The French Connection
During the The 1920's and '30s, there was an unusual proponderance of football games between teams from France in Ireland in both Dublin and Paris. There were nine in total - not including the three matches played during the 1924 Olymic Games in Paris. This brief article illuminates the role of one man - Charles McDevitt - in facilatating, playing in and arranging the matches - and what little is known of him.
1921 Paris: In front of 15 000, Parc des Princes, an Irish (I.F.A.) amateur team beat France (2-1). The visitoing Irish delegation included both Belgfast I.F.A. representatives and Leinster Football Association representatives. Trained by Charlie Harris of Bohemian FC and with (an unprecendented) five Leinster players John McCarthy (Bohemians FC ), Francis Heaney (St. James’ Gate FC ), John Carey (St. James’ Gate FC ) and Patrick O’Flaherty (Dublin United FC) in their ranks.
The game (taking place amidst political upheaval in Ireland) was not without controversy - the flying of an Irish tricolour upsetting Belfast delegates and Irish tri-colour waving Irish & Egptian students causing commotions in the crowd. Outside of the furore - the Leinster FA delegates made connections and contacts with the football admoinistrators in Paris - connections that would yield results in due course.
Our Man In Paris
Charles McDevitt was born in 1890 - to Irish parents - in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland. His parents were both Irish emigrants to Glasgow - Helen McGovern, age 26, and Railway Guard, James McDevitt, aged 31. Aged 21, we find McDevitt living in Battersea, London working as a 'civil and military tailor'. From available records, we next discover McDevitt in Paris in 1916, playing for the Cercle Athletique de Paris club. How and why he made his way to France, may be linked to his occupation and the 1914-1919 War in Europe. Unknown also is his football pedigree, except that he was Scottish - the original football hotbed of the passing game.
Footballer & French Cup Winner
The third edition of the Coupe de France took place in the 1919-20 season with the final in May 1920. Second from the left in this photograph we find our man in Paris on the Cercle Athlétique de Paris team - victors in the final versus Le Harve by the odd goal in three. In doing so he became the first Scottish player to win the cup. A regular with the CA of Paris team - though aged 31 - he played as an 'active and plucky' half-back and was obviously a player of some calibre in a team with present, past and future French and Swiss internationals.
Photograph: Action from the 1920 French Cup Final
A STRANGER IN Paris
From 1920-1923 McDevitt (back row, from the left) was the choice pick for an annual game between 'Forigners' v French Parisians, firstly as a CA of Paris player and later as a Gallia FC player. In addition, Paris hosed a number of international tournaments coinciding with the Easter and Christmas holiday seasons - the regular - 'Tournoi de Pentecôte' - being the most regular where his clubs would play teams from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and England.
Certainly, the Paris football public was treated to more interesting games and matches and on the surface more connected to the wider interrnational scene than in the newly-born Irish Free State of 1923.
1923 - Dalymount Park
Captaining the CAP/Gallia FC team for two games in Dublin - Charles McDevitt - would have been aware of the significance of the game - and a reproduction of the the commentary from the newspapers of the day below confirms this. the F.A.I. mustered all the pomp of cermony they could - the playing of the 'Marseillaise', the celebratory dinner in The Shelbourne Hotel, the Irish & French tricolors flown. meeting the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and the attendance of the French diplomatic corps at Dalymount were the features.
(from 'Sport', Saturday 16 December 1922)
December 1922: The exclusive announcement in last Monday's - Evening Telegraph of the tact that the Gallia F. C., of France, had expressed a willingness to come to Dublin this season, created a great stir in metropolitan footer circles....... Bohemians have got into touch with the French crack team, suggesting they should play them at Whitsuntide. The fixture is as good as booked, to judge by the correspondence that has passed between Dublin and Paris, which I have been privileged to see. The Gallia F.C. is ono of the most powerful clubs in Paris. An event such as this will be something is the way of an International.
When Gallia come here we will desire another and yet another visit, and there will, of course, be return games, in the happy days to come. We in Dublin never did any entertaining on the scale which the visit of Gallia will require. At those entertainments certain things happened as per programme with which we in Dublin were never in accord, and which as much as others is responsible for our detachment from that body. We have now a great chance to make good, and to lay the founds. deep and broad of a lasting future understanding between the Free State and France and probably other countries which ,are members of the International Football Federation of Europe.
Belfast Opposition
Opposoition for the visiting team for the two teams were Bohemian FC and a Pioneers FC XI. (Originanally the plan was to have a Free State League selection for the second game but on the request of the French Association, the team name was changed. In the lead-up to the matches - other opposition was recorded - and the Dublin press (below) were not behind the door in their views, highlighting the political importance in football terms of the games.
(from 'Sport', Saturday 31 March 1923)
''The coming of Gallia to Dublin created bitter jealousy in the ranks of the I.F.A. Ltd. (Belfast), who did everything possible to prevent them. The French Football Association were not to be deceived by the subtle representations made to them by the Belfast body, and they turned a deaf ear to all their protestations and sanctioned the coming of the great Paris team.
It is a great achievement for those who brought it to pass, and to man is more credit due for all this than to Mr. Robert F. Murphy, of the Pioneers F.C. and member of the F.A.I. Advisory Committee. It was his idea from the start, and he conducted all the negotiations right along till the present moment. With one stroke the visit of this French team comprehended recognition of the F.A.I. by the French Association, which automatically leads to membership of the International Federation. This ratified, as in all probability it will at Geneva next month, the Associations across the Channel cnnnot with impunity decline much longer to withhold recognition from the body controlling football in the Irish Free State''.
Results:
- Bohemian FC XI v CAP/Gallia (1-1)
- Pioneers FC XI v CAP/Gallia (0-0)
1924 PARIS OLYMPICS
The 1923 games' at Dalymount Park purpose was to aid in the Irish Free State's acceptance as a separate football entity by the International football community.
This acceptance was made real by the participation of an Ireland team at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924. A hundred years on - it is easy to forget how momentous this achievement wasbut also how tentative, politically dependant and administratively difficult it was to achieve in the coircumstances that prevailed at that time in football circles.
More Obstacles
The 1923 CAP/Gallia games saw the French Federation and FIFA recognised the FA of the Irish Free State's right to exist, for the first time by FIFA and soon provisional membership was granted by FIFA in May of that year - over the objections of non-FIFA member England. Subsequently, in October 1923, the International Board consisting of the FA's of England, Scotland Wales and (Northern Ireland) agreed to the recognition of the the Irish Free State FA as governing football matters within the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State.
An earlier admission of the Irish Free State by the International Olympic Council (IOC) in June 1922, would now seem on the surface to enable the Irish Free State to enter the FIFA organised football competition in 1924. But familiar local political and financial factors had yet to be overcome.
J.J. Keane, the 32-county Irish Olympic Council President - an ardent Gaelic football man - considered the FA of the Irish Free State to have recognised Irish partition - and so refused to sign the initial application by the FAIFS. .The IOC in Paris were suitably perplexed and privately asked the FAIFS to 'please let me know if you have been able to get any players from north'. When the final list was submitted it included one player born in Belfast - Ernie Crawford (Bohemian FC) - and Ireland's rugby captain - and the matter was settled - and a football team called 'Irlande' was entered into the draw.
With no money allocated to the FAIFS Olympic team. the FAIFS emptied their coffers, issued a public appeal for subscriptions, raised some funds by arranged a friendly game versus Glasgow Celtic and they were Paris-bound.
(Photograph: The Irish Free State team in Paris, with McDevitt, standing far-left)
BLUE IN PARIS
'Irlande' played in St. Patrick's blue and a reason for this reported in the Paris newspapers was paradoxically because: 'if the State of Ireland plays in blue, and not green, it is because the azure is their national colour. Since they have been free, they are no longer green'. A victory over Bulgaria (1-0), a loss to the Netherlands (2-1 aet) saw 'Irlande' bow out at the quarter-final stage. A friendly win against Estonia (3-1) was a reasonable return for a team arriving home wondering what might have been. The neutral French press could not understand how they lost to the Netherlands surmising that a 'great defence is not enough to win game' and lamenting to poor service to Ireland's forwards.
There were reports of players writing home for money and the fact that the Irish party not able to accept the invitation to stay for the final due to financial pressures. A post-mortum published in 'Sport' after the return of the team laid bare the bare-bones nature of the adventure - thankful for help they received:
'To Mr. C. McDevitt, of the Gallia F.C., the unbounded thanks of all are due for the immense assistance he gave as a guide, philosopher and friend. Without him the party would have been shipwrecked many a time'.
Though short of funds - they did have time to indulge: 'The team and officials were entertained at dinner by the Cercle Athletique de Paris......The feast was on a most sumptuous scale, and the evenings enjoyment will stand out in the memory of all who were present...........The French National anthem and 'A Soldier's Song' was sung to the accompaniment of cheers for France and Ireland.'
(Photograph: Irish Free State attack the Dutch goal)
1926 - IRish Nomads IN PARIS
Whether McDevitt was the sole man responsible, the Irish Free State side stopped off in Paris (returning home from Turin after a 3rd of March 3-0 loss to Italy) and played a friendly: Irish Nomads versus CA de Paris XI - again. The final result was (1-1) with Bob Fullam (Shamrock Rovers) scoring for the Irish.
And McDevitt would not have to wait long to see his Irish friends again.
May 1926 - McDevitt in Dublin & Cork
In May 1926, the French National Anthem and a 'Soldier's Song' got airings, tricolours were flown, speeches made, entertainment provided, the Gael/Gaul fienship renewed and matches played - in Dalymount Park and - for the firsty time at a football game in Ireland's second city - Cork.
At a dinner, dance and caberet at the Metropole Restaurant MeDevitt expressed the pleasure of the French team at having been of some assistance to the Free State Association three years ago and their willingness to give any further help within heir power.
In addition to a Leinster FA XI v Cercle Athletique de Paris match in Dalymount Park, the novel visit to Cork demonstrated the Free State football aiuthorities committment to the growing game in Munster, recognising the emergence of Fordsons FC, the football team of the Ford Motor Company, a major employer in the city at the time. Beaten Cup Finalists in 1925, they would prevail (3-2) in the 1926 final versus Shamrock Rovers.
Results:
Leinster FA XI v CAP (3-2)
Munster XI FA v CAP (1-1)
1932 - Bohemian FC in Paris
Six years elapsed before the next Irish engagement in Paris - in 1932. The occasion was two end-of-season friendly matches for Bohemian FC. By winning both games (Paris Cercle Athlétique Paris 0-3 Bohemian FC 1-2 Club Français Paris - Bohemian FC) - Dublin's premier club retained an unbeaten record against continental opposition. While there was no records currently available of McDevitt's involvement - it can at least be seen as the culmination of a relationship he oiled and maintained.
1933 The French IN Dundalk & Dublin
May 1933 saw the return visit of Stade Francais to Ireland with two games - a 1-1 draw versus Dalymount preceeded by a 2-2 draw versus Dundalk FC. The accompanying photograph is of the French and Bohemian players and officials at a celebratory dinner-dance in Dublin.
Conclusion
In a period of football isolation for a new Irish Free State it was France, its federation and our friendly Scotsman in Paris, that were invaluable in bringing international recognition of Free State football, its association and its teams. Culminating in the participation of an Irish football team at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, the work of McDevitt (and others) transcended football - ensuring football as a vehicle for promoting statehood and recognition.
Of McDevitt (b. 1890, Rutherglen, Scotland) and his later life - little is known. We do find him living (with his wife, Marie Bullet, a hospital matron) in Hampstead, London in 1939 working as a master tailor and cutter. It is not known if he had any involvement in football.