Charlie Dowdall

Inside-forward Charlie Dowdall was not used in the Republic of Ireland’s (then the Irish Free State) two matches at the 1924 Paris Olympics but did make his début in the friendly against Estonia at the Stade de Colombes the day after the quarter-final defeat by Netherlands. He then played in Ireland’s first historic home game against the USA at Dalymount Park, Dublin, on 14 June 1924 (although some sources incorrectly say 16 June).

In the 1921/22 season Dowdall won the Leinster Senior Cup and Irish Free State (now the Football Association of Ireland) League and Cup titles with St. James’s Gate. He later played for Fordsons, the works team of the Fordson tractor plant in Cork, before a move to England to play for Barnsley and Swindon Town. He returned to Ireland in 1930 to again play for Fordsons (then known as Cork FC) and St. James’s Gate. Dowdall won five international caps between 1924-31.

By profession, Dowdall worked for the Inchicore railway works after a brief spell working for the Guinness brewery. He continued working until the age of 88 as a part-time instructor at the Bolton Stret College of Technology in Dublin.