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Kira Yamato

Kira Yamato (キラ・ヤマト) is a fictional character first introduced as the protagonist from the 2002 Japanese anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which was produced by Sunrise as part of the Gundam franchise. In the series, Kira is a first-generation Coordinator, a genetically enhanced human being born of normal humans (Naturals). At the beginning of Gundam SEED, Kira lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis to avoid the war between the Coordinators and the Naturals, but the colony becomes involved in the war shortly thereafter. Kira is the only person within the Earth Alliance—the Naturals' military faction—who is able to effectively pilot their mobile suit—a type of a mecha created by them. He is forced to become a mobile suit pilot and to participate in various battles to protect his friends. Kira has also been featured in Gundam SEED's direct sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, in which he fights to stop a new war between the races' military organizations.

Kira has also appeared in the manga adaptations from the two TV series as well as the film compilations. Various video games from the Gundam franchise as well as crossover games also feature Kira as a pilot from mobile suits. Director Mitsuo Fukuda regarded Kira's actions as based on Japanese people's thoughts, and emphasized a large development occurring to his character across the series. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Sōichirō Hoshi. In English, he is voiced by Matt Hill in the Ocean English dub, and by Max Mittelman in the NYAV English dub.

Kira is one of the most popular characters in the Anime Grand Prix popularity polls for favorite male characters, often coming in first or second between 2002 and 2005. His character has also been well received by publications for manga, anime and other media due to his friendly personality, the constant struggles he has with his enemies that allow him to have a notable development. In regards to his return in SEED Destiny, reviewers found him more likable than the new lead, Shinn Asuka, and found his characterization deeper.

In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
At the start of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Kira is a shy, friendly teenager living peacefully in the Heliopolis colony. Kira is a highly skilled computer programmer who assists with research and development at the Heliopolis technical college, where he is a student. When a war between the Naturals and Coordinators is brought to Heliopolis, Kira takes control of a mobile suit, the GAT-X105 Strike (GAT-X105 ストライク), to protect his friends from ZAFT—the military organization of the Coordinators. Born as a Coordinator, Kira's advanced mental and physical skills allow him to skillfully control the Strike. Kira is shocked when he discovers that his childhood friend Athrun Zala is a member of ZAFT. When they last met, Athrun gave Kira his robotic pet Birdy (トリィ) as a sign of their enduring friendship, (voiced by Naomi Shindou in the Japanese anime and Tabitha St. Germain in the English dub) which Kira is often seen with.

Several survivors from Heliopolis are brought on board the Archangel and Kira defends them from enemy attacks until they arrive in Alaska on Earth. Kira has strong reservations against fighting, fearing he may confront Athrun and that he may kill a person. After manipulation by Flay Allster, Kira gradually becomes more aggressive when defending the Archangel to the point where he could kill a person without hesitation. During one of the Archangel's battles against ZAFT, the Strike suffers multiple damages by Athrun and Kira is declared missing in action. He is found alive but injured by Reverend Malchio, who transports him to a space colony known as PLANT where most coordinators reside and is ZAFT's homebase. There, his wounds are treated by Lacus Clyne, a Coordinator who befriended Kira when she was taken aboard the Archangel and was used as a hostage.

After hearing that ZAFT plans to attack the base his friends are staying at, Kira decides to continue battling to bring the war to an end. Lacus then gives Kira ZAFT's new mobile suit, ZGMF-X10A Freedom (ZGMF-X10A フリーダム), which he uses to accompany the Archangel, whose objective has also changed to ending the war. When piloting Freedom Kira is noted to avoid hitting enemy mobile suits' cockpits to reduce the number of human casualties. Kira joins the Archangel and Lacus' faction to fight both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to stop both sides from destroying each other.

Kira learns of his origins from ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset during these battles. Kira is the Ultimate Coordinator; his fetus was artificially developed outside his mother's womb and his genetic enhancements were intended to be superior to all other Coordinators. Kira was the only fetus to survive the process. He was born as the twin brother of his comrade Cagalli Yula Athha but does not learn about this relationship until the latter half of the series. Kira was adopted by his aunt Caridad and uncle Haruma Yamato and was led to believe they were his biological parents. Despite being shocked by his origins as the Ultimate Coordinator, Kira continues to fight alongside the Archangel until their opponents, including Rau, have been defeated and the war comes to end.

In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
During Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, Kira has been living in the secluded Marshall Islands since the end of the war within the country of Orb. He and Lacus have spent the past two years since the end of the war assisting Reverend Malchio and Kira's adoptive mother with their orphanage. When an incident triggers another war, Coordinators try to kill Lacus; Kira pilots Freedom to defeat them. When Orb attempts to join the war as a member of the Earth Alliance, Kira and the Archangel intervene Orb's forces to preserve the nation's neutral status. Kira suspects Gilbert Durandal, the chairman of the PLANT colonies and leader of ZAFT, to be behind Lacus' attempted murder, but his motives are questioned by Athrun who is working in ZAFT. Later, when the Archangel becomes a target of the ZAFT ship known as Minerva, Kira is defeated and the Freedom is destroyed by pilot Shinn Asuka. Lacus gives Kira an upgraded version of Freedom, ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom (ZGMF-X20A ストライクフリーダム), so he can continue fighting. Having obtained a weapon of mass destruction, Durandal imposes the Destiny Plan, a rule which removes freewill and dictates a person's entire life based on their genetics. Kira, the Archangel and their allies confront ZAFT's forces in space and defeat them in the final battle. Kira personally confronts Durandal and the latter is killed by one of his own subordinates. Kira appears in the original video animation (OVA) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Final Plus. Following Durandal's death, Kira meets Shinn and they promise to work for a peaceful future. He is also featured in films Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition, which retell the events from the television series and adds a scene of Kira becoming a member of ZAFT after the war ends.

In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom
In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (set 2 years after the end of Destiny), Kira has moved to the PLANTs with Lacus (confirming the ending of Gundam SEED Destiny: Special Edition), and has become the a member of peacekeeping organization COMPASS, alongside Shinn, Lunamaria, Mu, Hilda, and other comrades from his past with the Earth Alliance and Orb. At the beginning of the film, he pilots a new mobile suit, the STSS-909 Rising Freedom (STTS-909 ライジングフリーダムガンダム), however it is destroyed. Later in the film, he obtains an upgraded rebuild of the Strike Freedom, the ZGMF/A-262B Strike Freedom Type II, which receives a further upgrade in the climax of the film with a new backpack, the MDE262S Proud Defender, to become the ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom.

In other media
Kira is featured in the manga adaptations of Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny. Kira's designs, according to Masatsugu Iwase—author of the Gundam SEED manga—was intended to be that of "a spineless wimp while not making him look too childish", but he later decided to make him a strong character in the manga. The manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: The Edge Desire features a story about Kira's recovery following Freedom's destruction.

The manga series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray explores Kira's survival after the Strike's defeat; a technician named Lowe Guele finds Kira wounded and takes him to Reverend Malchio. Although Kira appears only at the end, his defeat is the objective of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray's protagonist, Canard Pars. In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73 Δ Astray Kira makes a brief appearance; he kidnaps Cagalli from Orb during the events of Gundam SEED Destiny. He has also been featured in two character CDs from the series, with tracks performed by his Japanese voice actor, Sōichirō Hoshi.

Kira has also appeared in various video games in the Gundam franchise, including Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. and its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II. He is the main playable character in the mobile phone game Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Phase-Act Delivery. He appears in the Gundam fighting crossover games Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 with Strike Freedom as a playable mobile suit. Other Gundam crossover games also feature Kira as a pilot including Gundam vs. Gundam Next and Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.. Another crossover game in which he is playable is Gundam Assault Survive, piloting the Strike. Kira, along with other Gundam SEED characters, appears in several video games from the Super Robot Wars series. He appears in Another Century's Episode 3 piloting the Freedom mobile suit and its follow-up, Another Century's Episode R, with the Strike Freedom.

Creation and conception
Director Mitsuo Fukuda stated that initially the story of Gundam SEED was written from Kira's point of view. Kira's personality and thought process were derived from what Fukuda considered to be Japanese people's thoughts. He said that his story was about his forced wish to fight, in contrast to Shinn Asuka who was not reluctant to fight in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. In retrospective, Fukuda emphasized a contrast between both Kira's and Shinn's characters to the point both were the opposite of each other regarding their opinions; Kira's development was easier to script. Fukuda said that as both Kira's and Shinn's characters as were similar, they were easy to voice. Fukuda said that he was influenced by the September 11 terrorist attacks and formed the image of the main character of SEED based on the concept of an Islamic soldier fighting in the US military. The setting in which the mechanics that appear are powered by electricity was influenced by Gear Fighter Dendoh which Fukuda previously directed, and when it came to handling the Gundam, he focused on its aspect as a symbol of the character piloting it. Fukuda reclaims having enjoyed the scene from episode 46 based on the emotional support Lacus provides to Kira. Ishida agreed with Fukuda, stating the scene was well directed. For the final episode of the series, Fukuda aimed to bring Kira to his lowest where he becomes unstable when Flay is killed by Rau, leaving a major impact in him, considering himself a failure for failing to protect her. When it came to this scene in both retelling films and HD remaster of the series, Fukuda wanted the original audio to remain the same as he feared adding a song or changing the background music would have ruined it. Following Rau's death at Kira's hand in the final episode of the series, Fukuda wanted the last scene involving Kira being outside Freedom in space while being rescued by Athrun and Cagalli to change for the remaster for adding a more symbolic tone.

Kira's inclusion in Destiny was made in order to tell a story from three people's point of views: Kira's, Athrun's and Shinn. Kira's quite characterization was the made in order to reflect his trauma in regards to the fights he had in the first Seed series. In contrast to the stronger Kira from Seed who managed to "devours" other characters, the Kira from Destiny was written to lack emotion with the exception of the moments he becomes romantic with Lacus. This was also done to avoid having Kira overshadow Athrun's arc again. Another challenge for the director involved the handling of Kira's skills when piloting the Freedom and then create a new mobile suit. The director lamented that from the three protagonists, Kira was the least explored character during the making of the series alongside two other characters with major importance: Durandal and Lacus. As Kira was quite an active character in SEED, Fukuda undeniably labelled him as the protagonist. In contrast, he was more quiet in Destiny, leading to the decision to Athrun and Cagalli being more fitting of being the protagonists. This is more notable in Destiny compilation movies where Athrun acts as the main narrator. Fukuda described Kira in SEED Destiny as a person who runs away from fights despite often his values for Orb. His characterization was made to change briefly across the story as Kira faced Gilbert Durandal's ideals and became a person more compromised with war in contrast to his original pacifist persona after this incarnation was challenged multiple other characters in regards to his actions in the battlefield.

With a new film being released several years after the end of Destiny, Fukuda decided to use Kira as the main character, resulting in the subtitle Freedom. Freedom which serves as one of the main themes of the trilogy and contrasted Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan used in the climax of the previous series. Fukuda reflected such series left unfinished drama to the protagonists of Kira, Athrun and Shinn and thus wanted to explore such possibilities with Freedom. Fukuda recounts that his wife, late writer Chiaki Morosawa, wanted a character punch Kira due to lack of violence outside mobile suit fights as well as sink the Archangel. Morowasa did not believe that the story could end properly this happened alongside to the destruction of the Archangel ship. Regarding the reason for choosing a motorcycle as the vehicle for the two of them rather than a four-wheeled car for marketing Kira and Lacus' hobbies, Fukuda said, cars feel like they move on a single axis or in a flat manner, but motorcycles also have roll movements, so it's more free-flowing. This fits Kira and Lacus, as it symbolizes the freedom that they crave. Fukuda was inspired by his own youth to animate bikes as he relates them with superheroes like Bari Bari Densetsu. Though not major in the movie, the bikes Kira and Lacus ride together were hard to animate but Fukuda still personally drew scene. In regards to how they work, the Gold Wing that Kira is riding is a reciprocating engine. Promotions also included a collaboration with Dune: Part Two in the form of an alternate version of Dune: Part Two's movie poster featuring Lacus and Kira in place of Chani (Zendaya) and Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) respectively.

Casting
Fukuda had initial mixed feelings about the portrayal of Kira since he believed him and the famous voice actor were regularly seen in Japanese animes. However, Fukuda was attracted by Soichiro Hoshi's popularity and decided to contact him for Seed. Akira Ishida was also pictured to be Kira's actor but then Fukuda decided to pick Athrun Zala instead. Since Hoshi was one of the youngest voice actors in Seed, Fukuda often contacted him about how to properly portrayal; He often told Hoshi that Kira is constantly in a state of sadness in the first episodes as he was going to lose his humanity the more he fought. Hoshi said that the character of Kira was the one who left him the biggest attention in his career. The first half of the anime ended with a meeting between Kira and Athrun were the two act casually as they had to avoid being enemies. In the end, Fukuda praised Hoshi for bringing Kira's charm. Hoshi believed Kira managed to mature thanks to Lacus Clyne after his fight with Athrun.

Hoshi expressed joy in voicing the character and was happy when redoing his character's lines for the remaster of the series. One of Hoshi's favorite lines in the franchise is "I still have a world I want to protect!" in the final episode of SEED when facing Rau as he felt it was heartwarming. Another aspect Hoshi enjoyed in regards to his work was how Kira and Athrun become allies in the 39th episode following multiple fights across the anime. In retrospect, Hoshi claims there was brief tension in recording early episodes and was often assisted by Fukuda. Although Kira and Athrun often face each other, Hoshi found no difficulties in voicing their scenes as he often believed the two would reform their friendship with Athrun's voice actor Akira Ishida agreeing.

For the English dub, he is voiced by Matt Hill, who got the role thanks to a friend from the dub's director, who told Hill not to have too much energy when doing the voice. The line "Kira Yamato! Launching!" was repeated by Hill several times when obtaining the role. Hill remembers enjoying his work, having taken a liking to the character. Max Mittelman replaced Hill for the NYAV dub.

Popularity
Kira's character has been well received by anime viewers, appearing various times in the Anime Grand Prix popularity polls for the favorite male characters category. He ranked first in 2002, second in 2003 and 2004, first in 2005, and second in 2006. In a NHK poll, he was voted as the fourth best Gundam character. In a 2012 poll, Kira's line "There are still people I want to protect" (それでも、守りたい世界があるんだ！) was voted by fans as the best line in Gundam SEED.

In a Newtype poll, Kira was voted the second most popular male anime character from the 2000s. In another poll focused on all of the characters in the Gundam franchise, Kira was voted the most popular. In a poll organized by Sunrise to find the best couple in the Gundam franchise, Kira and Lacus were second, and in another regarding the best team-ups between former enemies, Kira and Athrun were second. In another poll from the same site that asked fans which character would they would want to meet, Kira was the most popular. Kira was most popular in two other polls which asked readers who the most memorable characters from Gundam SEED and from Gundam SEED Destiny were. Kira, along with five other notable mecha and pilots from the Gundam series, was recognized in the second set of "Anime Heroes and Heroines" stamps, released in Japan in 2005. In 2017, Kira was voted as the best Gundam main character.

In a Animage poll, Kira The number of popularity votes topped the list is 29, which is the second highest in history. The number of TOP 10 ranks is 77 times, ranking fourth all time.

In a Animedia poll, Kira was the most popular male character of the year, 1st place in 2007, 2nd place in 2008 and 2009 and 3rd place in 2010 and 2014 and 2018. In 2011 and 2012, it ranked fourth.

In a Gundam Ace poll, Kira was in the most popular Gundam character poll conducted from 2005 to 2007, claimed the first place 12 times out of the 36 total polls. And then, he was ranked in the TOP 3 for many years with Amuro and Char.

In the 2007 Seiyu Awards, Sōichirō Hoshi was a nominee in the category "Best Actors in supporting roles" for his portrayal as Kira in the Gundam SEED Destiny OVA, but lost to Akira Ishida and Kōki Miyata. Kira was also voted as the second best character voiced by Hoshi.

In July 2021, a replica of the Freedom was unveiled in Shanghai together with a concert by T.M Revolution. Kira and Lacus' images were shown during this concert.

Critical response
Manga and anime publications have commented on Kira's character, and he received mainly positive critical responses. IGN's Andy Patrizio said Kira's character was likable and the only problem he found was how he often repeated Athrun Zala's name in early episodes. THEM Anime Reviews' Derrick L. Tucker said he was one of the strongest characters from the series; Tucker also said he was likable despite his angsty displays. Tucker also compared him with Amuro Ray from the first Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam, finding both likeable. Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment liked Kira's handling of the mobile suits and his ability to reprogram them, finding it as a new concept in the Gundam franchise.

In an analysis of gender roles in anime by Shunyao Yu from University of Jyväskylä, Kira's characterization was noted to challenge typical ones by having Gundam SEED start with Kira as a sensitive teenager who becomes mature across the narrative. In a further analysis, Kira was noted to be as a mentally unstable forced soldier in the plot due to how Kira starts suffering depression due to failing to protect a ship containing innocent civilians. Kira and Flay's relationship are also noted to stand out as "comfort abuse" within the franchise, alongside the narrative of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, due to how Flay manipulates Kira to fight for Archangel's cause. While in the early episodes of the series, Kira was attracted to her, he had not planned start a relationship with her with sexual tones that felt written to make Flay similar to a prostitute. The writer notes that after Kira's apparent death in his fight against Athrun Zala, Flay develops guilt for turning Kira in a soldier. Meanwhile, the fight between Kira and his best friend was commented as the idea of the chaos war can cause.

Kira is described by Sophia Tate from University of Tasmania as a realistic war soldier but more sympathetic than his rivals as, while he suffers grief during, he does not expose such ideals of revenge shown by his friends. His parallels with Athrun were also noted as both characters are treated heavily by their superiors to follow their orders and keep fighting during their war. The relationships Kira develops also result in tragedy in the same way as Athrun's, making it especially notable for the viewers as the dying soldiers have had appearances for nearly thirty episodes. In particular, the character's actions have been compared with soldiers from World War II. In the book Japan and Asia: Business, Political and Cultural Interactions, Kira is noted to be properly linked with the Freedom mobile suit he pilots as his actions can be treated as a terrorist despite the pílot's desire to end war at any cost especially in Destiny.

Also writing for Mania Entertainment, Kim Wolstenholme was worried about how much Kira's and Athrun's relationship would be focused in Gundam SEED, but liked that Lacus Clyne's introduction added tension to it. Ever Cheung from Animefringe who wondered about the future of Kira and Lacus because the two are about to embrace in the anime's opening sequence. He said, "If that's real, this story may be more interesting than I thought ..." Ross Liversidge from UK Anime Network enjoyed Kira's and Athrun's rivalry which resulted in well-done fight scenes from each of their mobile suits as well as intense drama due to how originally the two were friends. Liversidge praised the development from such rivalry as the two started hating each other and their battle. DVDTalk writer Don Houston considered Kira to be similar to other anime protagonists because he fights for peace and not glory, labeling him the "reluctant hero", but still praised his character arc in the series without overshadowing other character like Athrun and Cagalli. Due to the origins regarding Kira's original nature and his connections with Rau, UK Anime Network expected to see an intense final battle but was sightly disappointed despite enjoying Kira's anger displayed in the finale when engaging his enemy.

Besides SEED's television series, Kira's actions in the compilation films were commented. Due to the compilation films not carefully adapting the television series, both Anime News Network and the Fandom Post feel like Kira's struggle to keep up with his philosophy of not killing and his relationship with Athrun do not work in this format and thus only returning fans might enjoy the movies. While still praising the narrative originally provided in Kira's premise, IGN disliked how the game Locked and Rocked failed to portray Kira accurately as a result of lacking enough dialogue. In 2021, UK Anime Network writer Ross Locksly stated that despite several criticism the Western audience tends to give Kira to the point of calling him a Mary Sue, he still viewed Kira as an outstanding anime character due to his formal and caring demeanor which contrasts stereotypes as well as his constant team ups with Mu la Flaga in the first SEED to protect the Archangel from ZAFT forces.

Reviewers have also commented on Kira's role in the sequel Gundam SEED Destiny. Initial reviews mentioned his lack of appearances during the first episodes and whether the new characters could be as appealing as him. He was expected to return in the series to fight the new lead character Shinn Asuka. While writing an article for later episodes, Liversidge found Kira's actions more appealing than Shinn's, and was looking forward to them. DVDTalk.com shared similar feelings and stated Kira's return to the battlefield appears to be a theme "key players from the previous series are forced into positions they aren't happy with" something he felt was the focus of Kira's group. Luis Cruz from Mania Entertainment found that Kira's character expansion developed depth, pointing to one of Kira's discussions with Athrun about the relation between people's dreams and conflicts. HobbyConsolas praised Kira's characterization and his relationship with Lacus as an appealing couple due to their mutual caring in SEED Destiny as well their actions in the plot. Despite finding flaws within the narrative, Mania liked how Kira is forced to drop his pacifist methods on Stella leading to her death resulting into an appealing conflict between him and Shinn who wants to avenge her. Anime News Network writer Carl Kimlinger said that in the series' OVA finale, Kira was highly developed. Matt Hill's English-language performance in the OVA was criticized in comparison with other voice actors from the series who were praised. Kimlinger said Kira had "grown into a martial leader of Buddha-like calm and compassion", and that the last OVA allows viewers to enjoy his actions.

Controversy
The sixteenth episode of Gundam SEED features a scene in which Kira is seen dressing after getting out of a bed where Flay lies sleeping naked, suggesting a sexual relationship. The Japanese Commission for Better Broadcasting reported that viewers filed complaints regarding the scene as the show was aired at 6 pm when children would be watching. Mainichi replied by mentioning it should have given more careful consideration to the episode before airing it. The scene was extended in one of the compilation films with John Oppliger noting it expanded the off-screen scene with three shots.

title: Kira Yamato


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Bohemian F.C.

Bohemian Football Club (an Cumann Peile Boihéamach), more commonly referred to as Bohemians or Bohs, is an Irish professional football club based in Dublin. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and are the oldest League of Ireland club in continuous existence. Bohs are the fourth most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11 times, the FAI Cup 7 times, the League of Ireland Shield 6 times and the League of Ireland Cup 3 times. Prior to the establishment of the Football Association of Ireland and League of Ireland, Bohemians competed in the Irish Football League and Irish Cup, which were at the time all-Ireland competitions. During that period they won the Irish Cup once and finished runners up 5 times. They hold the record for Leinster Senior Cup wins with 33 cups claimed.

Bohemians were founded by members of Bell's Academy (a Civil Service college), the Royal Hibernian Military School (a school for orphaned children of members of the British armed forces in Ireland), medical students and others, on 6 September 1890 in the Phoenix Park Gate Lodge beside the North Circular Road entrance and played its first games in the Park's Polo Grounds. They were one of the founding members of the League of Ireland in 1921, after their withdrawal from the Irish Football League. They established themselves as a major force within the first 15 years of the League of Ireland, winning 5 league titles, 2 FAI Cups and 4 Shields, but struggled for decades after that, largely due to their strict amateur status, going 34 seasons without winning a major trophy. Bohemians dropped their amateur ethos in 1969 and proceeded to win 2 League titles, 2 FAI Cups, and 2 League cups during the season 1970s. They suffered a further decline throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s before claiming League and Cup doubles in 2001 and 2008, alongside the 2003 and most recently 2009 title wins.

Bohemians play their home matches at Dalymount Park in Phibsborough on the northside of Dublin. They are owned 100% by the members of the club. Their club colours are red and black, which they adopted at the 4th AGM in October 1893. Bohemians supporters often refer to their club by a number of nicknames including Bohs and The Gypsies, and provide one half of a bitter rivalry with southside club, Shamrock Rovers.

History
Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890. They were members of the Irish Football League from 1902 to 1911 (the first club from Dublin to join) and from 1912 to 1920. During this time the club's greatest success was winning the Irish Cup in 1908.

It was a founding member of the League of Ireland in 1921, and it is one of only two clubs to have been members of the League of Ireland since its inception (the other being Shelbourne), and it is the only club to have been ever-present in the top division of the league. In its first season it finished second in the league, just two points behind St. James Gate. The club won its first league title in 1924. In 1928 the club won its second league title and completed a double that season by winning its first FAI Cup also. The club was one of the major forces in the early years of the league, going on to win another three league titles and another FAI Cup in the next eight seasons.

After this success the club began to struggle, often finishing at the foot of the league and rarely mounting a title challenge, largely because of an inability to attract or keep top players due to its strict amateur status, which had been a fundamental part of the club since its formation. The club went 34 seasons without winning a major trophy. In 1969 the club ended its amateur status, and the first player to sign professional terms was Tony O'Connell, who signed on 11 March 1969.

The club then went on to win two league titles, two FAI Cups and two league cups in the 1970s, more trophies than any other club that decade. In 1970 the club entered European competition for the first time where it was beaten in the first qualifying round of the European Cup Winners' Cup (see below). The club went through another trophy-less spell after its 1979 league cup victory, which was not broken until the club won its fifth FAI Cup in 1992. It was not until 2001 that it regained the league title, also winning the FAI Cup that season to complete its second double. After adding another league title in 2003, Bohemians triumphed once again in 2008, under Pat Fenlon, winning the double of both the league for the tenth time with four league games still to play, and the FAI cup in a penalty shoot-out. In September 2009, Bohemians claimed the League Cup for the third time in the club's history with a 3–1 win over Waterford United in the final.

On 6 November 2009, Bohemians retained the title after a 1–1 draw against Bray Wanderers. They were already assured of the league title before the final round of matches as they held a three-point lead and 16-goal difference advantage over their nearest rivals Shamrock Rovers. Captain Owen Heary collected the Premier Division trophy for the club's first back-to-back league win. Bohs narrowly missed out on a hat trick of league titles on goal difference in 2010 in a season which also seen them suffer European disappointment at the hands of Welsh club TNS.

Stadiums
Bohemians' first permanent home ground was on the Polo Ground in Phoenix Park. Goal posts and other equipment were kept at Gate Lodge on North Circular Road (Dublin). They remained there until the 1893–94 season when they obtained a private ground on Jones Road now known as Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The space then took in the ground previously occupied by the Old Belvedere playing pitches and now occupied by the Cusack Stand. For the first time it was possible for the club to build up some sort of finances, since a charge for admission was made at all important home matches.

They moved to a new home at Whitehall Farm, Glasnevin, in time for the start of the 1895–96 season but in those days, the area was out of the way and without public transport so the Bohemian committee continued to look for a new home ground. Their search came to an end when they moved to Dalymount Park which was officially opened on 7 September 1901.

In 2006 the club's members decided to sell Dalymount Park to developer Liam Carroll in a reported €65,000,000 deal, although then board members refused to allow members to see the details of the deal. The deal included the development of a new 10,000-seater stadium in Harristown near Dublin Airport. On 7 November 2008, Bohemians lost a court case versus Albion Ltd, when it was discovered that the board, led by Gerry Cuffe and Gerry Conway, had attempted to re-sell part of the ground which the club no longer owned, which has had the effect of putting the move on hold long enough for the property market to collapse and the deal to be all but dead. In March 2015 Dublin City Council announced that it would purchase Dalymount park. The Council completed the purchase in June 2015 for €3.8million. In February 2016 the Council published plans to demolish and rebuild Dalymount on a phased basis at a cost of €20 million. In October 2022, the council published its updated redevelopment plans, with a proposed capacity of 7,880, and a completion date of 2026. It is likely that Bohemians would need to play elsewhere during redevelopment.

European record
Although they did not make their first appearance in European competition until 1970, they have, like all Irish clubs, found the going tough in Europe, but they have had some famous successes too. Their finest hour came when they eliminated Scottish Premier League club (and former Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup champions) Aberdeen from the UEFA Cup in August 2000. That triumph was set up by a dramatic 2–1 victory away from home, in which Bohs scored 2 late goals to overturn a 1–0 deficit. That was the first time an Irish club defeated British opposition away from home in European competition. Other notable results include wins against Rangers and Kaiserslautern (away) and draws against Rangers, Newcastle United, Sporting CP, Dundee United (away) and Aberdeen. In all, they have beaten a total of 11 different teams, from 9 countries (Denmark, Cyprus, Scotland, Germany, Estonia, Belarus, Belgium, Wales and Latvia). Bohs bowed out of the 2008 Intertoto Cup on away goals to Latvian side FK Riga despite winning the second leg 2–1. Earlier in that campaign they recorded their biggest single leg (5–1) and aggregate (9–3) wins in Europe (against Welsh Premier League club Rhyl).

Bohemians started their 2009–10 UEFA Champions League campaign away to Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg on 16 July 2009 with a 1–1 draw in Salzburg. In the second leg on 22 July 2009, Bohemians held out until an 87th-minute goal by Patrik Ježek for Red Bull Salzburg gave them a one-nil victory on the night and two one win on aggregate. After retaining the league title in 2009, Bohs entered the Champions League again in 2010–11. They were drawn against Welsh side The New Saints in the Second Qualifying Round, and won the first leg 1–0 at Dalymount Park on 13 July 2010. They lost the second leg 4–0 and were eliminated 4–1 on aggregate. Bohs manager Pat Fenlon later labelled the performance as 'disgraceful' and said 'the players let the club, league and country down'. The result was labelled by others as the worst result in Bohs' 40-year European history.

After a nearly a decade away from continental competition, Bohs faced Hungarian opposition in the form of Fehérvár in the 2020-2021 UEFA Europa League qualifiers. The gypsies narrowly missed out by virtue of a penalty shoot-out loss, decided after a solitary one-legged affair was played, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Bohs entered the inaugural Europa Conference League the year after and consecutively sold out their home matches at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in matches with Stjarnan FC and F91 Dudelange, both home legs ending with famous 3-0 victories.

"Bohs" 2021 European campaign came to end in Thessalonika after defeat to PAOK, when they lost the 3–2 on aggregate, following a heroic win in the first leg at the Aviva Stadium on 3 August, when Scottish winger Ali Coote scored a brace in what has to rank as one of the best ever wins by an Irish team in Europe. The Greek side had just signed ex Dortmund and Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa and had a budget of circa €75M compared to the Bohemian's estimated €750,000. On 12 August the Irish team bowed out of the Europa Conference League Qualification campaign after their fans were denied access to the stadium amid protests from the home fans about Covid restrictions, following a 2–0 defeat on the night in a tense Thessalonika atmosphere.

Supporters and rivalries
Bohs' fan base is mainly drawn from the northside of Dublin and their supporters share a bitter rivalry with Southside club, Shamrock Rovers. However, the club has many fans from other parts of the city, across Ireland and worldwide. The club shares a rivalry with their Northside neighbours Shelbourne largely because of geographical proximity as both clubs are now located roughly just 1 mile apart, and also because they featured prominently in the early days of Dublin football, when nationwide football was still based around Belfast. Shelbourne and Bohs were often featured in the Belfast-centered Irish Football League before partition and the rivalry was kept on-off after they formed the new Irish Free State league with Shamrock Rovers and other clubs.

During 2006, a number of Bohemians fans formed an ultra group in an effort to create a more interesting atmosphere at home games. Ironically named The Notorious Boo-Boys (or NBB, a term used by journalists to disparage the patience of Bohs fans), the group bought flags and organised displays during games to lift the atmosphere of the home of Irish football Dalymount Park. The fans have friendly contacts with Prague club Bohemians 1905, Welsh club Wrexham AFC, Swedish club Malmö FF as well as English non-league and fellow supporter owned club FC United of Manchester.

The club boasts some well known supporters such as Johnny Logan, Samuel L. Jackson, Aslan's Christy Dignam, alternative band Royseven, as well as musicians Brush Shiels, Rob Smith and novelist Irvine Welsh. The club also has a working relationship with Hibernian FC of Edinburgh.

Women
On 27 November 2018, Bohemians were accepted to the Under-17 Women's National League beginning with the 2019 season. The aim was to grow the number of women in the club and eventually compete in the Women's National League. The historic first game in the Under-17 Women's National League for Bohemians was played on 13 April 2019 against Cork City and ended in 0–2 defeat.

Just one year after being accepted to compete in the Under-17 Women's National League, Bohemians was accepted to the Women's National League on 18 February 2020. The first match was originally scheduled for 15 March 2020, however, the team was made to wait until 8 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland which delayed the start of the season. The game ended in a 4–1 defeat to Wexford Youth. Chloe Darby scored the consolation goal and wrote herself into the history books as Bohemians' first-ever female goalscorer.

Bohemians Academy
Bohemians compete with elite teams in the underage National Leagues at all available age groups: U19, U17, U15 and U14 for boys. And U17 and U19 age groups for girls.

Beyond the elite teams, Bohemians have over 500 boys and girls playing across 35+ teams, which compete in the DDSL, NDSL and MGL.

Bohemian Futsal
Bohemian Futsal compete in the AUL Futsal Premier Division, the winners of which compete in the UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary rounds. Bohs also have a 'B' team that compete in the AUL Futsal Division One. They are the only League of Ireland club with a futsal club.

Training Ground and DCU partnership
In 2021, Dublin City University and Bohemians agreed an 18-year multi-faceted partnership involving football, social inclusion, social outreach and academic programme collaboration. As part of the arrangement, DCU Sports Campus became Bohemians’ training base. Bohemians committed to invest around €1.5 million into the facility. The training complex has numerous full-size all-weather pitches, grass pitches, high performance gym, club offices, meeting rooms, physio rooms and kit room.

Player of the Year
Bohemian's Player of the Year award is voted for by the club's supporters at the end of every season.

Honours

 * League of Ireland/Premier Division 11:
 * 1923–24, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1974–75, 1977–78, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2008, 2009
 * FAI Cup 7:
 * 1927–28, 1934–35, 1969–70, 1975–76, 1991–92, 2000–01, 2008
 * Irish Cup: 1
 * 1907–08
 * League of Ireland Cup: 3
 * 1974–75, 1978–79, 2009
 * League of Ireland Shield: 6
 * 1923–24, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1933–34, 1938–39, 1939–40
 * Setanta Sports Cup: 1
 * 2010
 * LFA President's Cup: 13
 * 1965–66, 1967–68, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02
 * Dublin City Cup: 1
 * 1935–36
 * Dublin and Belfast Inter-City Cup: 1
 * 1944–45
 * Top Four Cup: 1
 * 1971–72
 * Aciéries d'Angleur Trophy: 1
 * 1929
 * Leinster Senior League: 8
 * 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1917–18, 1931–32
 * Leinster Senior Cup: 33 (record)
 * 1893–94, 1894–95, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1901–02, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1906–07, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1939–40, 1946–47, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2015–16, 2022–23
 * FAI Intermediate Cup: 1
 * 1931–32
 * FAI Youth Cup
 * 1969–70, 2001–02, 2014–15: 3

Records

 * Record League Points Tally 85 in season 2008 (33 games) (record total and 19-point record margin)
 * Record League Victory 10–1 (h) v University College Dublin (16 August 2019)
 * Record Leinster Senior Cup Victory 11–0 v Grangegorman (26 December 1946) (Leinster Senior Cup Final)
 * League defeat: 0–5 v St Patrick's Athletic, 6 December 1996
 * Record League Goal scorer Glen Crowe – 133 goals
 * Record League Goal scorer in one Season Glen Crowe – 25 goals in 2000–01
 * Most appearances (player): 575, Tommy Kelly
 * Most goals (player): 192, Turlough O'Connor
 * Youngest Player Evan Ferguson – 14 years 337 days (20 September 2019 vs Derry City in the League of Ireland Premier Division)
 * Oldest player: 40, Gary Matthews
 * First goalscorer: Joseph Whelan v Britannia, 1 November 1890
 * Quickest Red Card: Gareth Fleming 8 minutes v St Patricks Athletic, 2001

Managerial history

 * Seán Thomas (1964–67)
 * Pat Murphy (May 1967 – April 68)
 * Seán Thomas (1968–73)
 * Billy Young (1973–89)
 * Padraig O'Connor (1989–90)
 * Eamonn Gregg (1990–93)
 * Turlough O'Connor (1993–98)
 * Joe McGrath (1998)
 * Roddy Collins (1998–01)
 * Pete Mahon (2001)
 * Stephen Kenny (2001–04)
 * Gareth Farrelly (2004–06)
 * Sean Connor (17 Nov 2006 – 19 Dec 2007)
 * Pat Fenlon (22 Dec 2007 – 25 Nov 2011)
 * Aaron Callaghan (1 Jan 2012 – 15 July 2013)
 * Owen Heary (interim) (16 July 2013 – Sept 12, 2013)
 * Bobby Browne (Sep 2013 – Nov 2013)
 * Owen Heary (Jan 2014 – Nov 2014)
 * Keith Long (Nov 2014 – Aug 2022)
 * Derek Pender (interim) (Aug 2022 – Oct 2022)
 * Declan Devine (Oct 2022 – March 2024)
 * Derek Pender (interim) (March 2024)
 * Alan Reynolds (March 2024 – present)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Bohemian F.C.


text: Category:Geography of Lithuania

title: Category:Geography of Lithuania


text:
Shelbourne F.C.

Shelbourne Football Club (Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish professional football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

Overview
With its first name being associated with its more common nickname, Shels, the club plays its home matches at Tolka Park, in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. Founded in Dublin in 1895, Shelbourne F.C.'s colors are primarily red and white, with home jerseys being predominantly red.

In 1904, the club joined the Irish Football League, which was then an all Ireland competition, before becoming founding members of the League of Ireland in 1921, winning their first title in the 1925–26 season. Shelbourne have won the league 13 times and are one of three clubs to have won both the IFA Cup and the FAI Cup.

In the 2004/05 European season, Shelbourne became the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Their performances in European competition and former striker Jason Byrne being capped for the Republic of Ireland whilst with the club, gained Shelbourne international exposure. However, in the 2023 season, Shelbourne made history as they qualified to the Europa Conference League Play-offs for the first time in their history.

The club lost their Premier Division licence for the 2007 season due to the club's debt situation. Although the club was saved, since then, Shelbourne had mainly played in the second tier of the League of Ireland with short stints back in the Premier Division in 2012, 2013 and 2020. The club were promoted back to the Premier Division in 2021 and have been competing back in the top flight since then.

Formation & IFA years: 1895–1920
Shelbourne Football Club was formed in 1895 in the Ringsend area of Dublin by a group of men led by James Rowan. The club took its name from the nearby Shelbourne Road. The club's first pitch was at Havelock Square just behind the north stand at the present day Aviva Stadium.

Shelbourne's second season was their first in competitive competition. Shelbourne played 28 matches, won 25, drew 2 and lost only 1. Their goal tally was 109 for and 15 against. Shelbourne won the principal junior competitions, the Leinster Junior Cup and League Championship. The club decided to enter the senior ranks for the 1897–98 Season and reached the Leinster Senior Cup Final at their first attempt, only to lose to Bohemians. They also finished runners-up in the Leinster Senior League. The club won their first Leinster Senior Cup in 1899/1900, Shelbourne won the competition again in 1901 and 1904.

The club made it into the final of the IFA Cup in 1905 but were beaten by Distillery. The following year Shelbourne defeated Belfast Celtic in the Cup Final 2–0 and became the first Southern club to win the IFA Cup, according to a Dublin newspaper "Tar Barrels and bonfires were blazing across Ringsend and Sandymount that night as the Irish Cup was paraded around the district". In 1906 Shelbourne player Val Harris became the club's first player to line out for Ireland. In 1906 Shelbourne won their fourth Leinster Senior Cup, the club also played in a charity match against Bohemians in 1906 and raised more than 100 pounds to build a Roman Catholic Church in Ringsend. Shelbourne reached the IFA Cup Final again in 1907 and 1908 but were beaten on both occasion in replays against Cliftonville and Bohemians. In 1907 Shelbourne were also Irish Football League runners-up to Linfield. They won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1908 and 1909. In 1909 Shelbourne were City Cup winners and finished 3rd place in the Irish Football League, behind champions Linfield and Glentoran. In 1911 Shelbourne won the IFA Cup for their second time. Shelbourne won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1913 and 1914. Shelbourne were 1914 Gold Cup runners-up, and then winners in 1915. Shelbourne were Leinster Senior Cup winners again in 1917 and 1919. Shelbourne won the IFA Cup once more, in 1920 after the other semi-final was declared void as both of the teams involved were ejected from the competition (Belfast Celtic and Glentoran), before Shelbourne's association with the Irish Football Association was to come to an end.

Establishment of the League of Ireland: 1921–1929

 * Additional reading: IFA#North-South Split

Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Partition of Ireland and establishment of the Irish Free State, the League of Ireland was formed for clubs in the 26 counties of Ireland that had not remained part of the United Kingdom. The immediate cause of the split lay in a bitter dispute over the venue for the replay of an Irish Cup match in 1921 involving Glentoran of Belfast and Shelbourne. When the first cup match was drawn in Belfast, because of the Irish war of independence, the IFA reneged on a promise to play the replay in Dublin and scheduled the rematch again for Belfast. Shelbourne refused to comply and forfeited the Cup. Such was the anger over the issue that the Leinster FA broke away from the IFA and formed its own national association, the present-day Football Association of Ireland. Shelbourne became one of the original League of Ireland founder clubs along with Bohemians, St James's Gate, Jacobs, Olympia, Frankfort, Dublin United and YMCA.

In the opening 1921–22 Season, Shelbourne finished 3rd place behind winners St James's Gate and Bohemians. Shelbourne finished runners-up the following two seasons and won the 1924 Leinster Senior Cup, the reds finished third in the league again in the 1924–25 season before winning the league for their first time the following season in 1925–26. They finished runners-up the following two years before winning the 1928–29 Championship.

Thirties: 1930–1939

 * Additional reading: Reds United

Having failed to retain the title in 1930, Shels won their third league title in 1931 and were Leinster Senior Cup winners. In 1934 the club got into a dispute with the Free State F.A. when they looked for compensation when the FAIFS arranged a match for the same day as Shelbourne had a match scheduled. In the row that followed, Shels resigned from the League and were then suspended from football for a year by the FAI. The club played no football during the 1934–35 season and spent the 1935–36 season in the Athletic Union League before being re-admitted to the League of Ireland for the start of the 1936–37 season. During the 1935–36 season a team called Reds United, made up of a number of Shels players and backed by Shels personnel, competed in the League of Ireland and finished a respectable fourth. At the end of the season, they resigned from the League to make way for Shels return.

The decade had a happy ending though as success in the FAI Cup finally arrived (many fans had started to believe the club was suffering from a curse). It was in the 1939 cup final that the supposed curse was broken. Sligo Rovers who boasted Dixie Dean, the goalscoring legend of the Football League, were eventually beaten after a replay thanks to a long-range goal from 'Sacky' Glen. After so many attempts, the blue ribbon of Irish football made its way to Shelbourne Park for the first time. Official figures put the attendances at 30,000 and 25,000 for the first final and the replay respectively.

Forties: 1940–1949
As the euphoria of the first FAI Cup success wore off, the forties started slowly enough for the Reds, and it wasn't until 1944 that the league championship was won again-for a fourth time, along with the Shield. The title was clinched after an epic 5–3 win over local rivals Shamrock Rovers. Luck was reversed though in the FAI Cup Final as Rovers stopped the Reds from winning the treble. Shels went down 3–2 but felt aggrieved that the referee award them a penalty when it seemed a Rovers defender had handled the ball after it went over the goal-line. The subsequent penalty was missed. Shels won another Leinster Senior Cup in 1946.

Another league title, however, was wrapped up on the last day in 1947 and was again secured against Shamrock Rovers.

The closing of the decade marked the end of an era. In April 1949, Shels drew 2–2 against Waterford in what was the club's final competitive game at Shelbourne Park. The plan was that Shels would build a new stadium in Ringsend. The 1948–49 season also saw Shels win their seventh Shield and fourteenth Leinster Senior Cup.

Fifties: 1950–1959
In 1951, Shels made it to the FAI Cup final where they met Cork Athletic who had already wrapped up the league. Tommy Carberry had scored in every round for the Reds and did so again in the final, played in front of over 38,900 fans, but it was only good enough to earn a replay which Athletic won. A sixth league title was won in 1953, and then in 1955–56 Shels played their only season in Irishtown Stadium. The ground, however, was far from complete despite a huge amount of voluntary work being carried out by supporters and offered no shelter for the fans from the elements. Shels were tenants at Tolka Park the following season.

During that season Gerry Doyle was appointed manager and a new era was being ushered in for the Reds. The FAI Youth Cup was won in 1959 and Doyle was true to his word, "if they're good enough, they're old enough" and six of the Youth Cup-winning team became first-team regulars. Amongst them was Tony Dunne who would be later transferred to Manchester United with whom he picked up a European Cup winners medal in 1968.

Sixties: 1960–1969

 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. in Europe

The early years of the sixties went great for the Reds. Three goal wins over Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk put Shelbourne in the 1960 FAI Cup Final where they beat Cork Hibernians 2–0 to get their hands on the trophy for only the second time. Cork Celtic were beaten by a Ben Hannigan goal in a play-off for the league in 1962 and only illness to three key players as a result of vaccinations taken on a League of Ireland representative trip to Italy cost Shelbourne the FAI Cup and a first 'double' as they went down to Shamrock Rovers in the final despite being red-hot favourites. The FAI Cup was however won the following year and it was a repeat of the 1960 final. A 2–0 win over Cork Hibs. With this success came the excitement of European club football, Shelbourne played their first European match against Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1962, they were beaten 2–0 in the first leg held at Dalymount Park and then 5–1 in Portugal to go out 7–1 on aggregate. The following season they took on FC Barcelona in the European Cup Winners' Cup but were beaten 5–1 on aggregate. In 1963 Shelbourne won another Leinster Senior Cup. In 1964 the club finally sold their last interest in Irishtown Stadium. Shelbourne won their first European game & tie in the 1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, after the first leg resulted in a 0–0 draw and the second leg finished 1–1, Shelbourne won a playoff match against Portuguese side Belenenses, the following round they were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate by Atlético Madrid. On 19 November 1967 in a match between Shelbourne and rivals Bohemians, Shelbourne player Jimmy O'Connor set the record for the world's fastest hat-trick in top tier domestic league history. O'Connor scored three goals in 2 minutes and 13 seconds in Dalymount Park. Shelbourne won the Leinster Senior Cup in 1968. In the years that followed, televised highlights of English football began to be broadcast into Ireland and the crowds around most of the league grounds plummeted. Clubs in the league came under huge financial pressure, players left for England at a younger age, grounds became derelict, and media coverage almost disappeared.

Decline in the seventies and eighties: 1970–1989
There was a bright enough start to the seventies as Athlone Town were beaten in the Shield final second replay, a win that would see the Reds enter the new UEFA Cup the following season. However, it was to be the last trophy the club would win for some time apart from their Leinster Senior Cup win in 1972. Cork Hibs beat Shels in the replay of the 1973 FAI Cup Final in Flower Lodge-the only time the final was ever played outside Dublin while Shelbourne were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Hungarians Vasas SC in what would be their last European game for 21 years. Two years later Shels were shocked in the Cup final by amateurs Home Farm. During this time the club's ongoing problems were covered in a ground-breaking RTÉ fly on the wall documentary entitled In My Book You Should Be Ahead. In 1978, Jimmy Johnstone, a European Cup winner with Celtic in 1967 signed briefly for the club. 'Jinky' only played 9 games for the Reds and the European Cup winner failed to score in any of his appearances.

In 1984, Shels lost out to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup semi-final replay. As the league was to expand to two divisions in the summer of 1985, the bottom four clubs at the end of the 1984/85 season were to be relegated. Needing a win on the last day of the season, Shels found themselves two down at half-time away to Galway United. However, a heroic comeback ensued and Shels got the three goals to take the points and avoid the drop. But the reprieve only lasted twelve months as Shelbourne were relegated on Goal Difference after finishing level on 13 points with Cork but on −25 goal difference compared to Cork's −21. Shels stay in the First Division was short-lived as they came back up straight away with Derry City. After two decades and more in the doldrums, the grey skies were clearing. Tony Donnelly took over the club in 1989 and started to invest heavily. Shels were out of the derelict Harold's Cross Stadium and taking over Tolka Park. Former Irish international Pat Byrne was installed as player-manager, and a plethora of new players arrived shortly after to bring back the glory days.

Return to success: 1990–1999

 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. in Europe

The heavy investment in the club by the Donnelly family gave an almost instant return as Shels captured their eighth league title at the end of the 1991/92 season – the first for thirty years – when they won 3–1 away to outgoing champions Dundalk. Despite only needing a draw, Brian Flood sealed the win with a spectacular goal from thirty-five yards. Although the league title was lost the following season after two series of play-offs involving Cork City and Bohemians, the FAI Cup was won, again after a thirty-year wait, when a Greg Costello header was enough to defeat Dundalk in Lansdowne Road. The club made a return to European competitions after a 21-year wait in 1992 when they faced Ukrainian club SC Tavriya Simferopol in the newly formed UEFA Champions League, despite holding the Ukrainians to a scoreless draw in Dublin they were beaten 2–1 in Ukraine and eliminated from the competition. the following season Shelbourne won their first game in Europe for 30 years when they beat FC Karpaty Lviv of Ukraine, They advanced to play Greek Giants Panathinaikos and were beaten 5–1 on aggregate. Later that season the Reds won yet another Leinster Senior Cup.

Two seasons later they were hammered 6–0 on aggregate by Icelandic club ÍA Akraness in the UEFA Cup, the previous season they finished third in the league and just two points behind winners Dundalk. Both the League Cup and the FAI Cup were won in sensational circumstances in 1996 under Damien Richardson. The League Cup was won, for the first time, in a penalty shootout against Sligo Rovers after Shels had come from two down late on. In the FAI Cup Final against St. Patrick's, Shels were reduced early on to ten men as keeper Alan Gough was sent off, and with no sub keeper, midfielder Brian Flood played seventy minutes in goal. Despite trailing 1–0, Tony Sheridan equalised with a stunning lob in the last couple of minutes to force a replay. With Alan Gough back in goal for the rematch, Shels won the trophy after Gough saved a late penalty and Stephen Geoghegan scored an even later winner. Shels became only the third club to retain the FAI Cup when they defeated Derry City 2–0 in the 1997 final. Shelbourne fell to SK Brann in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round. The 1997/98 season brought heartbreak. Shels lost the League Cup Final to Sligo Rovers, the FAI Cup Final to Cork City after a replay, and worst of all, missed out on the league title on the last day of the season, they were also narrowly eliminated from the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by Kilmarnock. Richardson departed after this failure and in stepped the uncompromising Dermot Keely. Keely's first season ended in disappointment, Shelbourne finished third in the league and were knocked out of the FAI Cup at the Semifinal stage. In the first Qualifying round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Shelbourne were drawn against Glasgow side & one of the Old Firm teams, Rangers. Due to security concerns Shelbourne's home leg was moved to Prenton Park in Tranmere. Despite leading the 1st leg in Tranmere 3–0, Shelbourne were beaten 5–3 and later beaten 2–0 in the second leg. In the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup Shelbourne were beaten in the first round by Swiss club Neuchâtel Xamax.

Glory years, European success & financial implosion: 2000–2006

 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. Seasons
 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. in Europe

After a mediocre first season, Dermot Keely brought Shels a historic first-ever League and FAI Cup double in 1999–2000. Having secured the league with a 2–0 win in Waterford which saw Shels lose just once before then, the double was claimed thanks to a Pat Fenlon goal in the FAI Cup final replay away in Dalymount Park against Bohemians. The following season though saw Shels again let the league title slip away on the last day. Shelbourne beat Macedonian club FK Sloga Jugomagnat to set up a tie with Rosenborg BK, Shelbourne were eliminated by the Norwegians 4–2 on aggregate. The 2001–02 season was dogged in controversy as title challengers St Patrick's Athletic were docked nine points for fielding an unregistered player in accordance with the league's rules, before having them restored. The league eventually docked them fifteen points when it emerged a second unregistered player had played five games. This all led to Shels claiming their tenth league title, in the same season Shelbourne were eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the preliminary round by Danish club Brøndby.

Under new manager Pat Fenlon the title was missed out on in 2002–03 and Shelbourne were knocked out embarrassingly in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round by Minnows Hibernians from Malta, but for the first time ever, Shels won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004 as the league changed to a summer season. They were eliminated from the 2003–04 UEFA Cup in the opening round of games in the competition by Slovenians NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Shelbourne entered the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds in the first round. After beating KR Reykjavík they advanced to face the then Croatian League Champions HNK Hajduk Split, after the first leg in Croatia Shelbourne were trailing 3–2, however thanks to a 2–0 victory at home Shelbourne advanced 4–3 on aggregate, Shelbourne became the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and managed to pull off one of the biggest upsets in European Competitions caused by an Irish Club. However, Shelbourne's historic Champions League run came to an end when they were beaten by Spanish club, Deportivo La Coruña 3–0 on aggregate, having achieved a 0–0 draw in Lansdowne Road in front of 25,000 fans. That season the club also set a record for the longest European run in Irish history, a record they held for seven more seasons. After the Champions League exit at the hands of Deportivo the club was entered into the UEFA Cup. There, Shels met French side Lille and were beaten 4–2 on aggregate, having come back from a two-goal deficit in Lansdowne Road to achieve a credible draw thanks to a brace from substitute Glen Fitzpatrick. Shelbourne went on to win the League in 2004. Having just failed to make the group stages of the Champions League & UEFA Cup in 2004, Shels brought in big-name players for the 2005 season, but only finished third in the league and lost to Linfield in the first-ever Setanta Cup Final at Tolka Park, after beating Glentoran in the first qualifying round of the Champions League they were knocked out 4–1 on aggregate by Romanian club Steaua Bucharest, despite holding the Romanian side to a 0–0 draw in the first leg at Tolka Park.

2006 saw a change in fortunes for Shelbourne, with 'The Reds' winning the title on the last day of the season on goal difference from the old Derry City, they also managed to reach the Intertoto Cup semi-finals in the Northern Region after beating Lithuanian club FK Vėtra 5–0 on aggregate, the largest victory in European Competitions for Shelbourne, but they were knocked out of the competition by Danish side Odense BK 3–1 on aggregate, 'The Reds' had been beaten 3–0 in the first leg at Fionia Park in Odense but earned a very respectable 1–0 win at Tolka Park, remaining undefeated at home in Europe for 8 games, an Irish record. In 2006 Shelbourne also reached the League of Ireland Cup final for the first time since 1998 but lost on penalties. In 2006 Shelbourne became a member of the 'European Club Forum'.

However, after ongoing financial problems for Shelbourne during the 2006 season, Pat Fenlon resigned as manager and the vast majority of players left, some for rival clubs, others to British clubs.

Demotion to the second tier: 2007–2011

 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. Seasons

Shels withdrew from the 2007 Setanta Sports Cup and before the start of the new league season were demoted to the First Division by the FAI. Shelbourne announced on 29 March 2007 that they would not be applying for a UEFA licence to compete in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. The club's majority shareholder Oliver Byrne suffered a brain tumour (he died in August 2007) and Joe Casey was installed as chairman. Former manager Dermot Keely was brought back in and assembled a squad just in time for the club to take its place in the 2007 League of Ireland First Division. A respectable 5th-place finish in the top half of the table was secured. In the 2008 campaign, they were odds-on favourites to win the First Division but a last minute goal by Limerick 37 in Tolka Park gave Dundalk the division and the accompanying promotion. In 2008 the club left the disbanded European Club Forum and joined its replacement, the European Club Association. In 2009, the chance for promotion evaporated when Shels lost 1–2 at home to Sporting Fingal in the promotion/relegation play-off semi-final. In 2009 Shelbourne left the European Club Association. In 2010 former Reds player Alan Mathews became the new manager. Under Matthews, Shelbourne won the 2010 Leinster Senior Cup, later that year Shelbourne narrowly missed out on a place in the Promotion Play-offs thanks to a 2–1 defeat at home to Waterford United on the final day of the season.

2011 was a year of mixed fortunes for Shelbourne, a change in the promotion rules allowing the First Division Champions & Runners-up both automatic promotion provided to be beneficial for Shelbourne. 'The Reds' clinched promotion back to the Premier Division thanks to 4–0 home victory against Finn Harps on 25 October. 2011 was also a memorable Cup year for Shelbourne, they were drawn to play Sheriff Y.C. in the fourth round, despite leading the game by two goals Shelbourne were beaten by Sheriff 3–2, however, Sheriff were subsequently found to have fielded an ineligible player and were ejected from the cup. Shelbourne were subsequently admitted to the Quarterfinals. After victories over Limerick in the Quarterfinals and St Patrick's Athletic in a Semifinal replay they secured a place in the 2011 FAI Cup Final, where they were beaten 4–1 on Penalties by Sligo Rovers after the game finished 1–1 after extra time.

Brief return to the top-flight, First Division: 2012–2019

 * Additional reading: Shelbourne F.C. Seasons

2012 saw Shelbourne finish eight out of eleven teams on their return to the Premier Division. The club also reached the Cup semi-finals, losing to Derry in a Replay at Tolka Park. However Shelbourne stayed in the top flight for just two seasons, with 'the Reds' finishing bottom of the 2013 Premier Division Alan Matthews was replaced by Johnny McDonnell as manager on 24 May 2013. The 2014 season saw Shelbourne finish second in the First Division, the club thus advanced to a promotion playoff against Galway United. Galway won the two-legged tie, and Shels remained in the First Division. At the end of the 2014 campaign, McDonnell left to manage Drogheda United and was replaced by Kevin Doherty. The 2015 season saw the club finish fourth in the league. A disappointing 2016 campaign ended in a sixth-place finish. Former player Owen Heary took over as manager midway through the season following the resignation of Kevin Doherty. In 2017, Heary's first full season as manager ended in a fourth-place league finish. In 2018, the team qualified for a promotion playoff after a third-place finish. Shels lost in the first round to Drogheda over two legs. In 2019, however, Shelbourne would regain promotion to the Premier Division for the first time since 2013 by winning the first division. They claimed the title with a 3–1 away win over Drogheda at United Park on 14 September 2019.

Return to the Premier Division, relegation and promotion: 2020–21
In 2020, Shelbourne competed in the Premier Division for the first time since 2013. They were condemned to the First Division once again at the end of the 2020 via a promotion/relegation playoff, but secured a return after winning promotion and the 2021 First Division championship on 1 October 2021.

Having investigated the purchase of Dundalk F.C. in early 2023, Turkish media company, and owners of EFL Championship side Hull City A.F.C., Acun Medya announced the purchase of Shelbourne in June 2023. In November 2023, the club announced the restructuring of its shareholdings, with long-term supporter and shareholder Mickey O’Rourke acquiring, through TDL Media, the shareholding of Acun Medya.

Stadium

 * Additional reading: Tolka Park

In 1989 Shelbourne acquired the lease on Tolka Park from Dublin Corporation. Before moving to Drumcondra Shels had most recently been based in Harold's Cross Stadium, earlier they had been housed in Shelbourne Park, Irishtown Stadium and Dalymount Park. Shels had played home games regularly in Tolka during the fifties, sixties, seventies, and early eighties. Before Tolka Park was home to Shelbourne it housed Drumcondra F.C. from 1953 until 1972 when Drumcondra unexpectedly went out of business, vacating the ground. Home Farm were the next tenants in Tolka Park however the club never drew large crowds. When Shelbourne moved into the ground they invested heavily in the stadium, converting it into Ireland's first all-seater stadium and building a new stand behind the Drumcondra end goal in 1999. The first-ever League of Ireland match to be broadcast live on TV was a fixture between Shelbourne and Derry City, staged at Tolka Park during the 1996–97 season. In 2015, the club announced a future move as co-tenants of Dublin City Council-owned Dalymount Park once redevelopment was completed around 2020. In 2021, the redevelopment was planned to conclude by 2025.

In May 2024, the council granted the club a 250-year lease. This followed proposals in 2022, for the club to repurchase the ground.

Supporters and rivalries
The club's fanbase is mainly drawn from the northside of Dublin although there are a number of supporters from the Southside, mainly the Ringsend area where the club originates from.

'Briogáid Dearg' (Red Brigade) was formed in 2003 and is the club's single Ultras group. 'Reds Independent' are a Shelbourne supporters group formed in 1998 after Shelbourne FC moved their home UEFA Cup tie with Rangers out of the country and to Prenton Park, the home of Tranmere Rovers FC. The group gives Shelbourne fans an independent voice, through Red Inc., the longest-running fanzine in the League of Ireland. Red Inc. was first sold as a sixteen-page publication priced fifty pence for a home league tie against Cork City on 31 January 1999. The 'Shelbourne Supporters' Development Group' was founded in 2006 with the aim of securing badly needed funding from the Shelbourne supporter base. The Group have been promised shares in Shelbourne FC Ltd and representation on the board if it raises a certain amount of money for Shelbourne FC each year.

In October 2012 a Shelbourne FC Supporters' Trust was agreed to be launched by fans. The Trust's name was officially voted as "The 1895 Trust" in celebration of the founding year of the club. The Trust was officially launched in 2013.

Shelbourne shares a rivalry with Bohemians largely because of geographical proximity as both clubs are now located roughly just one mile apart, and also because of their early days in the old Belfast-centered Irish League and the early Irish Free State league. The club also has rivalries with other Dublin side St Patrick's Athletic are arguably their biggest rivals with both sides having a fierce rivalry filling stadiums on derby day. They also have a derby with Shamrock Rovers named the Ringsend derby.

European football
Shelbourne have a long, illustrious history in European competitions, taking on teams such as Kilmarnock, Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Panathinaikos, Rangers, Rosenborg, Brøndby, Hajduk Split, Deportivo de La Coruña, Lille, and Steaua Bucharest.

Shelbourne first performed on the European stage in the 1962/63 season, taking on Sporting Lisbon in the European Cup. From 1995 to 2006, Shelbourne had been ever-present in European competition and enjoyed a considerable amount of success. However, due to the club's recent decline, they are currently unranked in the UEFA Team Rankings and are without any club coefficient points.

Players

 * Out on loan

Notable former players

 * 🇷🇺 Louis Bookman (1916–1919, 1924–1925)
 * Tony Dunne (1958–1960)
 * 🇪🇸 Alvarito (1964–1965)
 * Wes Hoolahan (2001–2005)
 * 🇨🇲 Joseph N'Do (2004–2006)
 * 🇹🇹 Avery John (2000–2001)
 * Nicky Byrne (1997–1998)

Notable former managers

 * Peter Shevlin (1931–33)
 * Val Harris (193?–??)
 * John Feenan (1942–46)
 * Alf Hanson (1946–47)
 * Bob Thomas (1950–53)
 * 🏴 David Jack (1953–55)
 * Eddie Gannon (1955–57)
 * Gerry Doyle (1957–65)
 * Con Martin (1965)
 * 🇪🇸 Alvarito (1965)
 * Gerry Doyle (1967–75)
 * Tommy Carroll (1975–76)
 * Mick Dalton (1978–79)
 * Eric Barber (1979–80)
 * Pat Dunne (1980–81)
 * Freddie Strahan (1981)
 * Frank O'Neill (1981)
 * Liam Tuohy (1981–82)
 * Jim McLaughlin (1983–86)
 * Paddy Mulligan (1985–86)
 * Pat Byrne (1988–93)
 * Eoin Hand (1993–94)
 * Eamonn Gregg (1994)
 * Colin Murphy (1994–95)
 * Damien Richardson (1995–98)
 * Dermot Keely (1998–02)
 * Pat Fenlon (2002–06)
 * Dermot Keely (1 March 2007 – 27 May 2010)
 * Colin O´Neill (interim) (28 May 2010 – 9 July 2010)
 * Alan Mathews (12 July 2010 – 16 May 2013)
 * Kevin Doherty (interim) (17 May 2013 – 23 May 2013)
 * John McDonnell (24 May 2013 – 2014)
 * 🇮🇪 Kevin Doherty (Dec 2014–June 2016)
 * Owen Heary (June 2016 – October 2018)
 * Ian Morris (November 2018 – October 2021)

Women’s team
In 2015 Shelbourne Ladies merged with Raheny United's senior women's team. This effectively saw Shelbourne Ladies takeover Raheny United's place in the Women's National League. During the subsequent 2015–16 season, Shelbourne Ladies finished as runners-up in FAI Women's Cup, the WNL Shield and the Women's National League. All three competitions were won by Wexford Youths. However Shelbourne Ladies did win the WNL Cup after defeating UCD Waves 3–2 in the final at Richmond Park on 1 May 2016. In 2016 Shelbourne won the FAI Women's Cup after defeating Wexford Youths 5–0 in the final. The most notable individual performance to come out of the game was undoubtedly that of Shels' Leanne Kiernan, who scored a hat-trick and picked up the 'player of the match' award for her efforts.

The team won their first league championship when they finished the shortened 2016 season in first place. They qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League with that title. In March 2019 Shelbourne announced a number of steps intended to boost "equality and parity of esteem for all of our players". They dropped the word Ladies from the women's team's name and moved WNL home games from the AUL Complex to the main stadium at Tolka Park. The WNL team are the current 2022 WNL Champions, and will also compete in the 2023 Women's Champions League qualifying rounds.

U-19 team
It was announced on 21 April 2011, by the Football Association of Ireland that there would be the formation of a League of Ireland U19 Division. This giving young players in Ireland the prospect of ultimately breaking into the first teams of League of Ireland clubs.

Schoolboys
Shelbourne have seventeen schoolboy teams competing in the Dublin & District Schoolboy Leagues. Schoolboy teams have participated in numerous Youth Cups worldwide including the Milk Cup and Umbro Galway Cup.They also have a new u13s league of Ireland sse airtricity schoolboy team.

Shelbourne are involved in a football scholarship programme with Larkin Community College, on Dublin's northside. This scheme is considered to have helped stop the falling enrolment rates, and early leaving of school, in part of Dublin's north inner city.

Amateur team
Shelbourne also has an amateur team playing in the United Churches Football League, Division 1. However, the team started in the Amateur Football League Division 2. They won promotion to Division 1 in 2008 and earned a place in the Premier Division a year later following a playoff victory against Columba Rovers. In 2013 they won the Premier Division with two games to spare. In 2014 the team had silverware again. This time it was the Maher Cup after a 1:0 victory in the final. 2015 saw the team move away from the Amateur Football League to the United Churches Football League, where it remains to date.

Reserve team
The Shelbourne A team took part in the 2010 A Championship and finished sixth in Group 1. The team did not participate in the 2011 edition of the Championship, which was the last edition of the competition.

Honours

 * League of Ireland/Premier Division 13:
 * 1925–26, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1952–53, 1961–62, 1991–92, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003, 2004, 2006
 * League of Ireland First Division 2:
 * 2019, 2021
 * Irish Cup: 3
 * 1905–06, 1910–11, 1919–20
 * FAI Cup: 7
 * 1938–39, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000
 * League of Ireland Cup: 1
 * 1995–96
 * League of Ireland Shield: 8
 * 1921–22, 1922–23, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1948–49, 1970–71
 * LFA President's Cup: 8
 * 1929–30, 1939–40, 1947–48, 1960–61, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2002–03
 * FAI Super Cup: 1
 * 2001–02
 * Dublin City Cup: 4
 * 1941–42, 1946–47, 1962–63, 1964–65
 * City Cup: 1
 * 1908–09
 * Gold Cup: 1
 * 1914–15
 * Top Four Cup: 1
 * 1961–62
 * Leinster Senior League: 12 (record)
 * 1902–03, 1903–04, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1915–16, 1916–17, 1918–19, 1923–24, 1942–43, 1943–44
 * '''Leinster Senior Cup: 21
 * 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1903–04, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1916–17, 1918–19 1923–24, 1930–31, 1945–46, 1948–49, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1993–94, 2010, 2017, 2018
 * FAI Intermediate Cup: 1
 * 1932–33
 * Enda McGuill Cup: 1
 * 2003

Results

 * Biggest League Win:
 * 9–0 vs Pioneers, 16 December 1922
 * 9–0 vs Bray Unknowns, 4 September 1926
 * Biggest League Defeat:
 * 0–9 vs Dundalk, 27 November 1980
 * Biggest FAI Cup Win:
 * 9–0 vs Bray Unknowns, 6 January 1923
 * Biggest European Win:
 * single tie: 4–0 vs Vėtra home, 24 June 2006
 * aggregate: 5–0 vs Vėtra, June 2006

Goals / scorers

 * Most League goals in a season:
 * 72 (1922–23)
 * Most League goals in a game:
 * 6, John Ledwidge vs Jacobs, 9–1 home, 10 October 1929
 * 6, Alex Hair vs Jacobs, 7–0 home, 6 September 1930
 * Most FAI Cup goals in a game:
 * 5, Stephen Doyle vs Bray Unknowns 9–0 home, 6 January 1923
 * Top League scorer:
 * season: 29, Alex Hair, (1930–31)
 * total: 126, Eric Barber, (1958–66), (1971–75), (1978–80)
 * Top European scorer:
 * season: 5, Jason Byrne, (2004–05)
 * total: 8, Jason Byrne, (2003–06)

International caps
Full international caps won by players while with Shelbourne:
 * 🇮🇪 ireland (IFA): 5 players capped
 * First: Val Harris vs England home, 17 February 1906.
 * Last: Ed Brookes vs Scotland away, 13 March 1920.
 * Most: Val Harris (6), (1906–08).
 * (FAI): 23 players capped
 * First: Mick Foley and Fran Watters vs Italy away, 21 March 1926.
 * Last: Jason Byrne vs Chile home, 24 May 2006.
 * Most: Joe Haverty (7), (1965–66).

Other international caps won by Shelbourne players:
 * 🇪🇸 Alvarito (1964–1965)
 * 🇨🇲 Joseph N'Do (2004–2006)
 * 🇹🇹 Avery John (2000–2001)

In popular culture

 * The club appeared in the fictional football drama Dream Team when Harchester United were drawn to play "The Reds" in the UEFA Cup.

title: Shelbourne F.C.


text:
Wikipedia talk:Ogg Vorbis help

This page was created to retain the Ogg Vorbis help previously on Sound_help. --Zarni02 09:44, 16 Jul 2004 (UTC)

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