Home Farm Football Club is an Irish association football club based in

Whitehall, Dublin Whitehall () is a Northside suburb of Dublin City, Ireland. Whitehall is a residential area on the northern outskirts of Dublin's inner city, located near the M1 motorway leading to Dublin Airport, Swords and Belfast. It's situated between t ...

. It was founded in 1928. The club joined 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 ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

after merging with Drumcondra. Following this merger they were briefly known as Home Farm Drumcondra. Between

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

they played as Home Farm Everton before a split within the club led to the formation of Home Farm Fingal (later Dublin City). The original Home Farm reverted to junior status. Home Farm is perhaps best known for its

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

which has produced dozens of players who have gone on to play for clubs throughout the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition many have also gone on to represent the

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 ...

at international level.

History

Formation

In the mid-1920s when Leo Fitzmaurice, the brother of Trans-Atlantic aviator

James Fitzmaurice James Michael Christopher Fitzmaurice DFC (6 January 1898 – 26 September 1965) was an Irish aviation pioneer. He was a member of the crew of the ''Bremen'', which made the first successful trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West ...

, organised a street football league in the Drumcondra /

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

area of

Northside Dublin The Northside ( ga, Taobh Ó Thuaidh) is the part of Dublin city that lies to the north of the River Liffey. It is an informal but commonly used term. While it is sometimes regarded as less wealthy than the city's Southside, the Northside wa ...

. This league originally featured five teams – Drumcondra Road, Ormonde Road, Hollybank Road, Richmond Road and Home Farm Road. In 1928 the latter two, led by Don Seery and Brendan Menton Snr respectively merged to form Home Farm Football Club. Menton later became president of the Football Association of Ireland while Seery was the father of Ronan Seery, the founder of Dublin City. The new club began to play their home games at Griffith Avenue playing in black and gold stripes. However this was only because their first set of shirts were purchased at a

jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, ...

and these were the only colours available. By the next season, the colours were changed to blue and white hoops.

Academy Club

Home Farm soon established a reputation for developing schoolboys into senior international footballers. In 1936 when they won the Free State Minor Cup, the team included

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953 ...

. By 1937 Carey, together with

Paddy Farrell Paddy Farrell (1913-19 March 1987) was an Irish footballer who played for Bohemians and Hibernian during the 1930s. He was born in Athlone, Ireland. As an international he also played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI. At ...

and

Kevin O'Flanagan Kevin Patrick O'Flanagan (10 June 1919 – 26 May 2006) was an Irish sportsman, physician and sports administrator. An outstanding all-rounder, he represented his country at both soccer and rugby union. He was also a noted sprinter and long jum ...

, was one of at least three former Home Farm players who had become Irish internationals, having played for the FAI XI. Carey and O'Flanagan made their debut in the same game against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on 7 November 1937, in a qualifier for the

1938 World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

. O'Flanagan even scored in the 3–3 draw. All three would also play for the IFA XI. Carey went on to become a legend at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and was the first of several Home Farm graduates who established themselves at the club. In 1953

Liam Whelan William Augustine Whelan (1 April 1935 – 6 February 1958), also known as Billy Whelan or Liam Whelan, was an Irish footballer and one of the eight Manchester United players who were killed in the Munich air disaster. He was 22 years old when ...

, one of the legendary

Busby Babes The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United F.C. chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of ...

and among the victims of the Munich Air Disaster, made the same journey. During the 1960s Home Farm produced twenty full internationals including, among others,

Paddy Mulligan Patrick Martin "Paddy" Mulligan (born 17 March 1945 in Dublin) is an Irish retired footballer who played mainly as a right-back. Mulligan started his senior career playing for Bohemians in 1963. However, after only two games he signed for Shamro ...

. The club's senior team also gained some minor successes. They won 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 ...

on three occasions in 1963, 1967 and 1968 and finished as runners up in 1966 and 1970. In 1964 they also won the Leinster Senior Cup beating

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 ...

in the final. Meanwhile, Home Farm Under 14s under coach Joe Fitzpatrick earned a place in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for their match winning sequence of 79 games between 1968 and 1971.

League of Ireland

Home Farm and their trustees, Brendan Menton Sr. and Don Seery, finally got a chance to field a senior team in the

when they merged with Drumcondra. Drums were £6,000 in debt and regularly propping up the league table. After almost 20 years in charge, Sam Prole sold the club to the junior team down the road. As part of the deal Home Farm also gained

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

as home ground. Home Farm also agreed to keep the famous Drums name alive by playing under the name ''Home Farm Drumcondra'' but, after just a year, they infuriated the Prole family by reverting to the name Home Farm. In 1975 Home Farm won the

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 ...

for the only time. With a team managed by

Dave Bacuzzi David Reno Bacuzzi (12 October 1940 – 21 April 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Reading. He also represented England as a youth international. After a moderately successful career in the ...

and including

Noel King Noel King (born 13 September 1956) is a former professional footballer and the current head coach of Women's National League club Shelbourne. For 10 years from 2000 until 2010 he was manager of the Republic of Ireland women's national team. ...

, James Higgins, Martin Murray and

Dermot Keely Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession. Family Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne., hi ...

, they beat

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

and

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

in earlier rounds before defeating Shelbourne 1–0 in the final at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. As a result, they became the first amateur team to win the

in forty years. The following season they competed in the

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

, playing against French side,

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), come ...

. They drew 1–1 at home but lost the away leg 6–0. Despite this cup success, their performances in the League of Ireland were poor and between

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, when they were relegated to the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

, they never finished higher than ninth. Lack of league success, however, did not stop the club continuing to produce players like

Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...

. During the 1980s Whelan became an established player at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and was a key member of the

team under

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

Home Farm Everton

In Home Farm linked up with Everton in a sponsorship deal which resulted in the club briefly becoming known as ''Home Farm Everton''. As part of the deal, Everton got first choice of the best Home Farm players and in 1996 they signed

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his pro ...

. At the end of the 1995–96 season ''Home Farm Everton'' finished third in the First Division and then beat

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 ...

in a promotion/relegation play-off and returned to the League of Ireland top division. During the subsequent season Steve Archibald briefly played for the club. However, after a poor performance against

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Archibald was allegedly told to "eff off home" by then manager

. After just one season back in the top division, they were relegated. Keely subsequently guided the club to success in the

League of Ireland First Division Shield The League of Ireland First Division Shield was an association football competition featuring teams from the League of Ireland First Division. The inaugural winners were Derry City. It was also the first competition Derry City won after they joi ...

in 1998. The club continued to play as ''Home Farm Everton'' until

Split

In 1999 when the sponsorship deal with Everton collapsed, Home Farm decided to abandon their League of Ireland ambitions. However Ronan Seery, the club's chief executive officer, persuaded the club to sell their franchise to him. This effectively resulted in a split within the club. Seery subsequently formed a new professional team, Home Farm Fingal.

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

is an old name for an area corresponding approximately with

. They took Home Farm Everton's place for the 1999–2000 season before changing their name to Dublin City in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. Meanwhile, the amateur and youth sections began playing once again as ''Home Farm F.C.'' and their senior team entered the Leinster Senior League.

Home Farm U14s

Despite the decline of Home Farm's senior team, the U14s continued strongly, playing regularly in the Dublin and District Schoolboy League. During the 1990s under coach Paddy Hilliard they went unbeaten for five years and under

Gerry Garvan Gerry Garvan is a former Irish footballer and coach who played as a midfielder for several clubs, during the 1960s and 1970s, in the League of Ireland, including Drumcondra, Shelbourne and Athlone Town. Club career On 19 November 1967, while ...

they were unbeaten for a further three years between 1999 and 2002. Along the way they won the Schoolboys FAI Cup twice. In 2002, Garvan took his team to play a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

youth team in Glasgow and Darren O'Dea scored twice as Home Farm won 2–0. O'Dea,

Diarmuid O'Carroll Diarmuid O'Carroll (born 16 March 1987 in Killarney) is an Irish retired professional footballer, who is currently assistant manager at St Mirren. He has worked in various roles in football such as for the Irish Football Association as Club an ...

, Gary Walsh and Gareth Christie were already being tracked by Celtic youth development officer, Tommy Burns, and all four were subsequently offered contracts. In addition

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

became the latest English club to recognise Home Farm's potential and they signed up goalkeeper

Shane Supple Shane Supple (born 4 May 1987) is an Irish coach and former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. In 2015, he made a return to competitive football, after initially retiring in 2009, by ...

, defender Michael Synnott and midfielder

Owen Garvan Owen William Garvan (born 29 January 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Garvan began his career in his native Ireland where he played for Home Farm as a schoolboy. He earned a move to England with Ipsw ...

. Another member of the team

Chris McCann Christopher John McCann (born 21 July 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Shamrock Rovers. A graduate of the youth system at Home Farm, McCann joined Burnley as a teenager, making his first team debut in 2005. He went on to ...

signed for Burnley.

Sponsorship deals

Leeds United

In January 2000 Home Farm announced an arrangement with Leeds United. At the time United featured several graduates of the Home Farm academy in their squad, most notably Gary Kelly,

Ian Harte Ian Patrick Harte (born 31 August 1977) is an Irish football agent and former professional footballer who played as a left back. He was best known for his ability to score goals from long range, including being a free kick specialist. He be ...

Stephen McPhail Stephen John Paul McPhail (born 9 December 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and the sporting director of Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division. A play-making central midfielder, McPhail started his career at ...

and

Alan Maybury Alan Paul Maybury (born 8 August 1978) is an Irish professional football coach and former player, who currently manages Scottish League One club Edinburgh. Maybury was a defender, who could play in either full-back position. He played for Le ...

. Under the arrangement, Leeds provided technical support to the Home Farm coaching team, led by Liam Tuohy and Home Farm featured the Leeds crest on their shirts. Another player who was on the books of both clubs as a junior goalkeeper was Nicky Byrne, later to find success as a singer with Westlife.

Renault

In February 2005 Home Farm unveiled a €1 million sponsorship deal with several groups, most notably Renault Ireland. The aim of the investment was to establish the club as a major soccer academy on a European scale. It was planned for the money to be invested in the club over the following three years. The Irish Department of Sports, Arts and Tourism, the Irish Youth Foundation and the club president, Tony O'Reilly also contributed to the fund. Renault Ireland chairman

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Francis Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. His biggest claim to fame was as a game show host; over the course of his career, he host ...

, the driving force behind the deal, and O’Reilly are former Home Farm players. As part of the arrangement Home Farm jerseys featured the Renault logo alongside the club's distinctive crest.

Portsmouth

In 2009, Home Farm agreed a deal with

Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is a professional football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, which compete in . They are also known as ''Pompey'', a local nickname used by both HMNB Portsmouth and the city of Portsmouth; the ''Pompey'' nick ...

which has led to Carl Walshe and Chinedu Vine joining Portsmouth as first year scholars.

Notable former players

; Dual Ireland internationals *

;

internationals ; Republic of Ireland under-21 internationals ;

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

players ;

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

internationals *

* Mick O'Flanagan * Tony O'Reilly ;Other internationals * Steve Archibald * Jamie Bosio ;Managers ;Celebrities * Nicky Byrne − member of Westlife *

– host of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...

''. ;Sports officials * Brendan Menton Snr – president of the Football Association of Ireland *

– member of the International Olympic Committee

Notable former coaches/managers

Seán Thomas Seán Thomas (died 24 June 1999) was an Irish football manager. Club management After a short playing career with Home Farm and C.Y.M.S., a left back who had to give up playing because of an injury, he attended Loughborough University for p ...

(1960–1961) *

John McSeveney John Haddow McSeveney (8 February 1931 – 12 December 2020) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization ...

(1973) *

Tommy Eggleston Thomas Eggleston (21 February 1920 – 14 January 2004) was an English footballer and manager. Career Eggleston became a coach and manager after a playing career interrupted by the Second World War and then ended prematurely by injury. He was ...

(1973–1974) *

(1974–1984) *

Ray Treacy Ray Treacy may refer to: * Ray Treacy (footballer) * Ray Treacy (track and field) Ray Treacy (born November 25, 1954) is a former competitive distance runner and coach of collegiate and professional runners. He began coaching track and field and ...

(1982–1990) *

Mick Lawlor Michael P. Lawlor is an American politician, criminal justice professor, and lawyer from Connecticut. A Democrat, he served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1987 to 2011, representing the 99th district in East Haven ...

(1984–86) *

Martin Bayly Martin Joseph Bayly (born 14 September 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer and manager. His older brother is Ritchie Bayly while his nephew Robert Bayly currently plays for Shamrock Rovers. Career Club career Born in Dublin, Bay ...

(1994–1996) *

(1996–1998) * Liam Tuohy

European record

Honours

* Leinster Senior League 2 **1960–61, 1963–64 *

: 1 **1974–75 *

: 1 **1997–98 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1 **1963–64 *

**''Winners'': 1962–63, 1966–67, 1967–68: 3 **''Runners Up'': 1965–66, 1969–70: 2 *

FAI Junior Cup The FAI Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for junior association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Brideville. The competition's most successful club is Fairvi ...

**1954–55: 1 * FAI Youth Cup **''Winners'': 1935–36, 1936–37, 1943–44, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1982–83, 1984–85: 11 **''Runners Up'': 1937–38, 1953–54, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1983–84: 7 * FAI Under–17 Cup **''Winners'': 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92: 3 **''Runners Up'': 1980–81, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89: 4 *

Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...

**''Winners'' 1988: 1

References

External links

Official club website
{{Irish clubs in European football Association football clubs in Dublin (city) Everton F.C. Former League of Ireland clubs Former League of Ireland First Division clubs 1928 establishments in Ireland Association football academies in the Republic of Ireland League of Ireland B Division clubs Leinster Senior League (association football) clubs Association football clubs established in 1928