old wooden stand has been replaced by the rather modern Jodi Stand. The Des Kelly Stand behind the goal has bucket seats placed on top of the old terrace. The Connaught Street stand rather bizarrely has been half demolished to make way for a training pitch and the half that remains has acquired bucket seats in a similar manner to the Des Kelly Stand.
Finally the Shopping Centre End behind the other goal is completely undeveloped and remains an old world-type terrace. The rumour was that Bohemians were hoping that the adjacent shopping centre would agree to develop some of the land for the club in exchange for selling another portion off.
However, after all this patchwork redevelopment, Bohemians finally instead entered an agreement to sell the ground to a property developer who will build the club a new 10,000 seater stadium as part of the deal. It can be said that this is a good deal for Bohs. However given Dalymount's history, it's sad to see it lost to football. Furthermore, the League of Ireland has always struggled to assert itself in an Irish sporting landscape where hurling, rugby and Gaelic football have a larger market share.
The area on the north-side of the city between Drumcondra and Phibsborough, where Dalymount is, is one of the few heartlands the League has. How many people will be watching Bohemians way out in the suburbs? The spectre of Shamrock Rovers may loom. Ireland's most successful club until they sold their home in Milltown in the south city in the 1980s, Rovers have led a nomadic existence since, ground-sharing wherever they can and generally struggling on the pitch. Against this the deal may resolve Bohemians' financial problems and at least they will own their own new ground.
Visitors to the ground on Friday night should enjoy the old world setting. The new Jodi Stand has some nice bars where you can get a pint at half-time and fish and chips are available too. Bohemians themselves are in pre-season mode after the League switched over to a March to November season a few years ago in a bid to attract larger crowds. Hopefully it will be an enjoyable night at the old home of Irish football. See you there.