Cork Football Club was an Irish association football club based in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. They were founded as Fords F.C. and later became known as Fordsons F.C.. They played in 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 ...

between 1924–25 and 1937–38. Like several fellow early League of Ireland clubs, such as St James's Gate,

Jacobs Jacobs may refer to: Businesses and organisations *Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK * Jacobs (coffee), a German brand of coffee * Jacobs Solutions, an American international technical professi ...

, Midland Athletic and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, the club had their origins as a factory or

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

. They were initially the football team of the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, a major employer in the city at the time. In 1930, however, Ford ended its association with the club and they were renamed Cork. The club folded in 1938 and were replaced in the League of Ireland by a new club,

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

History

Fordsons

Early years

In 1921 Harry Buckle, a former

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 ...

international, settled in Cork and began working for the

. Finding little or no association football activity in the city, Buckle founded Ford F.C. and then helped found the Cork-based South Munster League for the team to play in. In addition to playing and coaching with the new club, Buckle also served as president of the Tipperary/

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

based – North Munster League and helped reform the Munster Football Association. By 1922–23 Ford F.C. had become Fordsons, renamed after the

Fordson tractor Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 t ...

, and the South Munster and North Munster leagues had merged to become the Munster Senior League. Fordsons also won their first Munster Senior Cup and in 1923–24 won their first Munster Senior League title. As a result, Fordsons qualified to represent the Munster Football Association in the

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 ...

. Playing as Fordsons the club would win the Munster Senior Cup four times, in 1929–30 winning it with a

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. On 23 February 1924 Bill O'Hagan became the first Fordsons to win representative honours when he played for an FAI XI in 3–0 defeat against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

FAI Cup

Fordsons made their

debut in 1922–23. After drawing Rathmines Athletic in the first round they received a bye. In the quarter-finals they defeated Dublin United 3–2 in an away game. Played against the background of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, travelling up to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

for the semi-final against

Alton United Alton United F.C. is a defunct Irish football club who were based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and played in the Falls District League. During their time in the Falls District League, Alton United played their home matches in the Falls Road are ...

proved hazardous. Fordsons train came under fire while passing near

Blarney Blarney () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork City in Ireland. It is located approximately north-west of the city centre. It is the site of Blarney Castle, home of the legendary Blarney Stone. Blarney is part of the D� ...

. They subsequently lost this semi-final 4–2. However, in 1923–24 they would go one stage further. After receiving another bye in the first round, Fordsons knocked out

and St James's Gate before they lost to 1–0 to Athlone Town in the final. In 1925–26 Fordsons reached the FAI Cup final for the second time. This time they defeated

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 ...

3–2. Against the odds, Fordsons defeated Rovers in a sensational final. Fordsons had previously failed to score in nine outings against Rovers and had leaked goals with scorelines ranging from 7–0 to 3–0. Fordsons twice came from behind before beating Rovers. The final was best remembered for Rovers' Bob Fullam withdrawing from a potential dangerous challenge with Bill O'Hagan.

League of Ireland

Fordsons joined the

in 1924–25, replacing Shelbourne United who withdrew from the league on 7 September 1924, the day after the competition officially started. Together with Bray Unknowns, Fordsons became the second and third teams, after Athlone Town, from outside of

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

to join the league. They also became the first club to represent Cork city in the League of Ireland. In their debut season Fordsons finished a respectable fourth. In 1925–26 they finished third and then achieved three more fourth-placed finishes in 1926–27, 1927–28 and 1929–30.

Cork F.C.

Name change

League of Ireland

In the

Cork F.C. continued were Fordsons left off. In 1931–32 and 1933–34 they runners-up. They also won the 1933–34 FAI Cup, defeating

St. James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, Dublin, James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrima ...

2–1. However the 1934–35 season saw Cork F.C.'s form slump dramatically when they suffered the ignominy of having to apply for re-election after finishing in last position with only 10 points from 18 games. However the outstanding goal scoring performance of Jimmy Turnbull in 1935–36 saw Cork F.C. finish in third place in the league. They also reached the

1935–36 FAI Cup The FAI Cup 1935–36 was the fifteenth edition of Republic of Ireland, Ireland's premier Single-elimination tournament, cup competition, The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or FAI Cup. The tournament began on 1 January 1936 in I ...

final. Turnbull scored an astonishing 68 goals including a record 37 league goals and a further 11 in the cup campaign. However the season ended in controversy for Cork F.C. when it was revealed that two members of the Cup final team – Owen Madden and Jack O'Reilly – had agreed to sign for

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. When Cork F.C., who received no fee, protested over the moves, both Madden and O'Reilly were suspended by the

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

(FAI) for three years. Having already lost two forwards the club subsequently lost a third when Turnbull signed for

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was an Irish football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for political reaso ...

after the Cork F.C. directors refused to pay him a £50 signing-on fee for the next season. This decision effectively marked the beginning of the end for Cork F.C. and in 1936–37 they finished 11th out of twelve teams. Without the draw of Turnbull, crowd attendances and gate receipts dropped and the club went into serious financial decline. In 1937–38 the club began to struggle to raise funds to travel to away games in

. Unable to travel they were forced to concede an away league game to Shelbourne. The final straw came when a demoralised team, paying their own train fares, were defeated 3–0 by St James's Gate in a 1937–38

game. Shortly after on 8 February 1938 it was announced that Cork F.C. was going into voluntary liquidation.

Home grounds

When playing as Fordsons the club played at Ballinlough Road, now the site of Pic Du Jer housing estate. However this site was owned by the

so when the club became Cork F.C. they moved to The Mardyke.

Notable former players

Dual Ireland internationals

Harry Chatton James Harry Chatton (23 April 1899 – 1983), was an Irish footballer who played for several clubs in the Scottish League, the American Soccer League and the League of Ireland. Chatton was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland ...

* Tom Davis * Owen Madden

Ireland (FAI) internationals

On 21 March 1926 Frank Brady and James Connelly became the first two Fordsons players to represent Ireland (FAI) when they featured in an away game against

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 ...

. On 12 February 1928 when Ireland beat

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 ...

4–2 in an away game, the team featured three Fordsons players – Paddy Barry, Charlie Dowdall, and Jack Sullivan. Sullivan scored the last goal with a penalty in the 79th minute. Both Owen Kinsella and

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...

represented Ireland after leaving Fordsons.

Fordsons

Cork

On 25 February 1934 in a World Cup qualifier against

the Ireland team featured three Cork players – Jim Foley, Tom Burke and Tim O'Keefe.

Ireland (IFA) internationals

* Harry Buckle * Jack Doran * Paddy Kelly * Billy Millar * Bill O'Hagan

League of Ireland XI players

* Frank Brady * John Blair * Paddy Kelly * Dave Roberts * Charlie Heinemann

Goalscorers

Charlie Heinemann, Pearson Ferguson and Jimmy Turnbull were the top goalscorers in the

. John Blair was the second highest scorer in 1930–31. Turnbull remains the League of Ireland record top goalscorer in a single season. * John Blair (21) – 1930–31 * Pearson Ferguson (21) – 1931–32 * Charlie Heinemann (24) – 1927–28 * Jimmy Turnbull (37) – 1935–36

Honours

Fordsons

**''Winners'': 1925–26 **''Runners-up'': 1923–24 * Munster Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1922–23, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1928–29, 1929–30: 5 * Munster Senior League **''Winners'': 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30: 3 **''Runners-up'': 1925–26, 1926–27

Cork

**''Runners-up'': 1931–32, 1933–34 *

**''Winners'': 1933–34 **''Runners-up'': 1935–36 * Munster Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1933–34, 1936–37 **''Runners-up'': 1930–31 * Munster Senior League **''Winners'': 1931–32 **''Runners-up'': 1930–31

References

{{Sport in Cork City Association football clubs in County Cork Defunct League of Ireland clubs Former Munster Senior League (association football) clubs Ford Motor Company Association football clubs disestablished in 1938 1938 disestablishments in Ireland Association football clubs established in 1921 1921 establishments in Ireland Association football clubs in Cork (city) Works association football teams in Ireland

History

Fordsons

Early years

FAI Cup

League of Ireland

Cork F.C.

Name change

League of Ireland

Home grounds

Notable former players

Dual Ireland internationals

Ireland (FAI) internationals

Fordsons

Cork

Ireland (IFA) internationals

League of Ireland XI players

Goalscorers

Honours

Fordsons

Cork

See also

References