Artist:

Paul Francis

Artwork title:

'Ireland V England, Lansdowne Road, 1900'

Location:

Shelbourne Road, Crampton Road, Dublin 4.

Year:

2023

Council:

Dublin City Council

Artwork description:

On 17 March 1900, Saint Patrick’s Day, the Irish international team played their first game in Dublin at Lansdowne Road against England. Association football had in previous decades been dominated by the Irish Football Association (IFA), which was based in Belfast. Its headquarters also reflected the team’s selection. Complaints from the southern delegation led to the first international game in the already established rugby ground of Lansdowne Road. One player from the south, Dr George Sheehan, was selected. Unfortunately Ireland lost 0 – 2 to England, while playing in a strip of St Patrick’s blue with a large shamrock emblem.Two decades later following a split with the IFA in 1921, the Football Association of the Irish Free State (later the FAI) found a new ground at Dalymount. It was not until 1960 that Ireland returned to Lansdowne Road, where they have played with great success ever since.

Biography:

I am a professional graphic designer and illustrator, a resident in Dún Laoghaire. I graduated from NCAD in 1988 and have worked in New York and Dublin for 30 years. I often work on subjects with a historical or cultural angle.

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