Brideville FC
A football club
that took part in the League of Ireland on three separate occasions is not
something you hear about too often. In fact, this is the only club to have done
so, (Unless you count Cork’s football history, but we won’t go there). This
club were originally based in The Liberties, in the south inner city of Dublin.
In total they played 17 seasons in the League of Ireland and had multiple
successes in the Leinster Senior League and Cup. They also came close to
winning the FAI Cup on two occasions, but unfortunately, both times so the
Dublin club beaten in the final. They were always the bridesmaid and never the
bride. (Sorry, that joke had to be said considering their name) It is, of
course Brideville. Here is their story.
Founded in
1919, the club played their first few seasons in the Leinster Senior League and
competed in the Leinster Senior Cup. They were one of the clubs who thought
about joining the League of Ireland when it was formed in 1922, but the club’s
officials felt the timing wasn’t right, and therefore decided to stay in the
LSL.
The decision
proved to be a good one as the club win their first pieces of silverware before
joining the League of Ireland in the 1925-26 season. Their first trophy was
that of the FAI Junior Cup, a tournament that had just been founded. Brideville
would become the first club to win the competition in 1923-24 when they beat
Cork based side, Cobh Ramblers’, 1-0, at Victoria Cross in Cork.
That same
season, the Dubliners were beaten finalists in the Leinster Senior Cup by
Shelbourne, losing 2-1. However, they reached the Leinster Cup final in the
next season, this time lifting the trophy, beating Glasnevin, 1-0 in the1924-25
season.
They joined the
League of Ireland in the 1925-26 season, taking the place of Brooklyn FC and
finishing a respectable 6th out of ten clubs in their debut season,
whilst their reserve side won the Leinster Senior League that season as well.
The 1926-27
season saw the club finish bottom of the table winning only two of their 18
games that season. Whilst their league form was poor, their cup form was the
total opposite, their cup run started with a win against Cobh Ramblers in the
first round, beating the Cork side, 2-1 on the 27th January 1927.
Their cup run was helped by the fact that they were, alongside Drumcondra,
given a bye to the semi-final. There they would meet Shelbourne FC at Dalymount
Park on 5th February 1927. The Southsiders came out on top winning
2-0, thanks to a brace from a player whose surname was Murtagh.
It set-up a
final against Drumcondra on March 17th, 1927 at Dalymount Park. The
game was attended by 25,000 people, and referred by English man, J.T Howcroft.
It ended a draw, 1-1, and as was the rules back then, a replay was set for
April 9th, with Shelbourne Park being the host this time around. It
was once again a tight affair and was only settled when Johnny Murray scored in
extra time to help the Drums lift the trophy.
Brideville’s
league campaigns were underwhelming to say the least with the club always
finishing at the lower end of the table. In the 1929-30 season, they once again
went on a cup run, beating Waterford Celtic, 1-0 in the first round on January
5th, 1930. The second round encounter with Dublin rivals, Dolphin’s,
was somewhat a hard slog to get through. It took three games to decide who
would get to the semi-final, with penalty shoot-outs still not used to decide a
drawn match. Instead, two draws, a 1-1 in the first match, and a 2-2 draw in
the second meant that a third game was needed to determine who would play in
the last four of the competition. As it was, Brideville won the game with ease,
defeating Dolphin’s 5-1. It meant the played Dundalk in the semi-final.
The semi-final
was decided in one game, with Brideville winning the game, 2-1, thanks to goals
from Gaskins and an own goal from Dundalk’s Patton. Awaiting them in the final
was Shamrock Rovers. The game was played on St Patricks’ Day, 1930 at Dalymount
Park. Atch reports suggest that Brideville were the netter side on the day,
however, it was Shamrock Rovers who won the match and lifted the trophy, thanks
to a 90th minute winner from David Byrne, who went on to play for
Brideville in 1937. Johnny Byrne also won three caps for the Irish Free State
team as they were known.
The 1931-32
season saw the club finish 10th and they failed to get re-elected to
the League of Ireland for the following season. This was the process back then,
as there was no promotion or relegation in place.
Their
‘demotion’ didn’t stop the club from continuing playing, and they simply
resumed playing in the Leinster Senior League. They even picked up another
league title, winning the LSL in the 1931-32 season. It wouldn’t be until the
1935-36 season that they would make their return to the League of Ireland,
thanks to the expansion of the league from ten clubs to twelve.
In this second
spell, the club recorded their best league finish when they came 4th.
It would be the best the club ever achieved whilst playing in the League of
Ireland. After a few udane seasons, Brideville once again failed to get
re-elected after finishing 9th and so dropped down to play LSL once
again. This only lasted one solidarity season, as they returned to the League
of Ireland for a third time. The replaced St James Gate in for the 1944-45
season. But once again, they finished 9th, winning only two games
all season and suffering heavy defeats such as a 9-0 hammering from eventual
champions that season, Cork United.
And so
Brideville’s League of Ireland career which consisted of 17 seasons in total,
was over. The club continued to play in the LSL but have since ceased to exist
(A date is not entirely sure when this happened.) The club, who played at
Richmond Park and Harold’s Cross also produced 11 International players for
Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively.
While they
never lit the League of Ireland on fire, Brideville still played their part in
League of Ireland history. Would they be welcomed should they ever re-form?
Probably not due to the opposition of having another Dublin club involved in
the league, however, the football purist may want to see them return and have
another crack at trying the to win the FAI Cup. Third time lucky?