Charles Dowdall (7 April 1898 – 7 November 1987) was an Irish footballer.
Club career
In 1922, Dowdall was a member of the St James's Gate team that won the first ever League of Ireland title and the first ever
FAI Cup. During the FAI Cup final against Shamrock Rovers, his skirmishes with
Bob Fullam helped provoke post-match disturbances involving players and supporters.
Together with
Paddy Duncan, Thomas Murphy,
Ernie MacKay and Michael Farrell, Dowdall was one of five players from St James's Gate, included in the Irish Free State squad for the 1924 Olympic Games.
After a spell with Fordsons, Dowdall played for both Barnsley and Swindon Town in the Football League. He made his debut for Swindon on 1 March 1930, scoring in a 3–3 away draw with Northampton Town. However, he only made 8 league appearances for the club. He scored again, against Watford 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.[ www.swindon-town]
Irish international
Between 1924 and 1931, Dowdall made 5 appearances for the Irish Free State. 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 on 3 June at the Stade Olympique. Dowdall subsequently made his international debut in this 3–1 win.
[ www.soccernet.ee]
On 14 June 1924, he also played against the United States in another 3–1 win at
Dalymount Park.
[ United States results at Rsssf ]
In March 1926, he travelled with the Irish squad to play Italy, but once again did not play.
[ The Boys In Green – The FAI International Story (1997): Sean Ryan]
He did, however, play twice against Belgium in 1928 and 1929 before winning his last cap on 26 April 1931 in a 1–1 draw with Spain at the Montjuic Stadium.
Honours
St James's Gate
External links
