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Dundalk F.C.

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Dundalk
Dundalk FC crest
Full nameDundalk Football Club
Nickname(s)The Lilywhites
Founded1903 as Dundalk GNR
GroundOriel Park,
Dundalk,
County Louth
Capacity6,000[1]
OwnerRepublic of Ireland Gerry Matthews
ChairmanRepublic of Ireland Padraig McGowan
ManagerNorthern Ireland Sean Connor
LeagueFAI Premier Division
20081st - Champions
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Dundalk Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is an Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the FAI Premier Division of the FAI League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The traditional colours of the club are white jerseys with black shorts. Due to their white jerseys, they have been nicknamed the Lilywhites. They play their home games in Oriel Park, which has a capacity of 6,000.

History

The first newspaper reports of organised football in Dundalk appeared in the Dundalk Democrat on 17 December 1892, when an article about a match that had occurred nine days previously involving a club named Dundalk featured. The Dundalk team had beaten Institution 2nd XI 1–0. The sport gradually took a foothold in a developing town, which held strong ties to both the military and the railway infrastructure given its location between Dublin and Belfast, as well as links to local ports. Affiliated to the Leinster Football Association before the turn of the century, a team from Dundalk, commonly known as Rovers, took their place in the Leinster Senior League in 1900–01 for the first time. The club continued to exist (as the town’s most established club) until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

However, other clubs also began to make their presence felt in the locality. One in particular, the Great Northern Railway Association Club, otherwise known as the Dundalk GNR, founded in September 1903, spawned the modern-day Dundalk Football Club. The Dundalk GNR were located at the Athletic Grounds and competed in the Dundalk and District League from 1905 until 1914, although media coverage remained patchy. Sports coverage was re-instated in the local media in 1919, with the Dundalk and District League re-established in time to start a competition during the 1919–20 season. Included among the teams was a selection representing the Dundalk GNR. The club were also partaking in the Newry League at the time, but political change at a national level was to effect this. Following the formation of the Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS; later to become the Football Association of Ireland or FAI) in Dublin to govern football in the Irish Free State the control of footballing matters in Northern Ireland was left to the Irish Football Association (IFA).

The Dundalk GNR were not involved in the fledgling Irish Free State Senior League (later to become the League of Ireland), which kicked off at the start of the 1921–22 season. It involved only Dublin-based clubs; all of which has stepped up from the Leinster Senior League. This ultimately opened the way for the Dundalk GNR to move up to the Leinster Senior League. They were the only club from outside of the capital to compete in the 1922–23 season. Their first game was played on 7 October 1922 against Inchicore United and ended in a 2–1 loss. Nevertheless, the club established itself in the top rank, and a third-place finish in the 1925–26 season paved the way for the club’s election to the ten-team Free State Senior League at the expense of Pioneers F.C., and ahead of Bendigo F.C. and Drumcondra; the two clubs that had headed the Dundalk GNR in their final season in the Leinster Senior League. Within four seasons, the club had moved from the Dundalk and District League, through the Leinster Senior League, and were ready to establish themselves in the elite Irish Free State Senior League, which included the likes of Shelbourne, Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers. The club, still known as the Dundalk GNR, and continuing in the black and amber kit from their pre-War origins, travelled to Cork to face Fordsons in their opening match on 21 August 1926. The match ended in a 2–1 defeat.

The club were re-named Dundalk F.C. in 1930 and became the first provincial team to win the league title in 1932–33. The club has an unbroken membership of the League of Ireland, a record shared with only two other members from that time; Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers. The club moved to their current home venue, Oriel Park, in 1936. In the 1970s and 1980s, the club had an impressive record in European competition at home, going undefeated for five years, playing against top opposition in the form of PSV Eindhoven, Hajduk Split, Celtic, Porto and Tottenham Hotspur. With almost fifty trophy-wins, including nine league titles, one First Division title and having contested fourteen FAI Cup finals, the club has one of the most successful histories in League of Ieland football. Almost one hundred of the club's players have gained representative honours for Ireland and the League of Ireland.

Since 1999, and in conjunction with Irish League side Linfield of Belfast, the club has been engaged in a peace and reconciliation programme, known as the Dunfield Project, which through the medium of football is facilitating the coming together of young people from the Dundalk and Belfast communities. In 2002, the club won the FAI Cup for a ninth time. The club operated as a co-operative, with teams competing from school-boy level in Dublin-based leagues to girls and ladies teams, along with the first-team for a period until August 2006, when they were taken over by local business man Gerry Mathews. Dundalk celebrated their 2000th league game against Finn Harps on Thursday 8 March 2007 in Oriel Park. A crowd of 3000 turned up; a figure that is massive for the First division.

A local rivalry is shared with Drogheda United, their Louth neighbours, who entered the League in 1975.

On 15th November 2008 Dundalk won promotion back to the premier league.

2006 Promotion Controversy

Despite the fact that Dundalk FC had won what they perceived to be, or believed should have been, the annual promotion/relegation Play-Off, and what would have been a promotion/relegation game in any other normal season, in November 2006, they were one of the teams omitted from the 2007 FAI Premier Division and were, instead, chosen to play in the FAI First Division. Dundalk, however, argued that they had a right to compete in the Premier Division following their Play-Off defeat of Waterford United. "What was the point of the league taking our players and fans all the way down to Waterford if it counted for nothing?", questioned one official, while reports in the local and national press described the decision to exclude Dundalk from the Premier Division as "scandalous" and "an injustice". [2] [3] However, as far as the FAI and The Independent Assessment Group (IAG) were concerned Dundalk's protests had no real weight, their contention was that the 2006 play-offs had never been billed as a promotion/relegation fixture, but rather as a means to determine which teams were to be positioned in 12th and 13th place within the overall standings for the 2006 season. As such, the play-offs actually contributed points to Dundalk's final assessment tally, though sadly for Dundalk and their fans, not just enough. A double blow for Dundalk came when the IAG's report placed Galway United, who finished the season in 3rd place behind Dundalk, in 12th position; thus Galway were selected for the new Premier Division ahead of Dundalk. This infuriated many Dundalk supporters and proved to be the final straw for one particularly disgruntled fan. On December 13 2006, Mark Kavanagh, known locally as "Maxi", dismayed by the Independent Assessment Group's decision, entered the former headquarters of the FAI at Merrion Square, doused the reception area with petrol and threatened to set it alight. After a tense hour-long stand-off, the situation ended peacefully when Dundalk manager, John Gill spoke with Kavanagh and persuaded him to end his protest. [4] In late December 2006, Dundalk's CEO, Gerry Matthews, met with the FAI and members of IAG committee. He acknowledged that they had a "very hard job to do and did it with the utmost integrity and respect for Dundalk". Mr. Matthews expressed his satisfaction with the process and that he and the club were "happy to move on". [5]

Colours and Crest

The Dundalk GNR colours worn from 1903 until 1930.
The coat of arms of the town of Dundalk.
File:DundalkMartlets2.GIF
Dundalk F.C.'s old crest.
File:Dundalk-FC.jpg
Dundalk F.C. Vintage Crest.

Dundalk's traditional colours are white jerseys (from which they get their nickname; the Lillywhites) and black shorts. However, this has not always been the case. Whilst playing under the auspices of the Great Northern Railway the club played in a black and amber-striped kit, right up until the GNR moniker was dropped and the team was renamed Dundalk F.C. in 1930.

The club's crest features three mythical martlets. The design is an adaptation of the heraldic symbols of Dundalk town's coat of arms, which also depict red marlets on a predominantly white shield.[6]

Home Grounds

The club played at the Athletic Grounds from 1903 until 1936, when they adopted Oriel Park as their home ground, where they have remained playing to date. Oriel Park, located on the Carrick Road, faces Dundalk railway station and the Great Northern Brewery. The ground's attendance record is 21,000. This record was set in 1979 on the occasion of the club’s European Champion Clubs' Cup second round tie against Celtic. The stadium, which now features a 1,600-seater stand, has hosted many memorable games for supporters including visits from Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Ajax and Red Star.

In February 2005, the club announced a major programme for a complete revamp of Oriel Park, which included the conversion of the pitch to an all-weather surface. Dundalk are the first Irish club to make such a conversion and the first club in the world to use the licensed FIFA 2-star surface for competitive league games. Further upgrades have taken place to the main stand, changing-areas and bar facilities. The ultimate aim is to restore the club’s standing amongst the premier clubs in Ireland. At the start of the 2007 season, fans of the club were delighted to see the developmental work done on the stadium over the close-season before the season's kick-off. A new roof was installed on the main stand and covered terracing was introduced along the opposite side of the pitch. Since the late 1990s Dundalk have played their home games on Thursday nights. They are unique in this sense in that they are the only club in Europe allowed to play home games during the week.

Supporters

File:Dundalk Supporters.jpg
Dundalk support at the 2002 FAI Cup Final.

In addition to the official Dundalk FC Supporters Club, the Dublin DFC Supporters Club and the Travel Club, Dundalk also boasts a group of fanatically loyal Ultras known variously as the Mujahideen, the Lillywhite Army and D Shed Boys who reside on 'the Shed' side of Oriel Park on match days.

Images from Oriel

Honours

  • League of Ireland: 9
    • 1932–33, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1994–95
  • FAI Cup: 9
    • 1942, 1949, 1952, 1958, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1988, 2002
  • President's Cup: 9
    • 1930-31, 1951-52, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1988-89, 1989-90

Club Records

European Competition

File:Dundalk Liverpool.jpg
Dundalk take on Liverpool in the European Cup, September, 1982.

Dundalk FC have had a chequered but nonetheless respectable history in European football; they were one of the first Irish football teams to play in Europe and the very first Irish side to go three rounds in the European Cup. For almost fifty years Dundalk have played against some of the greatest clubs in Europe, with Liverpool, Celtic, Rangers, FC Porto, Tottenham Hotspur, PSV Eindhoven and AFC Ajax (to name but a handful) all taking on the Oriel Park outfit.[7] Notable matches and results include:

Appearance Records

Goalscoring Records

  • Career
    • All competitions: 143, Joey Donnelly
    • League: 70, Joey Donnelly
  • Single season
    • All competitions: 43, Joe Sayers, 1935-36
    • League: 21, Philip Hughes, 2006

Miscellaneous

  • Highest League victory:
    • 9-0 v. Jacobs, 1932 (home)
    • 9-0 v. Shelbourne, 1980 (home)
  • Worst League Defeat:
    • 1-9 v. Limerick, 1944 (away)
  • Best defensive League season:
    • 13 goals conceded in 30 games (0.43 per game), 1979-80
  • Best offensive League season:
    • 64 goals scored in 22 games (2.91 per game), 1930-31
  • Record League sequences:
    • Consecutive wins: 10, 1967-68
    • Consecutive losses: 11, 1998-99 (last 8 games) and 1999-00 (first 3 games)
    • Consecutive draws: 10, 2005
    • Longest undefeated run: 22 games, 1990-91 (16 games) through 1991-92 (6 games)
    • Longest without a win: 19 games, 2002-03 (10 games) through 2003 (9 games)

Current Squad

File:DundalkFC2008SquadPhoto.jpg
Dundalk FC 2008 Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Scotland SCO Chris Bennion
— DF Ireland EIR Thomas Heary (Captain)
— DF Ireland EIR Shane Grimes
— DF Ireland EIR Simon Kelly
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Ireland EIR Michael Keane (Trial)
— FW Ireland EIR Tiarnan Mulvenna

Technical staff

Name Role
Northern Ireland Sean Connor Manager
Assistant Manager
Republic of Ireland Dr. Samir Club Doctor
Republic of Ireland Paul Cheshire Physiotherapist

Club Officials

Name Role
Republic of Ireland Jim Reilly Club President
Republic of Ireland Gerry Matthews C.E.O.
Republic of Ireland Padraig McGowan Chairman & FAI Representative

Notable Former Players and Managers

Players

see also Category:Dundalk F.C. players

Managers

see also Category:Dundalk F.C. managers

Shirt Sponsors and Kit Suppliers

2007-08 Kits

Shirt Sponsors

Years Sponsor
1980-02 Harp Lager
2002 Dundalk Cabs
2003 Oscars
2004 Carnbeg
2005 Park Inn
2006-present IJM

Kit Suppliers

Years Kit Supplier
1980-04 O'Neills
2005 Erreà
2006 Diadora
2007-present Umbro

References

  1. ^ www.fussballtempel.net
  2. ^ Dundalk Exclusion is Scandalous. Retrieved on 24 September 2007.
  3. ^ FAI Bring Injustice to a New Level. Retrieved on 24 September 2007.
  4. ^ Fan in FAI Protest. Retrieved on 24 September 2007.
  5. ^ Dundalk Happy to Move On. Retrieved on 24 September 2007.
  6. ^ Dundalk, International Civic Heraldry, 1996. Retrieved on 6 June 2007.
  7. ^ Dundalk FC :: European Nights

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