Dublin University Football Club

Dublin University FC

Full name	Dublin University Football Club
Union	IRFU Leinster
Founded	1854
Region	Dublin
Ground(s)	College Park, Dublin (Capacity: 200)
President	Kay Bowen
Coach(es)	Tony Smeeth, Hugh Maguire
Captain(s)	David Joyce
League(s)	AIB League
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.dufc.ie

Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.

History

The first known record of the Club appears under the heading 'Trinity College' in the Daily Express of 1 December 1855 and is taken to show that it had then been in existence for at least a year:

FOOTBALL. - A match will be played in the College Park today (Saturday) between original and new members of the club. Play to commence at two o'clock College time.^[1]

The club had thus been founded by about 1854, and it has a well-documented, continuous history since then, which gives it a strong claim to be considered the world's oldest extant football club of any code. Although Guy's Hospital FC, had been founded in London in 1843, so had existed before DUFC, it later folded up for some years during the nineteenth century.^[1] It should also be noted that football in Trinity pre-dates the foundation of the Club itself. A poem by Edward Lysaght shows that it was being played in the College Park in the 1780s.^[1]

Being the oldest rugby club in Ireland, DUFC has won its fair share of trophies over the years. Its most notable achievement in recent years was the winning of the AIB League Division 2 in the 03'-04' season, which also gained the club promotion to Division 1. This level of competition was short lived unfortunately, with the club returning to Division 2 after two seasons.

Present status

The DUFC 1stXV currently plays in the second division of the AIB League. The club also fields three Junior teams who compete in the Leinster J1, J3 and J4 Metro Leagues^[2], and two U21 teams who play in the JP Fanagan Premier and Pennant leagues respectively.^[2]

The 1stXV plays against University College Dublin in the annual Colours Match which has been ongoing since its inception in 1952. Trinity has won on 22 occasions, the latest being the 2010/11 match. The club also has a Women's XV, which has plays in AIL division 3.^[3]

Grounds

The clubs main playing field is College Park^[4], which is within the grounds of Trinity in the Dublin city centre. It also has two other football fields used mainly by the Junior teams on Santry Avenue in the Dublin suburb of Santry.^[3][5]

Notable players

Ireland

Dublin University Football Club has a long tradition of its players gaining the highest international honours, with over 160 past players being capped for Ireland since 1875. Some of the most famous and presently memorable are listed below.

Thomas St. George McCarthy Francis Browning Lawrence Bulger Andrew Clinch Thomas Arnold Harvey James Cecil Parke Bethel Solomons

Sir Thomas Ranken Lyle Stephen Blake-Knox Mark Sugden Robert Barnes Robin Roe Philip Orr Dick Spring

Hugo MacNeill Des Fitzgerald Donal Spring Brendan Mullin Paddy Johns Niall Woods Malcolm O'Kelly Trevor Hogan

Kieran Lewis Matt McCullough Roger Wilson Jamie Heaslip Robert Emerson Boenish

British and Irish Lions

DUFC also has a long history of providing Lions Tourists, with the most recent contribution being Jamie Heaslip in 2009.

Cecil Boyd: 1896 Lawrence Bulger: 1896 Andrew Clinch: 1896 Arthur Meares: 1896 Jim Sealy: 1896 Jas.E. Wallace: 1903

Jos.E. Wallace: 1903 R.S. Smyth: 1903 J.D. Clinch: 1924 C.V. Boyle: 1938 Robin Roe: 1955 M.G. Roberts: 1971

Philip Orr: 1977, 1980 J.C. Robbie: 1980 Hugo MacNeill: 1983 Des Fitzgerald: 1986(Cancelled) Jamie Heaslip: 2009

Ireland Coaches

Dublin University past players Roly Meates and Gerry Murphy both went on to coach Ireland at different times. Roly is also an honorary life member of DUFC, having coached the club for 28 years.

Roly Meates: 1975-77 Gerry Murphy: 1992-95

Honours

• AIB Division Two
  • Winners: 2003-04: 1
• AIB Division Four
  • Winners: 1999-00: 1
• Leinster Club Senior Cup
  • Winners: 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1890, 1893, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1921, 1926, 1960, 1976: 19
• Dudley Cup
  • Winners: 1975/76, 1986/87, 1990/91, 1994/95: 4
• Metropolitan Cup
  • Winners: 1923, 1928, 1934, 1967: 4
• Metropolitan J1 League
  • Section B Winners: 2009: 1
• Greenlea Cup (J7)
  • Winners: 1982: 1
• All Ireland U20 Championship
  • Winners: 2002/03, 2004/05: 2
  • Runners Up: 2005/06: 1
• McCorry Cup
  • Winners: 1983, 2000, 2003: 3
• JP Fanagan 1st Division
  • Winners: 2005/06: 1
• Minor League
  • Winners: 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1932, 1934: 12
• The Colours Match
  • Winners: 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2009, 2011: 22

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} History at dufc.ie
2. ^ ^{a b} [1] at sportsmanager.ie
3. ^ ^{a b} Club Info at dufc.ie
4. ^ [2] at maps.google.com
5. ^ [3] at maps.google.com

External links

• Dublin University Football Club