STOP PRESS

In between writing up my trip, Shelbourne got promoted to the Irish Premier Division for the 2020 season. Well done to Ian Morris, in his first stint as a manager, for getting the old club back to its rightful position amongst the top gods of Irish football. Credit is due to the fact he assembled a very good squad of players, also having a team with ex Dundalk striker Ciarán Kilduff, ex Pats powerhouse Conan Byrne, Ryan Brennan, James English, Karl Moore, and Dean Delaney in goals, all helped of course. 

My latest Irish footballing groundhop brought me to the Northside of Dublin, to Drumcondra, an inner city suburb, where the The River Tolka and the Royal Canal meet. Drumcondra is home to one of Europe’s finest stadiums, Croke Park, with a capacity of over 82,000 people, where the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) have their main events (football and hurling), but it was to Tolka Park where I ventured, to see one of Ireland’s oldest footballing clubs, Shelbourne FC.

I am well aware of Shelbourne as I used to live not far off, in Fairview, and often went to a game there back in the day. I also know that Drumcondra, and the North Side, has many of the city’s finest pubs, all a bit rough and ready, but never lacking in Dublin wit and character. So I looked forward to traversing the side streets of this end of the town, on the hunt for good beer and even better company, and to see “the Reds” once more. 

Drumcondra is one of Dublin’s oldest inner residential suburbs, and you can still get to see some of the old terraced style houses on show. Also the Royal Canal hugs this side of the city, and it can be nice on a hot day to walk along the towpaths and get a feel for the Northside. Griffith Park, near the well to do Griffith Avenue, is a lovely escape, and the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin is only a short walk away.

It is worth visiting Croke Park at least once in your life, and the museum beside the stadium is top notch as well. They have also started doing skyline tours from the roof of the stadium which is something I will definitely have to try some day, offering a nice view of the skyline of North Dublin. When the GAA is on in Croke Park, the area comes alive with pubs doing a roaring trade, the “craic” is at ninety, and the match day atmosphere all fun and jovial. 

Getting to the area is very easy, with the area even having its own national rail and DART (Light rail) stop at Drumcondra railway station, on the main Drumcondra road, only one stop from Connolly station (Ireland’s main train station). Also a host of Dublin Bus routes serve the Drumcondra area, such as the 1, 11, 16, 33, or 41 amongst others (usually can be taken in and around O’Connell Street). You could also walk it from the city centre, taking about 30 minutes or so brisk walk.

Famous residents and people from Drumcondra include Ex Taoiseach and crook Bertie Ahern,  writers Seán O’Casey and James Joyce (who said that Drumcondra was where the world’s best English was spoken!), and well known contrarian and ex-footballer Eamon Dunphy.

Pub watch

Quinns

Address: 42 Drumcondra Road Lower, Dublin 9

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Straight off the Drumcondra train stop and with lightning speed we went right into the nearest and handiest pub for thirsty souls, and that was to be Quinns. I have reviewed this pub before when I did my Guinness tour of Dublin. 

Considered a good lively bar, Quinns is a well known and popular pub which is always busy when there is a GAA game on nearby in Croke Park. But was quiet though when we arrived early enough on the Friday, mid afternoon. Sat up at bar and ordered my new favourite light lager, a pint of Rockshore, and a packet of Manhattan Salt and Vinegar crisps, a brand I hadn’t seen before but were well tasty. Service was fine, pint nice and cool, and settings was relaxed and comfy. 

I like this bar, has good friendly staff and always a decent pint. Recommended, especially if attending a game at Croker. Can get busy at night time, and is a student favourite (but don’t let that put you off!).

 The Bridge Tavern

Address: 6 Summerhill Parade, Dublin 1

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Next pub certainly stood out from the crowd, what with a big fuck off murial of Dublin GAA on the frontage, eye catching and definitely worth a closer look!

In we went, a real Dublin pub with traditional bar wooden interior where Guinness still rules. Ordered two pints of plain, and sat down. Bar was relatively busy, horse racing on the box and a general jovial atmosphere in the pub. 

The bar man was quick and he pulled a very decent pint of Guinness. Could have stayed here for a few more, but with time running out, and with us wanting to squeeze another couple of pubs into the walkabout, we decided to drink up and leave. Good pub that we will return to again in the future for a closer inspection………..

Lowry’s Pub 

Address: 16 Summerhill Parade, Dublin 1

We headed into Lowrys on the corner. Place had a very good crowd inside, interior was nothing special, old style decor that looked like it hasn’t changed since the 80s. Ordered a Smithwicks, pulled fast from the friendly bar man.

Some good banter in the pub, with a pint that was fantastic, and Elvis was in attendance, this pub was where the craic was building. Pity we had to drink up and head onwards on our trip………..Good pub, will be back for sure. 

Luke Kelly Sculpture

Since we were in this side of Dublin we decided that it would be a shame not to have a quick gander at Dublin’s newest statute, a Luke Kelly sculpture situated just across the bridge on the edge of Guild Street and Sheriff Street, to mark the 35th anniversary of his death. (Died in 1984 of a brain tumour aged just 43). Luke was born into a working-class household in Sheriff Street, in 1940. 

Luke Kelly, with his very distinctive singing style, was a quintessential Dublin singer, folk musician, and social activist, and a hero and all round Irish legend to many. Luke, of course, was a prominent member of The Dubliners, the Irish trad specialists, whose versions of Irish classics like “The Rocky Road to Dublin”, “Seven Drunken Nights”, “The Town I Loved So Well”, “On Raglan Road” enthralled millions of people not just in Ireland but all across the world, a folk singer that will forever be remembered.  

Designed by German born but Dublin based artist, Vera Klute, the sculpture is quite distinctive and definitely stands out, showing a big curly red head and bearded Luke on display for the whole world to see. Eye catching, just like Luke Kelly was, that being the point I guess!

It’s quite big and I have to say it’s a great piece of artistic work, getting Kelly’s facial expressions down to a tee. Hats off to Vera Klute, this is an excellent sculpture and one that the people of the Northside can be proud of. 

But wait a minute, the statue was apparently vandalized with graffiti just a few weeks after its unveiling! No one knows why but I was thinking perhaps it might be that the statue is really not in the heart of Sheriff Street but just across the bridge on the edge of the area he was from, and nearer to the nicer part of the town? Walking straight across the bridge to the statue one can be in no doubt that you are walking across a social divide, at least that was the impression I got, and not so much a gift to the local people but something for the tourists to gawk at and then promptly turn right around least they venture too close to the centre of Sheriff Street. Or maybe I am putting too much into that…………. Anyway, thankfully the graffiti was removed and the statue was restored in all its glory by the time we had a look. 

Noctor’s

Address: 34 Sheriff Street Lower, IFSC, Dublin 1

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Back on track we went into Noctors, a pub with a bit of a “reputation” shall we say. Straight away we stood out, two culchie (country) lads in the big schmoke, so much so a lot of the clientele thought we were coppers. Bit funny, perhaps less so when they started following us to the toilets! Least we were safe, not like they are going to whack a cop, lol!

Anyway place was pretty busy, mostly young fellas having a few jars. Ordered a Smithwicks, this isn’t a craft beer joint! Bar lady was friendly, and efficient, pint served fine, and was tasty. Did strike up a conversation with a nice young man beside us, but it was a bit distracting when literally the whole bar were looking at us. Still though, gotta love the Dubs, eh! 

Didn’t get to take any photos of the interior or my pint, best not to really. This is definitely a local bar for local people, and we drank up quickly and left even quicker………….thankful we were to survive another day! (Albeit I had a drunken suspicion we were followed!)

The Tolka Bar

Address: Richmond Road, Dublin 3

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Before and after the game, we managed to have a few jars in Shelbourne’s own bar, The Tolka Bar, a crammed little place but with some good atmosphere going on.  A lot of good football memorabilia on display too. I have had a pint in this place before which was rotten, but on the day that was in it, the beers were perfectly fine.  A football bar with football supporters, not much else really to say, all good clean fun…………

Shelbourne F.C.

Founded: 1895

Arena/Stadium: Tolka Park, Dublin

Location: 70-74 Richmond Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 3

Capacity: 9681

Manager: Ian Morris

Leagues: League of Ireland First Division

Honours
League of Ireland/Premier Division: 13 (Last 2006)
 FAI Cup: 7 (Last 2000)

Club home page 

club@shelbournefc.ie

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Nicknames: Shels, The Reds

Shelbourne Football Club, founded in 1895 and based in Drumcondra, play at Tolka Park in the League of Ireland First Division. Set up by a group of men looking to start a football team led by a Mr James Rowan. The club took its name from the nearby Shelbourne Road and Shelbourne House hotel where a collection was had to enable the club to buy its first set of football gear and to pay its affiliation fee.

A founding member of the League of Ireland in 1921, having previously played in the Irish Football League, since 1904, which incorporated teams from the north of Ireland as well as those from the south. Their home colours are red and white, and are lovingly known amongst fans as “The Reds”

The club have played out of Tolka Park, in the heart of Drumcondra, since the 1950’s but only as official tenants since 1989. Tolka Park is a famous ground steeped in Irish sporting folklore but it has seen better days. Now the ground is pretty derelict looking and not all the stands are open to the public owing to safety concerns, and unkept terraces. Of course it must be said that Shels were not the first team to play here, that honour goes to Drumcondra F.C. who played here from 1928-1972 along the way winning 5 championships, but now sadly are not involved in LOI top tier football.

They are one of the country’s most successful football teams, having won the national league on 13 occasions and the FAI Cup 7 times. Dermot Keely was appointed Manager at the start of the 1998/99 season and led the club to the “Double” in the season 1999/2000 for the first time in the clubs 105 year history. Another league title for Keely in 2002, who then handed the reigns to Pat Fenlon who signed striker Jason Byrne and the rest they say is history……..becoming one of the most prolific goal scorers in the league shooting Shels to three championship titles. 

Under the direction of the club’s majority shareholder and Chief Executive, the fairly flamboyant Oliver Byrne, the club ran up a huge debt pile chasing European glory, attempting to reach the Champions League but not quite getting there, all leading to a near break up of the club, resulting in the derelict ground and loss of a decent team. In the 2004/5 season they were one game off the Champions League proper, after knocking out KR Reykjavík of Iceland and then Croatian League Champions HNK Hajduk Split in a very memorable 2-0 home victory, they then proceeded to play a very good Deportivo La Coruna team from Spain, going out a very respectable 3-0 on aggregate. In 2006 the club got into serious debt, so Ollie Byrne sold the ground to property developer Ossie Kilkenny to help repay the club’s debts. Pat Fenlon resigned as their manager, and most of the team left. All this leaving them with demotion to the second division by the FAI where they have languished for the last few seasons, with the one exception of a brief appearance back in the top division in 2011 after promotion, but relegation two years after! (They also made the Cup final in 2011, losing to Sligo on penos!).

Since the sale of Tolka Park in 2006, Shelbourne have been trying to relocate to a new ground. Step forward the FAI and neighbours Bohemians with a proposed ground share in a new redeveloped Dalymount, the spiritual home of Irish football. Dublin City Council helped Shels clear their debt, and are providing support in this new Dalymount Park, which will be owned by the council. Things at the moment seemed to have stalled a bit, but it looks like all parties have agreed to it, albeit some Shels supporters are not happy with the whole idea. I can get this as ground shares dont tend to work in Ireland. Dublin City’s ground sharing days with Bohs, Pats and anyone else that would have them, didn’t work out at all, and I think Dublin is too small a city for this to happen. I also see it as another land grand by the property men. Rather than do up a half decent ground, they let it decay, and would rather sell the land than have a football team. But let’s see, I could be wrong………….

In terms of supporters groups and rivalries, ‘Briogáid Dearg’ (Red Brigade) is the clubs “ultra” group. Formed in 2003, they bring a lot of noise and colour to the stands, or stand as it is now! The big rival must be Bohemians, who are not too far away, about a mile away in fact, in Phibsboro.  

To the game

Shelbourne 1-1 Cabinteely 

12.07.2019 Tolka Park, Dublin 

79’ Karl Moore

93’ Shane Barnes  

Attendance: 1,159

Got to the game in good enough time to have a pint or two from the club bar.  

Atmosphere was building on the lovely summer’s day that was in it, with a decent enough crowd at the game…….took my place behind the goals, standing room only, and near the chippie! 

Right from the off Shelbourne were all guns ablazing, nearly scoring with a header from one of their defenders. But Cabinteely were also livewires, getting a shot off the crossbar, unlucky not to score first. 

Shels front two, James English and Ciaran Kilduff, both went close, perhaps one of them should have scored a goal. 

McGuinness, the Cabinteely netminder, was alert to everything, saving well from a Shels break, a one on one, he did well to keep out.

The ball was in the net just before half time, as Kilduff did eventually score, but it was disallowed, for pushing, I think. I say I think but I wasn’t sure myself. I was a little pissed truth be told!

The early second half saw more of the same, both teams having decent chances to score, but with no luck.

Conan Byrne, ex Pats legend, was introduced just after the hour mark and made a huge difference to the team, bringing more impetus to the attack, nearly scoring as well making McGuinness pull off another one of his saves. 

The goal finally came when Karl Moore got onto a shot to guide the ball in for Shels to take the lead. The pressure was building and it was what the home team deserved. 

So it was a great surprise when Cabinteely equalised when Shane Barnes cut in from the right to blast home the unexpected equaliser, in injury time. 

Time was nearly up but yet there was still more drama to follow, a handball in the box resulted in a penalty to Shelbourne. Conan Byrne took the penalty but wouldn’t you know it, McGuinness again saving it to round off a top rate performance in goals for Cabinteely, saving the point for the Blackrock team.  

The result meant that Shels are still out front at the top of the First Division while Cabinteely further strengthened their chances of getting a play off position. Both teams played some good football at times and it was refreshing to see the ball played around the park a sight not too often seen in this division!

Have to say Tolka was in bad enough shape. I was surprised to see the Drumcondra Stand behind the goals closed off. This is where the Shels ultras and diehards congregate. For this game they were situated far off at the edge of the main (and only) stand, the Richmond Road Stand, which was full for the game. Still though a good atmosphere in the old ground. 

Interview

Had the pleasure of having a short chat with long time Shels fan, Aidan Geraghty (@Aido1895)
  

So, my name is Aidan Geraghty and I have been a Shelbourne fan since 1999, first game I came to was the 9th of August 99 against Manchester United, Greg Costello scored and we won 1-0 and I have been coming home and away ever since. 

Who brought you to that first game? 

My da and my uncle brought me down. At the time I was coming to watch United. As there is Shelbourne history in my family but been a kid at the time I didn’t know that. I came down because I wanted to see Man United, they just won the Treble and little did I know at the time my dad was bringing me down because he wanted to get me into supporting Shels. And I came down, sitting in the Riverside Stand over there, dont know what it was but from the first time I was here, something about the kit just caught my eye and I was hooked. The whole place like, the kind of atmosphere, the ground, the kit…just….I dont know, I can’t really put my finger on what it was but something just kind of caught my eye as a kid at the time and I was hooked, and I have come ever since.

Excellent. So there is something in those pre season friendlies then, yeah? 

Ah yeah there is, I suppose it depends on the opposition we play, we played Hearts (Scotland) last week, you probably won’t get too many young fellas from Dublin coming down to watch Hearts and getting hooked but if you get the right opposition, like I know that Shower down in Phibsboro (Bohemiens) played Chelsea the other night, unfortunately they might get a few fans out of that, you never know. 

So generally, is it hard to get people out to Tolka Park then?

I think it depends on how the team is doing to be honest. I think Irish people in general when it comes to sport are very fickle, I think as a nation we find it hard  to support a team week in week out over the course of a 25/35 game season but as you will see tonight, the place is heaving tonight, there is about 1,200 people here and that’s because it’s coming towards the business end of the season, the team is doing well, there is something to play for, so I think with a bg club like this, a historic club like this, when things are going well on the pitch people will come. 

And all that time you were following them what was the highlights for you?

The obvious answer is Deportivo (D La Coruna from Spain) in 2004, or that and that whole European run,  that was unbelievable, it was a moment you were proud to be a Shels fan, we played Reykjavík, Hajduk Split (Croatia), Deportivo and Lille in the Champions League and the Uefa Cup.

But to be honest with you my proudest moment was the very first game in the 2007 season. We were champions in 2006 and then we were demoted at the end of the season to the First Division. We were Premier Division Champions but playing in the First Division in 2007, and a week before the season the club hadn’t got two pennies to rub together, and a week before the season it looked like we weren’t able to field a team.

Dermot Kiely, fair play to him, came in and brought a bunch of young lads in. I remember being at a meeting down at the bar there and I was only a teenager at the time and my dad brought me down to this meeting and I remember Olly Byrne (Chairman at the time), God rest him, saying if we do field a team this season it could be just a load of lads wearing red jerseys with Shels on them and we could be getting hammered every week. And at that time we were afraid we wouldn’t have a club so we said “yeah that’s fine”, as long as there is a team out on that pitch and they are wearing red jerseys, fine, and credit to Dermot Keely, he came in, brought in a bunch of young fellas, and a weeks notice before the start of the season.

And we played Kildare County here, we went 2-0 down, and then Darren McKenna scored a last minute equaliser to draw two all.  And our previous game was like here against Bohs, and there was about 7,000 here to win the League, and then we played Kildare County and probably about 3,000 here, it was probably the biggest crowd Kildare County had ever played in front off, and they were so close to beating a bunch of kids that had Shels on their jerseys. And to see a team like that, a bunch of young fellas who were playing for the shirt, they weren’t playing for money or whatever, and to see a club rally together, to keep the club, at that time the club was a 112 years old, and was very, very close to dying, a lot of other clubs like Cork City, Derry, Limerick, Galway….they all let their clubs die and reformed in difficult circumstances, that didn’t happen here……….. so that was my proudest moment supporting Shelbourne.  

So rivals then, Bohemians it must be, they are not that far off……

Yeah, maybe a mile, mile and a half…………the three biggest rivals are Bohs, Rovers and Pats. For me that’s the order. Bohs first, Rovers second, Pats third. For some people that would vary I think, some older fans and some fans from Ringsend might have Rovers first…some people who started coming round the mid 90’s might have Pats first but I’d say for the majority of fans I’d say Bohs are probably the main rival. 

Ok, the club had about 7 or 8 million debt (correction closer to 6 million or less) and then you have Olly Byrne (Ex Chairman)…………….lol……..how do you want to answer that or will we skip that one, lol

I will do my best to answer it. Olly wasn’t perfect and he is probably the main reason we are in the First Division now. But I have to say, in fairness to him, any mistakes he made he wasn’t doing it for personal gain, he was doing it because he was trying to make Shelbourne Football Club be the best that they could be, because he loved Shelbourne Football Club as much as anyone here, if not more. So, did he make mistakes, absolutely yes, he made mistakes that almost killed the club, and I have no problem saying that. But the reason he did it was because he had such ambition for this football club, he wanted this football club to be at the top table of European football.

And I am sure I will find fans that will have an opposite viewpoint.

Yes, absolutely, yeah without a doubt. You wouldn’t even have to ask that many people, he definitely is a controversial figure around here. There is some people that won’t have a bad word said about him and there are some people who will only say bad words about him. The reality is somewhere in the middle, I think he definitely did things that could have killed this football club but he was doing it for the right reasons. 

And that leads onto going into the new groundshare with Bohemians Football Club. I mean from me looking in from the outside, I like Shelbourne, I love the set up you have here, I always enjoy myself coming here, people are buzzing all the time here,  I dunno I just think if you go to Dalymount, it’s just like two clubs in Dublin, Friday and Saturday night, I dunno, I honestly dont think its going to work……

I agree with you, as far as I am concerned if we do go to Dalymount the club will most likely be out of senior football within 50 years and that’s probably being optimistic. The reason that Dalymount is being developed and not Tolka is because Bohs spent the last ten years lobbying Dublin City Council, the FAI and all the relevant bodies, Bohs got their house in order a long time before we did, and they were lobbying to get their ground and their history preserved. 

Meanwhile we were kind of scrambling about, going from year to year with no real long term plan. And I still think if we had have bothered to look for alternatives they would have been there. I dont want to dwell on it too long as it’s a subject that gets me angry! 

But could it work?

No, the concept of ground sharing I am not completely opposed to, but it’s the location that is the problem. Bohs have been in that area for over a hundred years. Shelbourne are never going to attract fans in Phibsboro, Cabra, Stoneybatter, and that area, its just not going to happen.

 So where do you think that Shels could go? 

I dont know to be honest.

There is nothing wrong with here (Tolka Park) if they developed it, maybe?

Yeah, Dublin City Council own this ground now, that was the deal, you mentioned the debt earlier, Dublin City Council took over this ground and cleared our debt in the process. I think Dublin City Council could be open to redeveloping this on a smaller scale and maybe knocking down a house or two for housing, I dont know but I think until you explore those options I dont think it does justice to this football club to just say well Dalymount is the only option and that’s the end of that. I think we owe it to the 125 years of this club to explore other options. 

And anyone coming to see Shelbourne play for the first time, just coming up the road and just walking into this club, what should they expect, what’s it like here?

Well for me it just gets in on you, it’s just an addiction, no matter what’s going on in your life, you could be after losing your job, you could have a bereavement, you could be after breaking up with your missus or whatever and when you come down here and The Reds score a goal, for 10 seconds that doesn’t matter, nothing else in your life matters for that 10 seconds after a goal goes in and that’s just it, there is no way to describe it other than its a drug and you have to keep coming back for more and it’s an addiction.

So are you positive for the future then?

I dont know to be honest, if the move down the road happens then there is no future but if something can be arranged in the meantime whether it is to stay here or to move to a greenfield site or whatever then this football club has massive potential. The only club in this country that has won more trophies is Rovers (Shamrock Rovers) so there is absolutely massive potential in this football club but the people who are running the football club now have a duty, not just a responsibility, a duty to make sure this football club stays alive and thrives and if we move to Dalymount that won’t happen. 

And just before we finish if anyone wants to follow, is there a supporters club that is for Shelbourne or anything we can follow online? 

There is no kind of official supporters club, there is the official club twitter page is @shelsfc, the official facebook page is Shelbourne Football Club, the instagram page is @shelsfc as well, and there are some other unofficial pages as well, there is a Shels fans group on facebook, We’re Not Barcelona page, there are a lot of channels online that they can follow the club, yeah. 

Ok, Thanks very much Aiden, I know the game is on now

Your grand, alright………

Overall

Good fun on another day out in Dublin, the pints were aflowing, the craic was to be had and the bars and pubs all interesting in their own unique and splendid ways. The game was good fun, decent atmosphere, another great time had in Tolka, will miss the old place when, and if, they do move up the road to Dalymount…………..

 Video of the day out

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Rob Nesbit

+Rob Nesbit Beer drinker and all round annoyance. Likes drinking, football, cricket and having a good time.

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