- Drumcondra F.C.
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Drumcondra Full name Drumcondra Football Club Nickname(s) Drums Dissolved Original Club 1972 Ground Tolka Park, Richmond Road, Dublin 3.
(Capacity: 9,680 (current))Chairman Sam Prole (1972) League League of Ireland 
Home coloursDrumcondra Football Club was an Irish football club from Dublin. Based in Tolka Park, Drumcondra were elected to the League of Ireland in 1928. The Northside club won 5 League of Ireland titles before amalgamating with neighbours, Home Farm in 1972.
Contents
History
Prior to joining the League, Drums became the first non-league club to win the FAI cup in the 1926–27 season, completing an unlikely double by also lifting the Intermediate Cup along the way. Following election to the League however they would endure a twenty year wait before lifting their first title in 1948.[1] During the 1950s Drums rivalry with Shamrock Rovers became the stuff of Dublin folklore as huge crowds gathered to see the Northside/Southside derby fixtures between the two clubs. During this halcyon period for Drums the early 1960s saw the Tolka Park side make history as the first League of Ireland side to register an aggregate win in European competition when they knocked Danish side B 1909 Odense out of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (4-1 H,2-4 A) in the 1962–63 season. Although beaten 6-0 by Bayern Munich in the following round in Germany, they did restore pride with a 1-0 home win in the second leg. Drums also played Atlético Madrid (0-8 A,1-5 H), Nuremberg (0-5 A,1-4 H), Eintracht Frankfurt (0-2 H,1-6 A), and Vorwärts Berlin (1-0 H,0-3 A) in European competition.[2]
At the end of the 1971–72 season the team amalgamated with Home Farm, Drums final league game in their own right being a 1-1 draw with Shelbourne at Tolka on 5 April 1972. It was announced by Brendan Menton Sr., Home Farm honorary secretary at the time, that the all amateur club had taken over the entire share capital of their professional neighbouring club, Drumcondra F.C. Promotion of amateur football was to remain the main aim.[1] During the 1972–73 season the side played as Home Farm-Drumcondra however within a season the Drumcondra name was dropped and from the start of 1973–74 the side simply became Home Farm.
The name of Drumcondra lives on in the form of Leinster Senior League side Drumcondra A.F.C. who amalgamated with Drumcondra Athletic during the summer of 2008 to reunite the two factions who laid claim to the historical identity of the original club. They finished 2008–09 6th out of 14 clubs in Sunday Senior 1A (Third Level).
Drums colours were essentially blue and gold/yellow although in later years they did play in a sky blue strip. At various times they wore blue/gold hoops with white shorts before adopting a more modern continental style gold with a blue v neck and blue shorts in 1954.
Honours
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- 1948, 1949, 1958, 1961, 1965
- FAI Cup: 5
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- 1927, 1943, 1946, 1954, 1957
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- 1945–46, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1961–62
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- 1927
Records
- Biggest League Win: 8-0 vs Sligo Rovers home, 22 January 1961.
- Biggest League Defeat: 1-9 vs Cork United home, 13 January 1946.
- Top League Scorer (season): 29, Dan McCaffrey, (1960–61).
- Top League Scorer (total): 96, Des Glynn (1948–56).
Season Placings
- 1928-29 - 4
- 1929-30 - 7
- 1930-31 - 11
- 1931-32 - 9
- 1932-33 - 10
- 1933-34 - 7
- 1934-35 - 9
- 1935-36 - 9
- 1936-37 - 6
- 1937-38 - 12
- 1938-39 - 8
- 1939-40 - 6
- 1940-41 - 6
- 1941-42 - 9
- 1942-43 - 3
- 1943-44 - 6
- 1944-45 - 4
- 1945-46 - 2
- 1946-47 - 2
- 1947-48 - 1
- 1948-49 - 1
- 1949-50 - 2
- 1950-51 - 3
- 1951-52 - 6
- 1952-53 - 2
- 1953-54 - 3
- 1954-55 - 6
- 1955-56 - 8
- 1956-57 - 2
- 1957-58 - 1
- 1958-59 - 5
- 1959-60 - 9
- 1960-61 - 1
- 1961-62 - 7
- 1962-63 - 3
- 1963-64 - 8
- 1964-65 - 1
- 1965-66 - 7
- 1966-67 - 8
- 1967-68 - 7
- 1968-69 - 9
- 1969-70 - 14
- 1970-71 - 14
- 1971-72 - 12
Notable former players
Ned Halpin- Fran Brennan
- Ray Bushe
- Kevin Clarke
- Tim Coffey
- Tom Davis
- Tommy Donnelly
- Eddie Flynn, goalie for 1942-43 season FAI CUP and LFA Senior Challenge Cup wins.
- Karl Gannon
- Gerry Garvan
- Bobby Gilbert
- Eoin Hand
- Benny Henderson
- Peter Kavanagh
- Alan Kelly
- Robin Lawler
- Kit Lawlor
- Con Martin
- John O'Neill
Gordon Smith- Maurice Swan
- Paddy Goode
Tom Davis,Peter Kavanagh and Con Martin were all dual internationals representing both the IFA and the FAI sides.
Notable former managers
Trivia
- Drums won the first ever FAI Intermediate Cup in 1927. It was then known as the FAI Qualifying Cup.
- Former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern was an ardent supporter of the club during their existence.
- Drums' first game in the 1972/1973 season under the management of Home Farm was against Scottish team Hibernian. They lost 2-0 in Tolka Park on 22 July 1972.
External links
References
- ^ a b Irish Times 20 May 1972
- ^ "Irish Clubs In European Cups". rsssf.com. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ier-ec.html. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
Categories:- Home Farm F.C.
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1972
- Football (soccer) clubs in County Dublin
- Defunct League of Ireland clubs
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