Freestaters

The Republic of Ireland Soccer Team 1921-1939 by Donal Cullen Now this is a book. This a 'must have' book for anyone that is interested in the history and origins of association football in the Republic of Ireland. Packed with Irish football information, figures, statistics, and photos this wonderful volume should be all Irish soccer fans' collections. The author, Donal Cullen, has described this as a labour of love and it surely must have been. The research involved in producing Freestaters must have been painstaking and tedious and clearly Cullen stuck assiduously to his task to produce this encyclopaedia of Irish football from the creation of the State up until the second World War. Gold Mine of Irish Soccer Information Find out why this little of Ireland has two separate international teams when pretty much every other sport in Ireland is unified. Learn why the split happened and how events unfolded. What teams formed the very first League of Ireland and who won the inaugural league title? Who has the historical distinction of scoring the first goal in League of Ireland match? Who provided the opposition for the first international outing for the fledgling Irish Free State? What was the result of the match? Who scored the first international goal for the 26 counties? Read about the bizarre situation when player could, and did, play for both Irelands and sometimes playing the same opposition for both Irelands within days of each other. When did the Freestaters record their first international victory and who did they beat? Who played for Ireland on the day? Which Ireland footballer has a goals-to-game ratio of 87%? When did Ireland begin playing English-based in Irish international matches? Find out about forgotten teams such as Bray Unknowns, Fordsons, Pioneers, Olympia, and Midland Athletic.