Reds United Football Club was an Irish association football club, originally formed in

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

, Dublin. Reds United were active in the mid–1930s and played in the Leinster Senior League, 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 ...

and 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 ...

. The club was formed by former members of Shelbourne after the latter club was suspended from the League of Ireland at the end of the 1933–34 season. Reds United played just one season, 1935–36, in the League of Ireland. Together with

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, Frankfort and Rathmines Athletic, they are one of only four clubs to have played just one season in the top level of the

History

Shelbourne / FAI dispute

In early 1934, Shelbourne were fined by the Football Association of Ireland for allegedly poaching players from nearby clubs. When Shelbourne refused to pay the fine they were threatened with suspension. In March 1934 Shelbourne informed the FAI by letter that they had applied for membership of the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

. They also withdrew from the

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

. At the time the relationship between the two rival Irish national associations was at an all-time low. In June 1934 the FAI responded by suspending Shelbourne for one year. They also banned members of the club's management committee from managing any other club affiliated to the FAI. Shelbourne were banned from the

and their place was awarded to

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Leinster Senior League

With Shelbourne now suspended from any footballing activity a number of former Shelbourne members and players based in

got together, formed a new club, Reds United and successfully applied to join the Leinster Senior League. In 1934–35, with a team that included

John Joe Flood John Joe Flood, also referred to as Jonjo Flood or John Flood, was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Leeds United and Crystal Palace. As an international, he also played for and captained the Irish Fre ...

, Reds United finished as Leinster Senior League champions and, together with Brideville, were subsequently elected to the 1935–36 League of Ireland. Reds United also competed in the

1934–35 FAI Cup The FAI Cup 1934/35 was the fourteenth edition of Ireland's premier cup competition, The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or FAI Cup. The tournament began on 13 January 1935 and concluded on 14 April with the final held at Dalymount ...

. In the first round they drew 3–3 with

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

but lost the replay 4–3.

League of Ireland

Reds United made their

debut with a 2–0 win at The Mardyke against

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. With a team that included

Willie Ouchterlonie Willie Ouchterlonie was a Scottish footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Dundee. Ouchterlonie, whose brother Kinnaird was also a footballer, began his career with local side Osborne before joining Dundee United in September 1932. ...

and Tommy "Netler" Doyle, an ex-

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 ...

player, they finished the 1935–36 season in a respectable fourth place, behind

Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

and

. Reds United were also quarter-finalists in the

1935–36 FAI Cup The FAI Cup 1935–36 was the fifteenth edition of Ireland's premier cup competition, The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or FAI Cup. The tournament began on 1 January 1936 and concluded on 19 April with the final held at Dalymo ...

. At the end of the 1935–36 season, however, they resigned their place in the league to make way for a returning Shelbourne. Having completed their one-year ban Shelbourne, had spent the 1935–36 season playing in the Athletic Union League. With the support of Shamrock Rovers, they had also managed to successfully appeal their ban from the League of Ireland.

Junior club

There is some evidence to suggest that after leaving the

, Reds United may have continued to function as a junior club in some capacity. Two

players active in the mid-1940s, Tommy Godwin and Ossie Nash played junior football with a Reds United.

Home grounds

Reds United played their home

games at

Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers ...

, the home of

. However they played their home games against Rovers 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 ...

Honours

* Leinster Senior League: 1 **1935-36

Notable former players

Ireland internationals

The following Reds United 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. *

* Tommy Godwin

Goalscorers

(20) – the third highest scorer in the 1935–36 League of Ireland

References

{{Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne F.C. Association football clubs in Dublin (city) Association football clubs established in 1934 Association football clubs disestablished in the 1940s Defunct League of Ireland clubs Former Leinster Senior League clubs 1934 establishments in Ireland 1940s disestablishments in Ireland