Limerick F.C.
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| Limerick FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Limerick Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "The Blues" and "Lims" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Hogan Park, Rathbane, Limerick City |
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| Capacity | 9,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Danny Drew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Danny Drew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | 5th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Limerick Football Club was an Irish football club formerly of the Football League of Ireland. There has been senior football in the city since 1937. Limerick FC, who replaced Limerick United in the League of Ireland in 1983, played their home matches at Hogan Park. This ground does not seem to have a future as it is in a notorious part of the city. Club colours were blue and white. The final manager was Chairman Danny Drew after the resignation of Noel O'Connor. The club failed to receive a First Division licence for the 2007 season and so their period in the League of Ireland came to a halt. A new club, Limerick 37, were formed to fill the vacuum left in the city's footballing circles and were granted a First Division license for the 2007 season.
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[edit] History
[edit] Limerick F.C. Colours
While Limerick soccer has for long been associated with the colours blue and white, Limerick teams have taken to the field in a variety of club colours.
When a senior soccer team first appeared on the scene in 1937 blue was nowhere to be seen. The first teams wore Stoke City-like red and white striped jerseys and white shorts. The colour was more accurately described as Cardinal red (It was reported that black and amber was also suggested as the club colours, but that Young Munsters ruse didn't work).
Limerick did not appear in blue and white until 1943, and in their first game in the new colours lost 5-0 to Cork United at the Markets Field. After this 'blue' start, Limerick teams continued to wear blue and white for the next 40 years. Limerick City came into being in 1983 and the team colours were changed along with the club name and the home ground. The club moved to Rathbane and took to wearing canary yellow and green shirts and green shorts.
The re-emergence of Limerick FC in the mid-1990s also saw the re-emergence of the famous blue jerseys. In an attempt to re-engage with the Limerick footballing public the blue and white made a return.
[edit] Limerick F.C. in European Competition
Limerick has appeared in European competitions on six occasions in its history. In 12 matches they have scored 7 goals and while the club has never won a European game, it has drawn twice. One of those draws was achieved at the Dell against a Southampton team that included former European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan and Mick Channon.
Limerick first competed in 1960 in the European Cup against Young Boys Berne, but suffered their heaviest aggregate defeat. Limerick moved their 1965 Cup Winners' Cup home leg to Dalymount Park, the other time that Limerick has played a 'home' game outside of Limerick. Interestingly, Pat Nolan is the only player ever to have scored for Limerick in Limerick in a European game.
The most famous European game was the 'home' match against Real Madrid in the European Cup in 1980. The match was played at Lansdowne Road where Dublin football fans stayed away en masse. Only 6,000 people saw a Limerick team under Eoin Hand almost beat the aristocrats of European soccer. Des Kennedy scored twice against Real Madrid in the tie, the only player to do so in Europe that year. Johnny Matthews had a 'goal' disallowed. Had it been given he would have completed a remarkable treble, as he had previously scored in European competition against Manchester United and Celtic while at Waterford United.
| Year | Comp | Versus | Results and Limerick Scorers |
| 1960 | European Cup | Young Boys Berne | (H - Thomond Park) 0-5 (A) 2-4 Leo O'Reilly & George Lynam |
| 1965 | CWC | CSKA Sofia | (H - Dalymount Park) 1-2 Dick O'Connor (A) 0-2 |
| 1971 | CWC | Torino | (H- Thomond Park) 0-1 (A) 0-4 |
| 1980 | European Cup | Real Madrid | (H - Lansdowne Road) 1-2 Des Kennedy (A) 1-5 Des Kennedy |
| 1981 | UEFA Cup | Southampton | (H - Markets Field) 0-3 (A) 1-1 Tony Morris |
| 1982 | CWC | AZ Alkmaar | (H - Markets Field) 1-1 Pat Nolan (A) 0-1 |
[edit] Honours
- League Champions: 2
- 1959/60, 1979/80
- FAI Cup Winners: 2
- 1971, 1982
- League Cup Winners: 3
- 1976/77, 1992/93, 2001/02
- Shield Winners: 2
- 1953/54, 1983/84
- First Division Championship: 1
- 1991/92
- Dublin City Cup Winners: 2
- 1958/59, 1969/70
- Munster Senior Cup Winners: 7
- 1938, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1963, 1977, 1995
[edit] Notable managers
[edit] Notable players
Sam Allardyce (MF)
Ewan Fenton (DF)
Al Finucane (MF)- Des Kennedy (FW)
- John McGrath (MF)
- Tony Ward
[edit] External links
- The Official Limerick FC Website
- Eleven a Side - Limerick FC
- Limerick on FAI.ie
- Limerick FC Supporters' Club
- Discussion Group on Limerick FC
