One of the great things about football is the history that is tied up with almost every club. From the biggest Premier League clubs to the smallest teams in the lower divisions, every team has a storied history and a loyal fanbase which has stuck with it throughout the decades.

One such team is St. Patrick’s Athletic F.C., based in Inchicore, Dublin. They have won many victories in Irish Club Football since they were founded all the way back in 1929, and they are still going strong today.

Today, we’re going to look at the history of the club, and where they might be going in the future.

TopicFact
Full NameSt Patrick's Athletic Football Club
Popular NicknamesPat's
Saints
Red Army
Founded1929
Stadium capacity (Richmond Park)5346
Current CaptainIan BerminghamIan Bermingham

History

In May of 1929, the club were originally based in Phoenix Park, a few kilometres from the centre of Dublin. By 1930, though, they had moved to Richmond Park.

In their earliest days, the club played in the Leinster Senior League. Up to the beginning of the 1950s, they won the league six times, successively four times from 1947 to 1951.

After their fourth win in the 1950-51 season, they were finally promoted to the League of Ireland. They would play in this league in the following ’51-52 season. Here, they managed to win the championship on their first season in the lague.

They would go on to win the championship twice more in the ’54-55 and ’55-56 season, a clear streak of success in their early days.

Despite that, harder times were ahead. They struggled through the ‘60’s, 70s and into the 80s, rarely winning any significant trophies or having any emerging star players. When Brian Kerr was appointed manager in 1986, a turning point was reached.

In 1990, the club won their first league championship in 34 years. Unfortunately, takeover attempts sowed the seeds of chaos in the team—Kerr was forced to break up the team and by 1992, the club seemed close to disappearing forever. Local investors were able to raise a whopping £82,000 to save the club, and Kerr once again looked to setting up the team for a win.

By 1996, the league trophy was once again in their hands, and the future seemed bright once more.

From here, many big-name footballing stars would make a name for themselves in the team. Players like Paul Osam, Ricky O’Flaherty and Eddie Gormley played at Richmond Park and brought glory to the Saint’s name.

They continued to take home league championships in the 1998 and ’99 seasons. They even ended on a draw with Celtic, really beginning to make a name for themselves.

Their success continued into the early 200s. They won the League of Ireland cup in the season of 2000-’01, and Johnny McDonnell eventually took over management on their 75th anniversary in 2004.

The team would change hands a lot in the coming years, struggling with failure in the years leading up to 2009. As Liam Buckley, former player, was appointed to the manager job in 2012, success continued again.

Today

So, where are the team today? They have certainly had a turbulent history, with a lot of peaks and troughs. But they seem to be firmly in a peak at the moment. They have played sold out games to their loyal fans since 2018, breaking their own records, and in 2021 they managed to take home the FAI cup again.

They are currently managed by Tim Clancy, who took over from Stephen O’Donnell in December of 2021. They have secured UEFA Europa Conference League for 2021, and so their future only seems brighter from here.

Few clubs have endured as much turbulence as St. Patrick’s Athletic F.C. and emerged as strong.