Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Shamrock Rovers

Full name	Shamrock Rovers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Hoops Rovers
Founded	1901
Ground	N/A (Tenants of Tolka Park) (Capacity: 10,000)
Chairman	Jonathan Roche
Manager	Jim Crawford
League	FAI Premier Division
2007	5th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Shamrock Rovers Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) are a football club from Dublin, Ireland. They play in the FAI Premier Division of the FAI League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish footballing history. The club have won the league title a record 15 times, including four times a row in the 1980s, along with the FAI Cup a record 24 times, including six times in a row in the 1960s. They are also noted for being the first Irish team to take part in European competition. In addition, they were also the first Irish club to play in the European Cup, playing the Busby Babes of Manchester United in 1958. Further, Shamrock Rovers were one of the European club teams which spent the 1967 season in the United States founding the North American Soccer League, representing Boston as the Boston Rovers. Shamrock Rovers have also supplied more different players to the Republic of Ireland national football team (62 in all) than any other single club. On all-Ireland competitions such as the Setanta Cup and its predecessors such as the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup, they hold the record as well, with 6 cups won overall^[1], more than any other Irish team.

Shamrock Rovers were founded in Ringsend, Dublin in 1901, though the gates at their former ground, Glenmalure Park, indicated the club was founded in 1899. They are currently tenants of Tolka Park in Drumcondra, Dublin, where they play their home games. The club have been without a permanent home since 1987, when a former director sold their ground, Glenmalure Park in Milltown, Dublin. They plan to play their home games in the Tallaght Stadium beginning in the 2009 season.

Shamrock Rovers recently formed a football partnership with Maltese side Floriana F.C.

Contents 1 History 2 Colours and badge 3 Other Teams 3.1 Schoolboys 3.2 Tallaght Community Stadium 4 Shamrock Rovers Ownership 4.1 Supporters Clubs 4.2 Fanzines 5 Shamrock Rovers in the Community 6 Honours and Milestones 6.1 European Record 6.2 Notable Results 6.3 Milestones 7 Managers 8 Players 8.1 Current squad 8.2 Player of the Year Award recipients 8.3 Selected Former Players 8.4 Record Player Statistics 9 References 10 External links

History

The club originally hail from the inner-Dublin suburb of Ringsend. The name of the club derives from Shamrock Avenue in Ringsend, where the first club rooms were secured. From the early 1920s until 1987, Shamrock Rovers played at Glenmalure Park, Milltown.

On the 26th of January 1958 Rovers played Drums in the first ever all ticket clash in the League of Ireland.

Up until the 1970s, Shamrock Rovers were well supported, attracting over 20,000 people regularly to Glenmalure Park and up to 30,000 for cup finals and European matches at Dalymount Park. Ultimately a combination of poor results, the competition from televised football from abroad and other attractions meant that by the late 1980s the club's crowds averaged about 1,500.^[2]

.

In 1987, the club's home ground was sold by the then owners, the Kilcoyne family. It was subsequently demolished and developed for housing. Supporters waged a long and acrimonious but futile campaign to save the ground. Home games were boycotted by fans, ultimately forcing out the Kilcoynes as owners. The club has been without a home from that time until the present. The most stable period since was while playing at the Royal Dublin Society's grounds in Ballsbridge, Dublin between 1990 and 1996. During this time, Rovers won a league trophy (in 1994) and attracted reasonable crowds. The club chairman, John McNamara, sold out his interest in 1996 to a new consortium who, within a few months, announced plans to bring Rovers to a new stadium in Tallaght on Dublin's south-side. Since then the club have been trying to develop this stadium in Tallaght and have played their home matches at several venues all over the city including Tolka Park, Richmond Park and the athletics venue at Morton Stadium in Santry. Their current 'home' ground is Tolka Park.

Shamrock Rovers experienced severe financial troubles during the 2005 season, due to overspending and an accumulation of massive debts and spent a period under examinership (a form of financial administration). The supporters association, 'the 400 club', who had been bankrolling the club during the examinership process assumed control of the club. This group, now known as the Shamrock Rovers Members club, run the club on a not-for-profit basis.

The club was relegated for the first time in its history in the 2005 season losing out in a promotion/relegation play-off to the now-defunct Dublin City. However, they won the First Division title in 2006 and made a return to the Premier Division where in 2007 they finished 5th.

Colours and badge

Shamrock Rovers kit is green and white hoops after Belfast Celtic donated a set of hooped jerseys. The first game with the new hooped jerseys was against Bray in a cup match in September 1926. 2007 sees the first season where the hoops are not continuous around the jersey. This is due to a FIFA regulation which states that clubs with hooped or striped jerseys must have the player's number on a square of plain colour.

The away colours of the club have varied considerably over time. In the early 1980s, the club had a yellow away jersey. In the mid-1990s a hooped purple jersey was adopted. The official away kit for Shamrock Rovers is now black with some green trimmings. There is also a third choice kit available, which is green.

The club crest features a football and a shamrock, and has done so throughout the history of the club, with only minor alterations. Changes include the style of the shamrock and the width of the diagonal lines.

Other Teams

Schoolboys

Shamrock Rovers F.C. and Tallaght Town A.F.C. merged in 1997 to form a new schoolboys section to serve the Tallaght area in South West Dublin. Tallaght Town A.F.C. remained in operation with three intermediate teams participating in the Leinster Senior League. Two of these teams remain in operation today but are now playing under the name of Shamrock Rovers. Shamrock Rovers Schoolboys have teams from u7s to u18s playing in the Dublin District Schoolboys League and have continued to grow each year since 1997. There are currently sixteen teams with a total of 208 players and these are looked after by 35 managers and coaches.

In 2002 the Under 17 team came through eight rounds to beat off the best and lift the Football Association of Ireland All Ireland Youths Cup. In 2003/2004 the then Under 14 team won the DDSL Major Division unbeaten and added the Harmon Cup to make it a memorable double. In the 2005 Northern Ireland Milk Cup, Shamrock Rovers took on Barcelona and did the club and Tallaght proud with a superb performance in a game in which they were unlucky to lose 2-1.^[3]Barcelona went on to win the tournament.

The Rovers youth team took part in the prestigious international Dallas Cup in April 2007 in Texas, USA. Rovers were the first ever Irish club to take part.

Tallaght Community Stadium

In the 1990s Shamrock Rovers were granted land in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght to build a new stadium. On Thursday 30 March 2000, An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern turned the sod at the site. However, work on the stadium ceased in 2001 and in March, 2005 South Dublin County Council announced that they were taking back the land that they had granted to the club, as the conditions of the planning permission had not been met. A public consultation process was initiated in July 2005 and a resolution was passed in December 2005 to alter the stadium to accommodate senior GAA games while still having Shamrock Rovers as the preferred tenants. This decision was subject to additional government funding. This funding was not made available and on 13 January 2006 the council voted to proceed with the original plan.

This second vote was challenged by a local Gaelic Athletic Association club, Thomas Davis who wanted the 13 January 2006 vote declared illegal thus forcing the county council to build the GAA stadium. Thomas Davis claimed that the capacity of the stadium (initially 6,000, ultimately 10,000) would not be affected by the change, the other parties involved disputed this and argued that the capacity would be reduced.^[4]. Requests under the freedom of information act to both South Dublin County Council and the Department of Sport showed that Thomas Davis had not submitted any plans showing that capacity would not be affected.^[5]

Thomas Davis GAA club instituted judicial review proceedings in the High Court in May 2006. Their main argument was that the decision of the council on 13 February 2006 to revert to the original plans for the stadium, which did not include a senior GAA pitch, was unlawful.^[6] Their submission on the technical point was accompanied by cultural arguments that 'the youth of Tallaght will be restricted to a diet of Association football' and that a soccer-only ground would place the 'applicant at a severe disadvantage in attracting the youth of Tallaght to the club, the sport and the GAA culture^[7]'. However the stadium, with the original design, could accommodate junior GAA games as the pitch used at this level fits within the stadium's dimensions. It was only senior GAA games that would not have been facilitated.^[8]

The then Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, consistently supported the government decision to support the stadium with soccer pitch dimensions.^[9].^[10]

The GAA can't be facilitated in the stadium – it is as simple as that. I don’t know why they are persisting with it. They are simply holding up Shamrock Rovers from moving in, that's all that will come of any action. It can go to a hearing but there will be no climbdown by the Government. It is proposed to be the new home stadium for Shamrock Rovers and will have a capacity for 6,000 spectators. The stadium would need to be redesigned to accommodate Gaelic games. The GAA have their own site in Rathcoole and there are 24 acres there that are to be developed and I have said that I would help them with that but that's not enough for them.^[11]

—John O'Donoghue T.D., Minister for Sport, Arts and Tourism

On Thursday, 14 December 2006 the Football Association of Ireland pledged financial assistance for the Hoops’ High Court battle involving Thomas Davis.

We want to see Shamrock Rovers playing in the Tallaght Community Stadium – and as soon as possible. We have been working hard behind the scenes with the various stakeholders over the past two years to see Tallaght completed for soccer in the area.^[12]

—John Delaney, FAI Chief Executive

The judicial review began on 20 April 2007 and concluded on 14 December 2007. In the High Court decision Mr. Justice Roderick Murphy found in favour of South Dublin Co. Council and Shamrock Rovers.^[13]South Dublin Co. Council were correct in their 13 February 2006 vote to proceed with the stadium as originally planned. An application by Thomas Davis for leave to appeal this decision to the Supreme court was refused by Judge Murphy on 25 January 2008. Building commenced on the stadium on 6 May 2008.^[14] Shamrock Rovers will play their first 'home' game in over 20 years in the Stadium in 2009.

Shamrock Rovers Ownership

The Shamrock Rovers Members Club was originally formed as the 400 Club in 2002, whereby supporters donate a fixed amount of money each month to help finance the football club. The monthly amount is €50. Initially the 400 Club was intended to secure a mortgage for the construction of the Tallaght Stadium. However, it later developed into an independent supporters association that ended up taking over the club in 2005. The 400 Club played a crucial part in paying for Rovers' recent progress through Examinership. They paid off a portion of the club's debts and then assumed responsibility for the running of the football club. The members club has a Board of Directors known as Trustees. The Board is elected once a year. Each person who donates has one vote in relation to this Board. After the Examinership period, the Board of Trustees also became the Board of Directors of Shamrock Rovers Football Club. At the 2006 annual general meeting of the 400 Club there was a vote to rename the club as the SRFC Members Club. At the 2008 AGM the monthly subscription was increased to €50 per month which is the first increase since the formation of the club. Currently, there are 510 members. Membership is open to all supporters of Shamrock Rovers.

Supporters Clubs

Shamrock Rovers has several supporters clubs. Latest club details and events are published in Hoops Scene, the matchday programme and every Wednesday in the Evening Herald. It is not uncommon for fans to belong to several supporters clubs.

Alphabetical list of Supporters Clubs:

• Derek Tracey No.1 Crumlin Hoops Supporters Club

Formerly known as Crumlin Hoops SC who were founded in 1996, the club changed it's name at the 2006 Legends night in recognition of Derek Tracey who spent his entire career at Rovers. Based in Crumlin.

• Glenmalure No.1 Supporters Club

The Glenmalure No. 1 Supporters Club was founded in 1993.

• Hoops Supporters Club

The Hoops Supporters Clubs was founded in 1991. The club runs buses to all away games. ^[15]

• Jim McLaughlin Supporters Club

The Jim McLaughlin Supporters Club is the newest supporters club and was founded in 2007.

• Pride of Dublin Supporters Club

The Pride of Dublin Supporters Club was founded in 1996 is based in Sandyford.

• Pride of Ringsend Supporters Club {Bród na Rinne}

The Pride Of Ringsend Supporters Club was founded in 2006 and is based in Ringsend, Rovers birthplace. The club HQ is The Hobblers End in Ringsend village. http://porsc.blogspot.com/

• SRFC Ultras

Rather than being an official supporters club, the Ultras are a group of supporters who aim to enhance matchdays by creating a carnival atmosphere. This is achieved mainly by flying large flags, singing continuously, and organising special displays. http://www.srfcultras.org/. Rovers were the first Irish club to have Ultras and have inspired other Irish and Scottish clubs to enhance the matchday atmosphere.

• Tallaght Hoops Supporters Club

The Tallaght Hoops Supporters Club was founded in early 1999 and are based in Tallaght.

Fanzines

Over the years Shamrock Rovers fans have produced several fanzines. There is currently no fanzine, and the growth of on-line discussion forums has been blamed for this decline.

• Glenmalure Gazette (22 issues running from November 1988 to March 1991)
• Hooped on a Feeling - Published one issue in September 1996.
• Hoops Upside Your Head
• Some Ecstasy - published for three seasons from 1992/93 and 1994/95.

Shamrock Rovers in the Community

Shamrock Rovers are active participants of the Show Racism the Red Card Ireland initiative. This includes giving out 'Show Racism the Red Card' posters at some matches during the season and promoting racial equality through all its teams and through its community involvement.

Football is great for bringing people of all nationalities together. We need to encourage this in our everyday lives. We also need to recognise that talent comes from within regardless of race, colour or creed.^[16]

—Pat Scully, Pat Scully, Manager, Shamrock Rovers F.C.

As part of its community-based ethos, Shamrock Rovers operates Scholarships covering all levels of education. In conjunction with IT Tallaght, the club offers third level education to players, and has more recently introduced a scholarship scheme that facilitates primary school students through the Junior Certificate cycle.^[17]

Honours and Milestones

• League titles: 15 (a record)
  • 1922-23, 1924-25, 1926-27, 1931-32, 1937-38, 1938-39, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1963-64, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1993-94

• First Division title: 1
  • 2006

• FAI Cups: 24 (a record)
  • 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1987

• League Cups: 1
  • 1976-77

• League of Ireland Shield: 18 (a record)
  • 1924-25, 1926-27, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1934-35, 1937-38, 1941-42, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68.

• Leinster Senior Cup: 16
  • 1923, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1969, 1982, 1985, 1997

• Irish Junior Cup: 1
  • 1914/15

Full list of Shamrock Rovers Honours.

European Record

Shamrock Rovers have a long history in European competitions. They were the first Irish side to enter European competition, and in the 1960s and again in the 1980s, they featured regularly in Europe. Rovers have had some success in European competitions, notably in the UEFA Intertoto-Cup in recent years. They have beaten teams from Luxembourg, Cyprus, Iceland, Germany, and were the first Irish club to beat clubs from Turkey and Poland. Their biggest win was 4-0 against Fram Reykjavik in 1982, while their biggest defeat was 7-0 against Górnik Zabrze in 1994. Some more of their most notable European performances included:

• a 2-2 draw and 1-0 defeat to Valencia CF in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1963-64
• a 1-1 draw and 2-1 defeat to Real Zaragoza in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1965-66
• a 1-1 draw and 3-2 defeat to Bayern München in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1966-67
• a 2-1 win over FC Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1969-70
• a 2-1 win and 1-0 win over Odra Wodzisław in the UEFA Intertoto-Cup 2003

Their overall European record is:

European Champion Clubs' Cup

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
14	0	4	10	7	28

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
16	5	2	9	19	27

UEFA Cup

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
8	2	0	6	8	18

UEFA Intertoto Cup

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
6	3	0	3	7	10

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup*

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
4	0	2	2	4	6

Total

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded
48	10	8	30	45	89

Notable Results

• Record Win
  • 11-0 Bray Unknowns F.C., League, 28 October 1928 at Milltown

• Record Losses
  • 0-7 v St James's Gate F.C., League, 22 April 1937
  • 0-7 v Cork City F.C., Dublin City Cup, 31 August 1938
  • 0-7 v Górnik Zabrze, UEFA Cup 1994-95

• Other games of note
  • 5-1 win against Red Star Belgrade, 16 July 1961, Polo Grounds, New York (Scorers: Tony Byrne (2), Frank O'Neill, Paddy Ambrose, Liam Tuohy)
  • 1-0 win against Sporting Lisbon, 16 August 1985, Estádio José Alvalade (Scorer: Harry Kenny)
  • 1-0 win against Arsenal F.C., 25 February 1986, Glenmalure Park (Scorer: Noel Larkin)
  • 2-0 win against Manchester United, 14 August 1986, Shay Brennan testimonial, Glenmalure Park (Scorers: Mick Bennett, Liam O'Brien)
  • 2-1 win against Manchester United, 18 March 1987, Glenmalure Park, (Scorers: Noel Larkin, Mick Byrne)

Milestones

• 100th League Game: Saturday 24 September 1927, 3-1 win against Athlone Town at Milltown.
• 500th League Game: Wednesday 21 April 1948, 2-0 win against Shelbourne at Milltown.
• 1000th League Game: Saturday 20 February 1971, 1-0 loss at Dundalk.
• 1500th League Game: Sunday 22 January 1989, a 2-0 win against Athlone Town at Dalymount.
• 1700th League Game: Saturday 2 March 1996, a 2-0 win at Galway United.
• 2000th League Game: Friday 22 October 2004, a 2-1 loss to Drogheda United at Richmond.

• Rovers 1000th League win came on Friday 18 August 2006 when Kilkenny City were beaten 2-0 at Tolka Park with goals by Anthony Flood and Tadhg Purcell.

At the end of the 2007 season Rovers overall league record is:

Played: 2106 Won: 1023 Drew: 507 Lost: 576 GF: 4005 GA: 2637 Points: 2781

Padraig Amond scored Rovers 4000th League goal on 14 September 2007 in a 4-0 win over Galway United.

Managers

• John Giles
• Jim McLaughlin
• Mick Byrne
• Ray Treacy
• Damien Richardson
• Liam Buckley
• Roddy Collins
• Pat Scully
• Jim Crawford

Players

Current squad

As of October 2008

No. Position Player GK Barry Murphy GK Karl Coleman GK Robert Duggan DF Aidan Price (captain) DF Ger O’Brien DF Simon Madden DF Pat Flynn DF Darren Stapleton DF Daragh Maguire DF Danny O'Connor MF Stephen Rice

No. Position Player MF John Martin MF Eric McGill MF Sean O'Connor FW Padraig Amond FW Tadhg Purcell FW Eoin Doyle FW Mark Leech FW Joseph Ndo DF Dean Lawrence (on loan to Shelbourne FC) FW Ciarán Kilduff (on loan to Kildare County FC) DF Karl Keogh

Manager: Jim Crawford

U21 Manager: John Moore

Player of the Year Award recipients

Year	Player	Year	Player	Year	Player
1979/80	Robbie Gaffney	1980/81	Harry Kenny	1981/82	Liam Buckley
1982/83	Liam Buckley	1983/84	Alan Campbell	1984/85	Pat Byrne
1985/86	Mick Neville	1986/87	Jody Byrne	1987/88	Mick Byrne
1988/89	Jody Byrne	1989/90	Vinny Arkins	1990/91	Dave Connell
1991/92	Dave Connell	1992/93	Peter Eccles	1993/94	Alan Byrne
1994/95	Gino Brazil	1995/96	Alan O'Neill	1996/97	Tony Cousins
1997/98	Matt Britton	1998/99	Tony O'Dowd	1999/00	Terry Palmer
2000/01	Tony Grant	2001/02	Shane Robinson	2002/03	Noel Hunt
2003	Glen Fitzpatrick	2004	Trevor Molloy	2005	Barry Murphy
2006	Aidan Price	2007	Ger O'Brien

Selected Former Players

Paddy Ambrose Eddie Bailham Jim Beglin Tommy Breen Johnny Carey Paddy Coad Tommy Donnelly Jimmy Dunne Pat Dunne Eamon Dunphy Tommy Eglington Peter Farrell Pat Fenlon

Eamonn Fagan John Joe Flood Bob Fullam Johnny Fullam Bobby Gilbert John Giles Tommy Godwin Eoin Hand Jackie Jameson Jimmy Kelly Mick Leech Jimmy McAlinden Maxie McCann Paddy Moore

Paddy Mulligan Liam Munroe Ronnie Nolan Liam O'Brien Tommy O'Connor Frank O'Neill Noel Peyton Jason Sherlock Mick Smyth Liam Tuohy Tony Ward Bobby Tambling Matt Doherty

see also Cat:Shamrock Rovers F.C. players

Record Player Statistics

• Highest number of goals in a season:
  • Bob Fullam 1926/27 (27)
  • Stephen Geoghegan 1993/94 (23)

• Top League scorers
  • Paddy Ambrose - 109
  • Paddy Coad - 104
  • Bob Fullam - 92

• Top FAI scorers
  • Paddy Coad - 37
  • Liam Tuohy - 20

References

External links

• Shamrock Rovers FC Website
• Shamrock Rovers at FAI.ie
• SRFC Ultras discussion forum

FAI League of Ireland 2008
FAI Premier Division 2008
Bohemians | Bray Wanderers | Cobh Ramblers | Cork City | Derry City | Drogheda United | Finn Harps | Galway United | St Patrick's Athletic | Shamrock Rovers | Sligo Rovers | UCD
FAI First Division 2008
Athlone Town | Dundalk | Kildare County | Limerick 37 | Longford Town | Monaghan United | Shelbourne | Sporting Fingal | Waterford United | Wexford Youths