St. Mochta's F.C. is an Irish association football club based in

Clonsilla Clonsilla () is a northwestern suburb of Dublin in Fingal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Clonsilla (civil parish), Clonsilla is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Castleknock (barony), Castleknock ...

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 ...

. Their senior team play in the

Leinster Senior League Senior Division The Leinster Senior League Senior Division is the top division of the Leinster Senior League. It is organized by the Leinster Football Association. Together with the Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division, it forms the third level of th ...

. They also regularly compete 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 ...

, the

FAI Intermediate Cup The FAI Intermediate Cup (), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate association football clubs from the ...

, the

FAI Junior Cup The FAI Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for junior association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Brideville. The competition's most successful club is Fairvie ...

and the Leinster Senior Cup.

History

St. Mochta's were founded in September 1949 when founder Barth O'Brien put a motion to the AGM of the St. Mochta's Branch of the Catholic Young Men's Society (CYMS) that a football section be formed within the branch. At the time, it was unsure exactly what type of ''football'' the club would play, considering that it could mean

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

, or gaelic football. After a vote from aspiring members, association football or soccer was chosen. In its early years, the club played its football at Somerton on the same grounds where

Castleknock GAA Castleknock Hurling and Football Club is a Dublin GAA club centered on the townlands of Carpenterstown and Diswellstown in the civil parish of Castleknock in Fingal, Ireland. It serves large parts of the suburban areas of Castleknock, Hartst ...

club now play and briefly in Coolmine Lane, close to

Coolmine railway station Coolmine railway station serves Coolmine, County Dublin, Ireland. It lies on the Dublin to Maynooth and Dublin Docklands to M3 Parkway railway station commuter routes.http://www.irishrail.ie/timetables Irish Rail printable Timetables A large c ...

before permanently establishing themselves at Porterstown. In the early 1960s the CYMS became defunct but the club continued on as St. Mochta's.

Later years

In 2017 the club won the

for the first time. In October 2018, 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 ...

announced that St. Mochta's would be receiving €20,000 in funds to help fund a full-sized astroturf pitch at the club's Porterstown Road facility. In July 2019, the club celebrated its 70th anniversary with a glamour friendly tie against English

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Hailed as 'the biggest club the .... side have ever played', the match ended in a 7–0 loss for St. Mochta's. The club were runners up in the

2023–24 Leinster Senior Cup The 2024 PTSB Leinster Senior Cup was the 120th edition of the Leinster Football Association's primary competition. It included all Leinster based League of Ireland clubs from the Premier Division and First Division, as well as a selection of ...

, losing 3–1 to

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

on 8 October 2024.https://www.extratime.com/articles/34854/st-patricks-athletic-crowned-leinster-senior-cup-winners/

Notable former players

Republic of Ireland internationals

Glen Crowe Glen Crowe (born 25 December 1977) is an Irish former professional football forward. He was a prolific goalscorer in the League of Ireland Premier Division and has represented the Republic of Ireland national football team on two occasions. ...

* Mark Kennedy

Republic of Ireland U21 internationals

Stephen Paisley Stephen Paisley (born 28 July 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer. Paisley was a central defender. Career Early career Paisley played schoolboy football for Dublin sides St. Mochta's and Cherry Orchard before joining English Pr ...

Darius Lipsiuc Darius Lipsiuc (born 16 September 2005) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Stoke City. Club career St Patrick's Athletic Lipsiuc joined the academy of League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athle ...

Others

* Philip Hughes

Honours

(1): Winners 2016-17 (2): Winners 2022-23 (3): Winners 2024-25

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mochtas F.C. Leinster Senior League (association football) clubs Association football clubs in Dublin (city) 1949 establishments in Ireland Association football clubs established in 1949 Former Athletic Union League (Dublin) clubs