Charles Dowdall (7 April 1898 – 7 November 1987) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He played for several clubs in both the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

and the English League and was also capped at international level by

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was born in Dublin.

Club career

In 1922, Dowdall was a member of the St James's Gate team that won the first ever

title and the first ever

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

. During the FAI Cup final against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

, his skirmishes with Bob Fullam helped provoke post-match disturbances involving players and supporters. Together with

Paddy Duncan Paddy Duncan (1894 – 9 April 1949) was an Irish footballer. At the 1924 Olympic Games he scored the Ireland (FAI)'s first ever goal in a senior international. Club career Duncan began his schoolboy career with Belview Boys before joining S ...

, Thomas Murphy, Ernest MacKay and Michael Farrell, Dowdall was one of five players from St James's Gate, included in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

squad for the 1924 Olympic Games. After a spell with Fordsons, Dowdall played for both

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

and

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

in the English League. He made his debut for Swindon on 1 March 1930, scoring in a 3–3 away draw with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

. However, he only made 8 league appearances for the club. He scored again, against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in 3–1 home defeat on 18 April, before making his final appearance on 21 April in 4–1 away defeat against the same opponents.

Irish international

Between 1924 and 1931, Dowdall made 5 appearances for the

. Although he was included in the squad that competed at the 1924 Olympic Games he did not get a game. However, after the Irish were knocked out of the competition, they arranged to play a friendly with

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

on 3 June at the

Stade Olympique Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. Olympic Stadium may specifically refer to: Stadia used for Olympic Games * Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam), Netherlands * Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp), Belgium * Olymp ...

. Dowdall subsequently made his international debut in this 3–1 win. On 14 June 1924, he also played against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in another 3–1 win at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. In March 1926, he travelled with the Irish squad to play

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, but once again did not play. He did, however, play twice against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1928 and 1929 before winning his last cap on 26 April 1931 in a 1–1 draw with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at the Montjuic Stadium.

Honours

St James's Gate *

**''Winners'' 1921–22: 1 *

**''Winners'' 1922: 1

References

External links

Club stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdall, Charlie 1898 births Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic association footballers for Ireland Swindon Town F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players League of Ireland players Cork F.C. players 1987 deaths League of Ireland XI players St James's Gate F.C. players Men's association football forwards Irish Free State men's international footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city)