Club History

1942/43: “A Riot of Dance And Fun” amidst The Emergency

Three full years into World War II, the administration of football in Ireland was becoming increasingly tougher. FAI Committee minutes from the time show difficulties on and off the pitch. In the close season, the finances of the Leinster FA, who governed the Leinster League in which Pat’s competed, were said to be at their lowest ever point. The FAI had to assist them with a £100 overdraft.

Meanwhile, there were reports of extraordinary meetings in Sligo and Limerick about the perilous state of football in those counties. Many players at all levels were involved in the defences forces or had emigrated, while restrictions on fuel and travel during the Emergency, as the period of World War II was euphemistically called in Ireland, caused difficulties for teams. These restrictions were raised at one FAI Junior Committee meeting in early 1942 by one Mr RW Neville – the same Dick Neville who had founded the original St Patrick’s FC in Inchicore in 1898.

The League of Ireland, won this season by the short-lived Cork United, struggled on valiantly. Before the war, twelve teams had taken part, but this was reduced to eleven in 1940-41 and ten in 41/42. This number would fall to eight for the 1943/44 season.

Junior football was being hit just as hard by the restrictions and rationing. Its blue riband, the FAI Junior Cup, was the source of much contention. On July 14th, the FAI Junior Committee agreed to go ahead with the running of the 1942-43 FAI Junior Cup despite the difficulties. But by September, there were again calls for the Committee to drop the competition.

The Junior Cup eventually kicked off in January with St Pat’s, who had lifted the trophy two seasons previously, beating Pioneers 7-1 with five goals from McCarthy. The second round saw another comfortable win, this time against League rivals Midland Athletic on a 4-0 scoreline.