University College Dublin F.C.

University College Dublin F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 and elected to the league in 1979 under the management of The Doc (Dr Tony O’Neill), hail from Dublin and play their home matches at Belfield Park, on the southside of the city, three miles from the city centre in Donnybrook. The club colours are sky blue and navy, and the team goes by the nickname The Students, or simply by the abbreviation "UCD". The current manager is Pete Mahon.

History

UCD are the only university team, representing University College Dublin, to play in the league level in Republic of Ireland, and is the only university team to compete in the top division of the national league in Western Europe. It is also noted for its highly-regarded scholarship scheme, which gives players the chance to combine senior football with the opportunity to earn a college degree. In the 1970s, the club embarked on a series of landmark tours, becoming the first Irish team to play in places like Jordan, China and Australia.

The club struggled initially in the league after their election, never finishing higher than twelfth in the 16-team league, although they did win the Leinster Senior Cup in December 1979, beating St Patrick's Athletic FC 2–1 in the final. However, important changes within the club in 1983 marked a dramatic upturn in fortunes. The previously amateur club turned semi-pro, and players outside of the college were allowed to represent the first team. This is still the situation today, although in practice most of the players are either students or ex-students. By the end of the 1983/84 season, UCD had won the FAI Cup, beating the great Shamrock Rovers 2–1 after a replay. Shamrock Rovers weren’t to lose another game in the competition for over three years – until they lost to UCD in 1988!

That win saw UCD qualify for European competition – the old Cup Winners' Cup – for the first time. The draw pitted them against Everton, then one of the leading sides in England and boasting players of the calibre of Neville Southall, Kevin Sheedy, Graham Sharp, Peter Reid and Andy Grey. The home leg was played in Tolka Park, then owned by Home Farm, and a crowd of 9,000 – many times UCD’s average league crowd – saw the Students come away with a scarcely believable 0–0 draw. Another remarkable performance was to follow two weeks later as a solitary Graham Sharp goal gave Everton a 1–0 win. Joe Hanrahan skimmed the bar for the Students late on; had he scored, UCD would have progressed on away goals – as it was, Everton went on to win the entire competition, as well as the English title.

That season saw UCD finish fourth in the league, but they were then forced to release many of their best players due to financial difficulties. Joe Hanrahan signed for Manchester United for IR£30,000, Ken O’Doherty moved to Crystal Palace and Alan O’Neill left for Dundalk. The team were relegated in 1985/86 with eight points, a record low in the Premier Division. Despite this, in 1986, UCD won the World Collegiate Championships in Mexico.

Promotion in 1988/89 was followed by an immediate relegation, and it was 1994/95 before UCD were to return to the Premier. They did so by recording a then record points tally for the First Division, also breaking the record for most goals scored and fewest goals conceded. In 1999/00, a late burst saw UCD finish fourth in the league and qualify for the InterToto Cup. Their opponents were the Bulgarian side Velbazhd Kyustendil, who boasted a couple of full Bulgarian internationals, including Ilian Stoianov, who would go on to represent his country in the 2004 European Championships. UCD kept up their proud European record with a pulsating 3–3 draw in the first leg in Belfield Park, before drawing 0–0 in Bulgaria to bow out on away goals. History unfortunately repeated itself as the Students once again nearly sneaked victory as they hit the post late on.

In 2001, Paul Doolin, one of the most successful players in the League of Ireland, took over as manager from former player Martin Moran. After enjoying a successful first season, the team only just avoided relegation in 2002/03 and was eleven points adrift when Doolin left to take over at Drogheda United. Pete Mahon was immediately installed as the new manager, and UCD nearly staged an incredible Houdini act, losing four games in 16, closing the gap at the bottom to two points and recording the highest points total for a relegated team.

2003 saw more of the same, as UCD, together with Finn Harps, smashed the First Division points record and were promoted with ease. They marked their return to the Premier Division with a highly creditable 1–1 draw away to two-time reigning champions Shelbourne.

Many famous players have played for UCD down the years. Former Irish international Kevin Moran, who would later play for Manchester United, Sporting Gijon and Blackburn Rovers played in the League of Ireland B and was signed for Manchester United from UCD’s graduate team, Pegasus. Moran also won an All-Ireland Gaelic Football winner’s medal with Dublin in 1974 while at UCD, as would Jason Sherlock twenty years later. The Leeds United legend and record goalscorer Peter Lorimer played three games before returning to England for a final spell with Leeds. Gavin Whelan (nephew of Ronnie Whelan) and Pat Jennings (son of Northern Irish international Pat Jennings) played for UCD in the most recent relegation season. Brian Lenihan played in the 1955 FAI Cup tie against Sligo Rovers and later ran for President of Ireland. Hugo McNeill scored 46 goals in 1978/79, but went on to greater things with the Irish rugby team, winning the Triple Crown in 1985 and playing in the 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Sky Sports pundit Paul Dempsey played for one season before taking up a job with the BBC. Dave Norman played senior international football for Canada while at UCD and went on to play in the 1986 World Cup, and many players have received youth caps. Contrary to popular belief, however, there is no evidence that Brazilian stars Sócrates or Alex ever played for the club!

Honours

• FAI Cups: 1984

External Links

• UCD FC Website
• UCD on FAI.ie
• UCD discussion forum