Page 29 - Garda Journal Summer 2019

HISTORY | John McAlery
John McAlery & the Origins of Association Football
New evidence of early matches has necessitated a reappraisal of Irish soccer’s foundation
story. By Martin Moore
John McAlery—credited with introducing association football into Ireland whenhe organised an exhibition match in Belfast on 24 October 1878 between Scottishteams Caledonian and Queen’s Park. But was he the only one involved and was itthe first game played in Ireland?
According to its foundation myth, association football was introduced into Ireland on 24 October 1878, when John McAlery organised an exhibition match in Belfast between two Scottish teams, Caledonian and the famous Queen’s Park. McAlery, known as the ‘father of Irish association football’, was a Belfast businessman who had apparently encountered the new code while on honeymoon in Scotland; he went on to establish Ireland’s first association club, Cliftonville, in 1879, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Irish Football Association in 1880. The code then grew rapidly in popularity in Belfast and other parts of Ulster, and later in Dublin.
Recent research, however, has identified three earlier association football matches—two in Belfast in 1875 and 1877 and one in County Cork in 1877—as well as evidence of activity in County Sligo in 1879–82 and
possibly in County Westmeath in 1878 and King’s County in 1879. In addition, McAlery’s status as ‘founding father’ has been challenged, and a more nuanced account that recognises the efforts of others is overdue.
A Child Is Born: John McAlery & The Birth Of Irish Football
EARLY MATCHES
The earliest recorded association football match in Ireland was played by members of the Ulster Cricket Club on its grounds at Prospect, Belfast, in front of some spectators on 11 December 1875. The match was recorded in the Belfast News-Letter and the Northern Whig, neither of which provided any description, although the latter was impressed by ‘the physique shown by the various players’. It was the intention of those playing to establish a football club to play both association and rugby rules in its first season before deciding which code to adopt. This does not appear
GARDA JOURNAL 29