The Ireland national football team () represented the island of Ireland in association football from 1882 until 1950. It was organised by the Irish Football Association (IFA), and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales. Though often vying with Wales to avoid the wooden spoon, Ireland won the Championship in 1914, and shared it with England and Scotland in 1903.
After the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, although the IFA's administration of club football was restricted to Northern Ireland, the IFA national team continued to select players from the whole of Ireland until 1950, and did not adopt the name "Northern Ireland" until 1954 in FIFA competition, and the 1970s in the British Home Championship. In 1924, a separate international team, organised by the Football Association of Ireland, fielded a team called Ireland, which now represents the Republic of Ireland.
History
1800s On 18 February 1882, two years after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 0–13 in a friendly played at Bloomfield Park in Belfast, becoming the fourth international side ever to take the field. This result remains the record win for England and the record defeat for an Ireland team. The Irish line-up that day included Samuel Johnston, who at the age of 15 years and 154 days became the youngest international debutant, which was a record until Aníbal Zapicán Falco played for Uruguay in 1908 at the age of 15 years and nine days. On 25 February 1882 Ireland played their second international against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland's first ever goal, although Ireland went on to lose 1–7, the goal also saw Johnston became the youngest ever international goalscorer.
In 1884 Ireland competed in the inaugural British Home Championship and lost all three games. Ireland did not win their first game until 13 March 1887, a 4–1 win over Wales in Belfast. Between their debut and this game, they had a run of 14 defeats and 1 draw, the longest run without a win in the 19th century. Despite the end of this run, heavy defeats continued to blight Ireland's record, including 3 March 1888 when they lost 0–11 to Wales, and on 23 February 1901 when they lost 0–11 to Scotland. These losses, together with the initial loss to England still constitute the record wins held by each of the other home nation teams.
However, there were some brighter moments: on 7 February 1891 an Ireland team featuring Jack Reynolds and four-goal hero Olphert Stanfield defeated Wales 7–2, providing Ireland with their second win. Reynolds international performances attracted the interest of West Bromwich Albion who signed him in March 1891, however it was later discovered that Reynolds was actually English. On 3 March 1894 at the Solitude Ground in Belfast, after thirteen attempts Ireland finally avoided defeat to England, the team that included Fred Spiksley and Reynolds, who had since switched allegiances, Ireland gained a 2–2 draw. Goals from Stanfield and W.K. Gibson inspired Ireland to come back from 2–0 down to gain a 2–2 draw.
Lacking the strength in depth enjoyed by England and Scotland, Irish internationals of this era started younger and their careers lasted longer than their English or Scottish contemporaries. As a result, Ireland fielded both the youngest and oldest national teams during the 19th century. Samuel Johnston had led the way in the early 1880s. Then on 27 February 1886 Shaw Gillespie, at the age of 18, became the youngest goalkeeper of the 19th century. Both Olphert Stanfield and W.K. Gibson were only 17 when they made their debuts. Another 17-year-old debutant was future Worcestershire cricketer, George Gaukrodger. In Johnston, Gibson and Gaukrodger, Ireland also had three of the four youngest goalscorers in the 19th century. Stanfield would go on to win 30 caps for Ireland, making him the most capped international of the century.
British champions
Ireland's greatest success on the football field came when they won the 1913–14 British Home Championship. However the foundations for that success had been laid over a decade earlier when Ireland had pioneered the use of national team coaches. The first time in the history of modern football that a national team had a coach was on 20 February 1897 when Billy Crone was in charge of the Ireland team that lost 6–0 to England, again for the wins against Wales on 19 February 1898, on 4 March 1899, Ireland was coached by Hugh McAteer, and on 24 February 1900 Robert Torrans coached Ireland for the game against Wales. In 1914 McAteer would return to coach Ireland to their greatest success.
In 1899 the IFA also changed its rules governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively from the Irish League, in particular the four Belfast-based clubs, Cliftonville, Distillery, Glentoran and Linfield. On 4 March 1899 for the game against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1–0. Three weeks later, on 25 March one of these four players, Archie Goodall, aged 34 years and 279 days, became the oldest player to score at international level during the 19th century when he scored in a 1–9 defeat to Scotland. Goodall remained a regular at centre-half for Ireland until he was almost 40. On 28 March 1903, aged 38 years and 283 days, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win against Wales and became the oldest goalscorer in Ireland's history. The goal also helped an Ireland team, that also included Jack Kirwan, Billy Scott, Billy McCracken and Robert Milne, clinch a share in the 1902–03 British Home Championship. Until then the competition had been monopolised by England and Scotland. However, in 1903, before goal difference was applied, Ireland forced a three way share. Despite losing their opening game 0–4 to England, the Irish then beat Scotland for the first time with a 2–0 win at Celtic Park.
On 15 February 1913, with a team captained by Val Harris and including Billy Scott and two-goal hero Billy Gillespie, Ireland beat England for the first time with a 2–1 win at Windsor Park. In 1914 Ireland went a stage further and won the championship outright. Harris and Gillespie were joined in the squad by among others, Patrick O'Connell and Bill Lacey. Gillespie scored twice as Ireland beat Wales 2–1 away, Ireland then beat England 3–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough with Lacey grabbing two of the goals. They clinched the title following a 1–1 home draw with Scotland in what would be their last match until the end of the First World War.
Inter-war years
Following the end of hostilities, the British Home Championship resumed in October 1919, opening with Ireland taking on England at Windsor Park. The championship winning team had since broken up, and in their first game, Ireland fielded eight debutants, and despite only losing one game in the first post war competition, they finished the tournament in last place.
Ireland never refound the form of their 1914 winning season, and only managed two second places in the following twenty years. However they did have a number of excellent match performance including beating England 2–1 at Windsor Park on 10 October 1923 with a team featuring Tom Farquharson, Sam Irving, Bobby Irvine and Billy Gillespie. During the 1920s, Billy Gillespie set the Irish FAs record of thirteen goals in an international career, of which seven of these came at the expense of England. Gillespie's record was eventually equalled by Colin Clarke in 1992 and broken by David Healy in 2004, thus holding the record for nearly 80 years.
Throughout Ireland's formative years they exclusively played against England, Scotland and Wales, both in friendlies and in the British Home Championship. However, in the 1920s there were occasions when Ireland played other teams, including France, Norway and South Africa, for various reasons, such as the number of amateur players involved, the status of these internationals has been disputed.
On 10 October 1927 Gillespie and Irving were joined by Elisha Scott as they defeated England 2–0 at Windsor Park, in the following match a defeat by Wales in Belfast put the championship beyond reach, however on 25 February 1928 an inspired goalkeeping performance from Scott helped Ireland defeat Scotland 1–0, their first win against the Scots in eighteen years, gaining the side their best season finish since 1914.
On 2 February 1930 Ireland beat Wales 7–0 with Joe Bambrick, playing at his home club ground scoring six of the seven goals. This remains the team's record win to this day, and Bambrick's six goals was the highest tally by any player in a single match in the history of the competition, and remains unequaled to this very day.
However Ireland spent the remainder of the decade in the bottom half of the table, only managing to avoid last place on three occasions. Following war breaking out in Europe, the British home championship was again suspended with Ireland finishing the 1938–39 competition where they had spent most of the last two decades, at the bottom of the table, having lost all their games.
Irish FA v FA of Ireland In 1920 Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1922, the south of Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, later to become Republic of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival football association, the Football Association of Ireland (the FAI), emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and later a national team. In 1923, during a period when the home nations had disaffiliated from the governing body, Google books the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State on the condition that it changed its name to the Football Association of the Irish Free State. At the same time, the IFA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis, regularly calling up Free State players. During this era at least one Northerner, Harry Chatton, also played for the Irish Free State and from 1936, the FAI began to organise their own all–Ireland team. Both teams now competed as Ireland and during this era at least 39 dual internationals were selected to represent both teams. In an era when national teams played only a few games a year, it was rare for professional players to turn down an opportunity to play at international level. Between 1928 and 1946 the IFA were not affiliated to FIFA and the two Ireland teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. Only in 1949, they both would participate in the qualifying tournament for the 1950 World Cup.
End of the era During the Second World War all home internationals were suspended, however, during this period Ireland played an unofficial match against a combined services eleven, which was effectively a Great Britain side containing Matt Busby, Stanley Matthews, Tommy Lawton and Stan Mortensen. The game was a high scoring affair with Ireland losing 4–8, with all four Ireland goals coming from the future manager Peter Doherty. The performance of Doherty was such that the match commentator, Maurice Edelston, stated "He was almost a one-man team – and if Ireland had two Dohertys that day, I shudder to think what might have happened".