Dundalk entered the 1966–67 season on the back of a disappointing eighth-place finish in the League and a sixth-place finish in the Shield the previous season. 1966–67 was Alan Fox's first season as player-coach, having been appointed by the club's new board of directors in August. It was Dundalk's 41st consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football.
The previous season had seen significant change at the club. By the end of 1965 it was clear that the debts, the condition of Oriel Park, and the need to rebuild the playing squad, were challenges beyond the membership-based ownership model. A new public limited company took the club over in January 1966, after the voluntary liquidation of the old company.[2] The new board set about investing in Oriel Park, which consisted of turning the pitch 90 degrees, building a new stand, and adding player and spectator facilities.[3] They also invested in a number of new players and a new player-coach, Alan Fox. Only five of the players who had finished the previous season were retained.[4]
The new season started on 21 August 1966 with the Shield and the Dublin City Cup. Dundalk had never won the Shield in their 40 seasons of League of Ireland membership, being runners-up four times and going close in numerous seasons.[5] At the 41st attempt, the new team made no mistake – with nine wins from the first 10 matches, effectively sealing the win with a 2–0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in front of a then record crowd of 14,000 for a domestic game in Oriel Park.[6][7] 10 days later they met Shamrock Rovers again, this time in the City Cup final, but fell to a 2–1 defeat.[8]
The League saw Fox's side continue their Shield form, with six wins in a row (scoring 21 goals in the process) leaving them clear at the top of the table in the run up to Christmas. A three match losing streak through the new year, which included the Leinster Senior Cup Final,[9] saw some doubts about the side creep in. But they only lost one more match in charging to the title ahead of Bohemians by seven points.[10] The club's third League title brought the only League and Shield Double in its history. To cap a memorable season, they also won the Top Four Cup, their second and last win before the competition was discontinued in 1974.[11] A semi-final defeat in the FAI Cup to Shamrock Rovers was the only slip-up that stopped the side winning medals in every competition. They called it "the greatest year in the history of Dundalk Football Club".[12]
Murphy, Jim (2003). The History of Dundalk F.C.: The First 100 Years. Dundalgan Press. ASIN B0042SO3R2.
Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN1-86223-135-4.
MacSweeney, Niall (1985). A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/2 - 1984/5. Association of Football Statisticians. ASIN B008H2CBJQ.
Ryan, Sean; Dunne, Noel (24 October 1975). The Bass Book of Irish Soccer. Mercier Press. ISBN9780853424505.
Citations
^O'Shea, Tom (17 October 1966). "Dundalk Poised To Take Shield". Irish Press. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
^"Dundalk club take-over". Irish Independent. 21 January 1966. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^Dunne, Noel (6 July 1966). "Transformation by Dundalk F.C." Evening Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^"Waterford's Injury Problems". The Irish Press. 13 September 1966. Retrieved 16 June 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^"Shield Shock for Dundalk". Irish Independent. 6 November 1939. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^Murphy, W.P. (17 October 1966). "Record Crowd Sees Oriel Park Team..." Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^O'Shea, Tom (17 October 1966). "Dundalk Poised To Take Shield". The Irish Press. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^Murphy, W.P. (27 October 1966). "Rovers Oust Dundalk!". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
^O'Shea, Tom (26 December 1966). "Magnificent Bohemians Triumph". Irish Press. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
^"Dundalk New League Champs". Irish Independent. 15 April 1967. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^"Dundalk Collect 3rd Trophy of Season". Irish Independent. 13 May 1967. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^"Pictorial Souvenir". The Irish Press. 16 June 1967. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
^Murphy, Jim (2013). A Dundalk FC Miscellany. Ireland: Self-published. p. 240.
^ abcdefMurphy, Jim (2003). History of Dundalk FC - the First 100 Years. Dundalk: Jim Murphy. p. 464.
August 30, 2023
1966, dundalk, season, dundalk, entered, 1966, season, back, disappointing, eighth, place, finish, league, sixth, place, finish, shield, previous, season, 1966, alan, first, season, player, coach, having, been, appointed, club, board, directors, august, dundal. Dundalk entered the 1966 67 season on the back of a disappointing eighth place finish in the League and a sixth place finish in the Shield the previous season 1966 67 was Alan Fox s first season as player coach having been appointed by the club s new board of directors in August It was Dundalk s 41st consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football Dundalk1966 67 season The Greatest Year in the History of Dundalk Football Club ManagerAlan FoxLeague of Ireland1st champions FAI CupSemi finalLeague of Ireland Shield1st winners Dublin City CupRunners upTop Four CupWinnersLeinster Senior CupRunners upTop goalscorerLeague Danny Hale 15 All Danny Hale 28 Highest home attendance14 000 vs Shamrock Rovers Shield 16 October 1966 1 Home colours 1965 661967 68 Contents 1 Season summary 1 1 First Team Squad 1966 67 2 Competitions 2 1 Shield 2 1 1 Shield table 2 2 Dublin City Cup 2 3 Leinster Senior Cup 2 4 FAI Cup 2 5 Top Four Cup 2 6 League 2 6 1 League table 3 ReferencesSeason summary EditThe previous season had seen significant change at the club By the end of 1965 it was clear that the debts the condition of Oriel Park and the need to rebuild the playing squad were challenges beyond the membership based ownership model A new public limited company took the club over in January 1966 after the voluntary liquidation of the old company 2 The new board set about investing in Oriel Park which consisted of turning the pitch 90 degrees building a new stand and adding player and spectator facilities 3 They also invested in a number of new players and a new player coach Alan Fox Only five of the players who had finished the previous season were retained 4 The new season started on 21 August 1966 with the Shield and the Dublin City Cup Dundalk had never won the Shield in their 40 seasons of League of Ireland membership being runners up four times and going close in numerous seasons 5 At the 41st attempt the new team made no mistake with nine wins from the first 10 matches effectively sealing the win with a 2 0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in front of a then record crowd of 14 000 for a domestic game in Oriel Park 6 7 10 days later they met Shamrock Rovers again this time in the City Cup final but fell to a 2 1 defeat 8 The League saw Fox s side continue their Shield form with six wins in a row scoring 21 goals in the process leaving them clear at the top of the table in the run up to Christmas A three match losing streak through the new year which included the Leinster Senior Cup Final 9 saw some doubts about the side creep in But they only lost one more match in charging to the title ahead of Bohemians by seven points 10 The club s third League title brought the only League and Shield Double in its history To cap a memorable season they also won the Top Four Cup their second and last win before the competition was discontinued in 1974 11 A semi final defeat in the FAI Cup to Shamrock Rovers was the only slip up that stopped the side winning medals in every competition They called it the greatest year in the history of Dundalk Football Club 12 First Team Squad 1966 67 Edit Sources 13 No Name Years League FAI Cup League of Ireland Shield Othera Total Goals1 Kevin Blount 1966 1968 21 5 10 10 46 02 Fran Brennan 1966 1973 22 5 11 11 49 13 Alan Fox 1966 1968 22 5 11 11 49 04 Patsy McKeown 1957 1968 18 5 11 10 44 05 Mick Millington 1965 1970 16 4 11 11 42 16 Kevin Murray 1966 1970 19 5 10 11 45 117 Paddy Turner 1966 1972 22 5 8 10 45 178 Ben Hannigan 1966 1969 20 5 11 7 43 269 Danny Hale 1966 1968 20 3 10 9 42 2810 Tony O Connell 1966 1969 16 4 10 6 36 311 Derek Stokes 1966 1970 16 4 0 5 25 1712 Jim Burke 1966 1968 12 0 6 8 26 013 Larry Gilmore 1966 1970 3 1 11 7 22 214 Francie Callan 1954 1967 13 4 0 3 20 415 Christy Barron 1959 1967 1 0 1 1 3 0a Includes the Leinster Senior Cup Dublin City Cup and Top Four Cup Competitions EditShield Edit Source 14 Cork Celtic v Dundalk 21 August 1966 Round 1Cork Celtic1 1Dundalk Dundalk v Shelbourne 28 August 1966 Round 2Dundalk4 0Shelbourne Drogheda United v Dundalk 4 September 1966 Round 3Drogheda United1 4Dundalk Dundalk v St Patrick s Athletic 11 September 1966 Round 4Dundalk1 0St Patrick s Athletic Bohemians v Dundalk 18 September 1966 Round 5Bohemians0 1Dundalk Dundalk v Waterford 25 September 1966 Round 6Dundalk1 0Waterford Cork Hibernians v Dundalk 2 October 1966 Round 7Cork Hibernians1 5Dundalk Dundalk v Drumcondra 9 October 1966 Round 8Dundalk6 2Drumcondra Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers 16 October 1966 Round 9Dundalk2 0Shamrock Rovers Sligo Rovers v Dundalk 23 October 1966 Round 10Sligo Rovers1 0Dundalk Dundalk v Limerick 30 October 1966 Round 11Dundalk2 0Limerick Shield table Edit Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts1 Dundalk 11 9 1 1 27 7 20 192 St Patrick s Athletic 11 7 2 2 20 8 12 163 Shamrock Rovers 11 7 1 3 37 12 25 154 Waterford 11 6 1 4 24 16 8 135 Limerick 11 5 2 4 19 17 2 126 Bohemians 11 5 2 4 17 15 2 127 Drogheda United 11 5 1 5 14 18 4 118 Drumcondra 11 5 1 5 17 24 7 119 Cork Hibernians 11 4 0 7 18 31 13 810 Shelbourne 11 3 0 8 14 31 17 611 Cork Celtic 11 1 3 7 17 28 11 512 Sligo Rovers 11 2 0 9 10 27 17 4Source Irish Press Dublin City Cup Edit Source 14 First RoundDundalk v Drogheda United 23 August 1966Dundalk2 0Drogheda UnitedDundalkStadium Oriel Park Quarter finalDundalk v Sligo Rovers 14 September 1966Dundalk2 1Sligo RoversDundalkStadium Oriel Park Semi finalDundalk v Waterford 5 October 1966Dundalk3 1WaterfordDublinStadium Dalymount Park FinalDundalk v Shamrock Rovers 26 October 1966Dundalk1 2Shamrock RoversDublinStadium Dalymount Park Leinster Senior Cup Edit Source 14 Fourth RoundDundalk v Drogheda United 2 November 1966Dundalk3 1Drogheda UnitedDublinStadium Tolka Park Semi finalDrumcondra v Dundalk 13 December 1966Drumcondra1 1DundalkDublinStadium Tolka Park Semi final ReplayDrumcondra v Dundalk 15 December 1966Drumcondra2 5DundalkDublinStadium Tolka Park FinalBohemians v Dundalk 15 December 1966Bohemians1 0DundalkDublinStadium Dalymount Park FAI Cup Edit Source 14 First RoundDundalk v Tramore Athletic 12 February 1967Dundalk6 1Tramore AthleticDundalkStadium Oriel Park Quarter finalDundalk v Cork Hibernians 5 March 1967Dundalk1 1Cork HiberniansDundalkStadium Oriel Park Quarter final ReplayCork Hibernians v Dundalk 8 March 1967Cork Hibernians0 1DundalkCorkStadium Flower Lodge Semi finalDundalk v Shamrock Rovers 1 April 1967Dundalk1 1Shamrock RoversDublinStadium Dalymount Park Semi final ReplayDundalk v Shamrock Rovers 5 April 1967Dundalk0 3Shamrock RoversDublinStadium Tolka Park Top Four Cup Edit Source 14 Semi finalDundalk v Sligo Rovers 30 April 1967Dundalk2 1Sligo RoversDundalkStadium Oriel Park FinalBohemians v Dundalk 7 May 1967Bohemians0 0DundalkDublinStadium Dalymount Park Final ReplayDundalk v Bohemians 12 May 1967Dundalk2 1BohemiansDublinStadium Tolka Park League Edit Source 14 Dundalk v Cork Celtic 6 November 1966 Round 1Dundalk5 0Cork Celtic Shelbourne v Dundalk 13 November 1966 Round 2Shelbourne1 3Dundalk Dundalk v Drogheda United 20 November 1966 Round 3Dundalk3 0Drogheda United St Patrick s Athletic v Dundalk 27 November 1966 Round 4St Patrick s Athletic1 3Dundalk Dundalk v Bohemians 4 December 1966 Round 5Dundalk3 0Bohemians Waterford v Dundalk 11 December 1966 Round 6Waterford2 4Dundalk Dundalk v Cork Hibernians 18 December 1966 Round 7Dundalk0 0Cork Hibernians Drumcondra v Dundalk 26 December 1966 Round 8Drumcondra1 2Dundalk Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk 1 January 1967 Round 9Shamrock Rovers2 1Dundalk Dundalk v Sligo Rovers 8 January 1967 Round 10Dundalk1 2Sligo Rovers Limerick v Dundalk 15 January 1967 Round 11Limerick2 3Dundalk Cork Celtic v Dundalk 22 January 1967 Round 12Cork Celtic1 4Dundalk Dundalk v Shelbourne 29 January 1967 Round 13Dundalk6 0Shelbourne Drogheda United v Dundalk 5 February 1967 Round 14Drogheda United1 3Dundalk Dundalk v St Patrick s Athletic 19 February 1967 Round 15Dundalk2 2St Patrick s Athletic Bohemians v Dundalk 26 February 1967 Round 16Bohemians3 0Dundalk Dundalk v Waterford 12 March 1967 Round 17Dundalk3 0Waterford Cork Hibernians v Dundalk 19 March 1967 Round 18Cork Hibernians0 0Dundalk Dundalk v Drumcondra 26 March 1967 Round 19Dundalk2 0Drumcondra Sligo Rovers v Dundalk 9 April 1967 Round 20Sligo Rovers1 1Dundalk Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers 14 April 1967 Round 21Dundalk2 0Shamrock Rovers Dundalk v Limerick 16 April 1967 Round 22Dundalk3 0Limerick League table Edit Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts1 Dundalk 22 15 4 3 54 19 35 342 Bohemians 22 12 3 7 45 27 18 273 Sligo Rovers 22 11 5 6 37 29 8 274 Limerick 22 9 6 7 31 29 2 245 Waterford 22 11 1 10 53 48 5 236 St Patrick s Athletic 22 8 5 9 49 51 2 217 Shamrock Rovers 22 8 4 10 31 31 0 208 Drumcondra 22 6 8 8 35 38 3 209 Cork Hibernians 22 7 5 10 31 39 8 1910 Drogheda United 22 7 5 10 31 42 11 1911 Cork Celtic 22 8 3 11 30 52 22 1912 Shelbourne 22 4 3 15 32 54 22 11Source www rsssf comReferences EditBibliographyMurphy Jim 2003 The History of Dundalk F C The First 100 Years Dundalgan Press ASIN B0042SO3R2 Graham Alex Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921 2005 Soccer Books Limited ISBN 1 86223 135 4 MacSweeney Niall 1985 A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921 2 1984 5 Association of Football Statisticians ASIN B008H2CBJQ Ryan Sean Dunne Noel 24 October 1975 The Bass Book of Irish Soccer Mercier Press ISBN 9780853424505 Citations O Shea Tom 17 October 1966 Dundalk Poised To Take Shield Irish Press Retrieved 7 December 2019 Dundalk club take over Irish Independent 21 January 1966 Retrieved 22 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Dunne Noel 6 July 1966 Transformation by Dundalk F C Evening Herald Retrieved 22 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Waterford s Injury Problems The Irish Press 13 September 1966 Retrieved 16 June 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Shield Shock for Dundalk Irish Independent 6 November 1939 Retrieved 23 October 2019 Murphy W P 17 October 1966 Record Crowd Sees Oriel Park Team Irish Independent Retrieved 24 May 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives O Shea Tom 17 October 1966 Dundalk Poised To Take Shield The Irish Press Retrieved 22 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Murphy W P 27 October 1966 Rovers Oust Dundalk Irish Independent Retrieved 8 December 2019 O Shea Tom 26 December 1966 Magnificent Bohemians Triumph Irish Press Retrieved 8 December 2019 Dundalk New League Champs Irish Independent 15 April 1967 Retrieved 22 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Dundalk Collect 3rd Trophy of Season Irish Independent 13 May 1967 Retrieved 22 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Pictorial Souvenir The Irish Press 16 June 1967 Retrieved 23 April 2019 via Irish Newspaper Archives Murphy Jim 2013 A Dundalk FC Miscellany Ireland Self published p 240 a b c d e f Murphy Jim 2003 History of Dundalk FC the First 100 Years Dundalk Jim Murphy p 464 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1966 67 Dundalk F C season amp oldid 1137460258, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
