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 ...

. He played for several clubs in both the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

and the

English League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Englan ...

and was also capped at international level by

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. 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 Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

. During the FAI Cup final against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

, his skirmishes with

Bob Fullam Robert "Bob" Fullam (1895–1971) was an Irish Association football, footballer and one of the best-known players in the League of Ireland in the 1920 A versatile attacking player, he was skilful but also had a tough-man image. Born in Ringsend, ...

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 During his career Duncan was known by the nickname ''Dirty Duncan''. ...

, 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 ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

squad for the

1924 Olympic Games 1924 Olympics may refer to: *The 1924 Winter Olympics, which were held in Chamonix, France *The 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de ...

. After a spell with Fordsons, Dowdall played for both Barnsley and

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

in the

. 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 plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

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

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

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

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

on 3 June at the

Stade Olympique Olympic Stadium (french: Stade olympique) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is n ...

. 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in another 3–1 win at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park ( Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

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

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

in 1928 and 1929 before winning his last cap on 4 April 1931 in a 1–1 draw with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

at the Montjuic Stadium. www.soccerscene.ie
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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 association footballers Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Ireland Swindon Town F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players League of Ireland players Fordsons F.C. players Cork F.C. players 1987 deaths League of Ireland XI players St James's Gate F.C. players Association football forwards Irish Free State international footballers