Drumcondra (Ireland)

The story of Drumcondra FC from Dublin's Northside is an interesting tale of the determination of a local community for a great name to live on.

The 1946 IFA Cup Final Programme from the game which saw
Drums beat Shamrock Rovers 2-1

The original club were formed in 1924 and as a non league club they lifted the FAI Cup in 1927 before joining the League of Ireland the following year. 'Drums' were based at Tolka Park and had a great rivalry with Shamrock Rovers which drew great crowds. In 1948 they lifted their first league title, which they retained the following year.

The Drumcondra team that faced Atletico Madrid

Three more championships followed in 1959, 1961 and 1965 to add to a further four Cup wins to herald an era of European football to the club. They became the first Irish club to record an aggregate win when they defeated the Danes of B 1909 Odense in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup (later the UEFA Cup and Europa League). Drums also played against Atletico Madrid, Nuremburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, Vorwarts Berlin and Bayern Munich who they beat in the home leg during their European adventures.

The Programme from the Santos match

In 1972 a combined selected team of Drumcondra and Bohemian players took on a Santos team including Pele in a friendly at Dalymount Park.

At the end of that season the clubs shares were bought by near neighbours Home Farm FC to amalgamate the two clubs as Drums were £6,000 in debt. They were to retain the amateur status of Home Farm and they moved into Tolka Park to be known as Home Farm-Drumcondra FC. Within a season they dropped the Drums name to become Home Farm FC. 

The 1958 Programme from the home leg v Atletico Madrid

The Drumcondra name lived on as Drumcondra AFC and Drumcondra Athletic FC were both formed, with both clubs claiming the historical identity of the old club. In 2008 an amalgamation created unity and Drumcondra FC who fielded many junior teams for boys and girls including teams in the Leinster Senior League.

Drumcondra FC fielded first teams in the Leinster Saturday Major 1D and the Sunday Senior 1A Divisions in the 2013-14 season.


My visit

Friday 15th October 2010

I was in Dublin for a few days of sightseeing and expanding my knowledge of football in the city with different visits. As ever I had tried to do as much homework before hand so as to make the actual days as stress free as possible.

The name Drumcondra firsat became known to me as a young lad playing Subbuteo. The team were featured with their prominent colours of yellow shirts with blue sleeves and shorts. I guess when the teams were designated by Subbuteo that Drums were one of Ireland's bigger clubs.

There was no sign of the club in the League of Ireland tables so google came to my rescue when I learned all about the reformed club and its location. As luck would have it Drumcondra was the nearest railway station to my first port of call that morning, Tolka Park the home of Shelbourne. The clubs home ground was immediately over the road from the stadium.

After I'd had a quick sneak inside Tolka Park I walked across the road to take the basic photos of Clonturk Park. It consisted of an open pitch and a clubhouse and changing rooms.

I wandered off for a mile walk to Home Farm full of admiration for the supporters and community who refused to let the famous Drumcondra name die.


The pictures featured on this page from Drums history have been taken from clubs' website.