A Brief History of Saint Patrick's Athletic F.C. by Dodge
The story to 1997/98 season.........
The club was formed in 1929 to provide an outlet for the young people of Inchicore, a working class suburb of west Dublin. They played home games at Richmond Park, a former British army ground. Quickly winning everything at Junior level, including the 1940/41 FAI Junior Cup, it seemed inevitable that the club would soon enter the League of Ireland. A period in the Intermediate ranks saw the club continue to prove to be the best non-league team in Ireland. In 1947/48 they won the Leinster Senior League, Leinster Senior Cup(including LOI teams), FAI Intermediete Cup and reached the semi-finals of the FAI Senior Cup.
The club was elected to the League in 1951 and the debut game ended in a 2-1 loss to Drumcondra. It wasn't an indication of the season to come. Playing at Milltown (former home of Shamrock Rovers) the league was won at the first attempt. A move to Chapelizod Stadium brought 2 championships in our 2 years there(1954-56). The Nomadic ways continued with a move to Bohemians home, Dalymount Park. During our 4 years there the FAI Cup was won for the 1st time with a replay victory over Waterford. We also won the Shield. The club produced some great players during this period; Harry Boland, Tommy Dunne etc. but the greatest was Shay Gibbons. His record of 108 league goals is still a club record as is his 28 goals in one season(54/55). He also gained 4 caps for Ireland.
We moved back to Richmond Park for the 1960/61 season and went on to win the FAI Cup. This provided us to be Ireland's 1st representatives in the European Cup Winners Cup(losing to Dunfermline). The 60s and 70s proved to be lean years with only the odd cup run and a foray into Europe to liven up the long suffering Saints. There WERE good players(4 internationals during this period) but the club suffered from severe financial restrictions...(ie..we never had any money!!!!!)
The 1980s seemed to be going the same way as all our best players sold off to keep the club alive. One gem was unearthed. That God was Paul McGrath (who Roberto Baggio called the best defender EVER!). In his 1st season he won PFAI Player of the Year. Shortly after this he was sold to Manchester United for £20,000. The fee and the subsequant friendly, which Pats won, are said to have kept the club alive. In 1986 the board took a risk on a manager with no experience but plenty of talent. The Messiah that is Brian Kerr single handedly turned the club from perrenial strugglers to potential challengers in 2 short years. Who will ever forget losing the League by a point to Dundalk?
The first league title in 34 years was won on Easter Monday 1990 in United Park Drogheda. Inchicore was hung over for a month. A sterling performance against Dinamo Bucherest (drawing 1-1 at home) followed. The sky was the limit for this team. Thay should have dominated Irish football for years. However the club was fucked up by a shite board looking to line their own pockets. In the summer of 1992 the club was less than an hour away from extinction. A group of supporters scrambled together £82,000 to save the club. Brian Kerr remortgaged his house to save the club. (Would Alex Ferguson, Damian Richardson or Roy Evans do that?!?) Even the sale of Curtis Fleming to Middlesborough didn't ease the financial pain. Pat Dolan was appointed Commercial Manager to explain his playing salary. He was a shite player but a brilliant businessman. He led us back to the promised land. On December 5th 1993, we played our first proper game at Richmond Park since April 1989. The feeling as I walked through the turnstile again will always be with me. Always.
In season 1995/96 the league title was achieved for the first time while playing at our real home, Richmond Park. A junkie robbed us of the double by equalising 5 minutes from time in the FAI Cup. Last year saw Brian Kerr leave his beloved Saints just days after his 10th anniversary was celebrated by hammering Bohs 5-0. He became the Irish Youth Team coach. He was replaced by Pat Dolan. This year saw the the extension of the stand unveiled. They plan to build Executive boxes. EXECUTIVE BOXES IN RICHMOND PARK!!! These days we've the best/biggest squad in Ireland, internationals, the best new youth set-up, full time professionals, full time staff, the biggest support and all round the best set-up in the land and, of course, we're CHAMPIONS. We've come a long way.
copyright 1998: The Inchicore Saints website.
Back to the Future....the story since
When Dodge wrote the above piece all those years ago it was a truly great time in the club's history, commercial boss Pat Dolan had taken over as manager and led us to a memorable final day league win in Kilkenny. Greats like Eddie Gormley and Packie Lynch shined in a team that was backed up with a gamble on the youth of players who were part of Brian Kerr's U-20 Ireland team that had finished third in the World Cup in Malaysia: Colin Hawkins, Trevor Molloy and Tommy Morgan. In Europe we were unlucky to draw 0-0 with Glasgow Celtic as Martin Reilly wasted the game's best chance. Than somewhat bizarrely, Dolan stepped down as manager to "move upstairs". Replacement Liam Buckley completed a memorable "Two-in-a-Row" of league wins. The level of success earned the Saints the title of "team of the 90's" but as ever with the Saints success was always matched by a period of general ropeyness and all round craziness.
In Europe we received one of the biggest hidings ever, losing 10-0 on agg to than unknown Moldovans, FC Zimbru. This rocked the club to the core. Was it really only 12 months since we had given Celtic such a fright? Confidence went, players went and eventually Bucko himself got the chop as the Saints league form nosedived. Dolan, the club's M.D., re-appointed himself as team manager.
A period of re-building began as the core of the Two-in-a-Row team had gradually faded away. A League Cup and some safe league positions was as good as it got in this period but controversy was soon to follow as Dolan embarked on an ill-fated 'merger' with Saint Francis FC. The merger fell apart amid acrimony from all sides and bitter dissapproval from the fans, but not before Dolan pushed it for the guts of a season. Dolan's halo was slipping. Fans began to question his all powerful "dual role" as Chief Executive and Team Manager.
It couldn't get any worse we thought. It did. Pats won the league in storming fashion in 2002. That should have been the cause of great joy but the club's name was dragged through the mud by a legal battle with Shelbourne FC over a deduction of points for incorrect player registrations at Saint Pats. It was a nightmare, pure and simple, but the players that season deserve great credit for amassing the highest points total on the field of play. They truly were the Real Champions and were let down by off the field nonsense in the league and at our own club.
Because of the registration fiasco we had to settle for the Intertoto Cup and we went on to make history (again!) by being the first Irish team to advance in that competition. We scored 6 goals in the Intertoto and were knocked out by Gent on away goals rule following a barnstorming 3-1 win in Richmond Park. Fittingly the club that challenged us in the courts but not on the pitch, Shelbourne FC, were knocked out of the Champs League qualifiers by unknowns. Justice and proof positive that we were than Ireland's best football team by a mile.
At present we are in a whole new era for Irish football. With the departure of Pat Dolan just before the 2003 season we have now successfully moved on with a full time professional set up under the guidance Eamonn Collins and Martin Russell and Chairman Andy O'Callaghan off the field.A summer soccer season has been introduced and we are now in a reduced 10 team Premier. We have plans for the ground which include a new stand and facilities at the Inchicore end. Watch this space.....Dodge's prediction of Executive Boxes, made in the above piece may just happen yet!
