Bray Unknowns Football Club was an Irish association football club based in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

. During the 1920s and 1930s the Unknowns were the dominant football club in Bray, playing in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

for nineteen seasons from 1924–25 to 1942–43. However, in the 1950s,

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

emerged as the town's strongest team, enjoying success in both the Leinster Senior League and the

FAI Intermediate Cup The FAI Intermediate Cup ( ga, Corn Comortais Peile na hÉireann), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate ...

. During the 1960s both clubs were in decline. In 1973, after co-existing for nearly fifty years, the two clubs effectively merged under the Wanderers name.

History

Early Years

Bray Unknowns played a few seasons at the

Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. Situated directly behind the Bray D.A.R.T. station, it is home to Bray Wanderers A.F.C. History The Carlisle Grounds can claim to be the Football Association of I ...

around

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

. The club re-formed after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and in 1921–22 were playing in the Leinster Senior League. Other teams in this league this season included

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

, Bohemians B, St James's Gate B, Pioneers, Shelbourne United, Midland Athletic,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Merrion, Glasnevin, CYMS and Richmond. In 1922–23 Bray Unknowns were Leinster Senior League champions and in 1923–24 they won the

LFA Metropolitan Cup The Leinster Senior League is an association football league organised by the Leinster Football Association. In 2015–16 the Leinster Senior League operated twenty divisions. It also organises various cup competitions. Its Senior Division is a ...

League of Ireland

Bray Unknowns joined the

in 1924–25, replacing Midland Athletic. Together with Fordsons, they became the second and third teams, after

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

, from outside of

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

to join the league. During their time in the league, Bray Unknowns regularly finished in the bottom two. On 28 October

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

Bray Unknowns lost 11–0 to

. This still remains Rovers record win. Bray Unknowns best performance in the league was a fourth-placed finish in 1936–37. They were

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

semi-finalists in 1924–25, 1925–26 and 1939–40. At the end of the 1942–43 seasons Bray Unknowns failed to get re-elected.

Bray Wanderers

In 1973–74 Bray Unknowns were playing in the Leinster Senior League and two former

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

internationals,

Mick Meagan Michael Kevin Meagan (29 May 1934 – 27 November 2022) was an Irish professional footballer. He was the first manager of the Republic of Ireland national team to be given total control over selecting players. Early days Meagan grew up in Dub ...

and

Amby Fogarty Ambrose "Amby" Gerald Fogarty (11 September 1933 – 4 January 2016) was an Irish professional football player. He played at club level for Bohemians, Glentoran, Sunderland, Hartlepool United, Cork Celtic and Cork Hibernian. At Roker ...

were recruited as co-player managers. The club management also changed the club's name to

League of Ireland Stats

Source:

Ground

Between 1924–25 and 1928–29, Bray Unknowns played their home games in Woodbrook, just over the

border. In 1929 they moved back to the

. The first

match at the ground was a 2-2 draw between Unknowns and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

during the 1929–30 season . ''Carlisle Grounds''
/ref>

Honours

* Leinster Senior League: 1 **1922–23 *

: 1 **1923–24

Notable former players

Ireland internationals

The following Bray Unknowns players represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at full international level. * Jack Byrne *

Alf Rigby Alf Rigby was an Ireland international footballer. Rigby played for several clubs in the League of Ireland including Bray Unknowns, St James's Gate and Dundalk. He was also the top goalscorer in the League of Ireland for two successive seasons ...

* Joe Williams

Goalscorers

*Top League Scorer ''(season)'': 21,

Owen McNally Owen McNally (20 June 1906 – 1973) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his senior career with Celtic but his first team opportunities were restricted by Jimmy McGrory. After loans spells with Arthurlie and ...

( 1930–31) *Top League Scorer ''(total)'': 44, Paddy Leeney (1937–41)

References

{{Bray Wanderers F.C. Association football clubs in County Wicklow Defunct League of Ireland clubs Former Leinster Senior League clubs Unknowns Association football clubs established in 1910 Association football clubs disestablished in 1973 1910 establishments in Ireland 1973 disestablishments in Ireland