Shelbourne FC announce Tolka Park Centenary event | OneFootball

September 13th, 2024: Shelbourne Football Club is delighted to announce a special event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tolka Park.

Shelbourne FC will host a friendly match featuring a Shelbourne FC XI, made up of former players, club legends, staff and special guests, taking on a Drumcondra AFC XI at Tolka Park on Saturday October 26th 2024.

The winning team will be awarded the Peter O’Connor Memorial Cup, a trophy named in honour of a devoted Shelbourne FC volunteer and supporter who sadly passed away earlier this year following a short illness.

This centrepiece of the day will be the Tolka Park Centenary Match, which will be followed by a special Q+A with some of the players taking part, memorabilia displays, a presentation to members of the 2004 Shelbourne FC squad, to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Reds most famous European run, as well as a talk on the history of Tolka Park.

Event Details:

Date & Time: October 26th, 2024, Kick-off at 2:00 PM

Admission: Free Entry

Collection: Voluntary donations will be collected to support Shelbourne FC’s historical committee and a donation to the family of Peter O’Connor.

The display of memorabilia from Shels legends will include medals, jerseys, and other unique Shels items never before seen. The post-match Q&A session with Shels legends will take centre stage in the Tolka Bar after the game.

The Tolka Park Centenary Match will honour the shared history of Shels and Drums, with both clubs having called Tolka Park home over the last 100 years. Drums played at the iconic Dublin sporting institution from the 1920s through to the early 1970s.

Today’s announcement comes 100 years to the day of Drumcondra’s first ever league at Tolka Park, then known as Richmond Road, on September 13th, 1924, a 1-1 draw with Brideville.

Sunday Independent 14th September 1924

Shels played at Tolka sporadically during the fifties, sixties, seventies, and early eighties, before making the ground the club’s permanent home in 1989 having acquired the Dublin Corporation lease from Home Farm, who had merged with Drums in the 70s.

Barry Mocke, CEO of Shelbourne FC said: “We are thrilled to host the Tolka Park Centenary Match and to mark this very special milestone of Tolka Park in a meaningful way. It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring together our supporters, past players, and our neighbours in the Drumcondra community to celebrate Tolka Park’s incredible history, while also looking ahead to a bright future as the home of Shelbourne FC.”

Brian Martin, Secretary of Drumcondra AFC, shared his excitement: “We would like to thank Shelbourne FC for the opportunity to celebrate Tolka Park’s centenary by being involved in this very special game and the day’s events. We are excited to bring a team of Drums legends together for this brilliant occasion. We’d urge everyone involved in Drums past and present to come along on the day for what will be a very special occasion.”

The full programme of events will be published next month, the players, managers and special guests for both the Shelbourne FC XI and Drumcondra XI will be announced over the coming weeks.