page_title: Ireland national football team (1882–1950)
section_title: British champions
hierarchical_section_title: Ireland national football team (1882–1950) / History / British champions
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Ireland national football team (1882–1950), 1914. Back (l-r): Val Harris, Fred McKee, Davy Rollo, Patrick O'Connell. Front (l-r): EH Seymour, Sam Young, Billy Gillespie, Alex Craig, Bill Lacey, Louis Bookman, Bill McConnellFrançais&#160;: équipe d'Irlande de football en 1914 lors du en:British Home Championships
context_page_description: The Ireland national football team represented the island of Ireland in association football from 1882 until 1950. It was organised by the Irish Football Association, and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales. Though often vying with Wales to avoid the wooden spoon, Ireland did win the Championship in 1914, and shared it with England and Scotland in 1903.
  After the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, although the IFA's administration of club football was restricted to Northern Ireland, the IFA national team continued to select players from the whole of Ireland until 1950, and did not adopt the name "Northern Ireland" until 1954 in FIFA competition, and the 1970s in the British Home Championship. In 1924, a separate international team, organised by the Football Association of Ireland, fielded a team called Ireland, which now represents the Republic of Ireland.
context_section_description: Ireland's greatest success on the football field came when they won the 1913–14 British Home Championship. However the foundations for that success had been laid over a decade earlier when Ireland had pioneered the use of national team coaches. The first time in the history of modern football that a national team had a coach was on 20 February 1897 when Billy Crone was in charge of the Ireland team that lost 6–0 to England, again for the wins against Wales on 19 February 1898, on 4 March 1899, Ireland was coached by Hugh McAteer, and on 24 February 1900 Robert Torrans coached Ireland for the game against Wales. In 1914 McAteer would return to coach Ireland to their greatest success.
  In 1899 the IFA also changed its rules governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively from the Irish League, in particular the four Belfast-based clubs, Cliftonville, Distillery, Glentoran and Linfield. On 4 March 1899 for the game against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1–0. Three weeks later, on 25 March one of these four players, Archie Goodall, aged 34 years and 279 days, became the oldest player to score at international level during the 19th century when he scored in a 1–9 defeat to Scotland.
  Goodall remained a regular at centre-half for Ireland until he was almost 40. On 28 March 1903, aged 38 years and 283 days, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win against Wales and became the oldest goalscorer in Ireland's history. The goal also helped an Ireland team, that also included Jack Kirwan, Billy Scott, Billy McCracken and Robert Milne, clinch a share in the 1902–03 British Home Championship. Until then the competition had been monopolised by England and Scotland. However, in 1903, before goal difference was applied, Ireland forced a three way share. Despite losing their opening game 0–4 to England, the Irish then beat Scotland for the first time with a 2–0 win at Celtic Park.
  On 15 February 1913, with a team captained by Val Harris and including Billy Scott and two-goal hero Billy Gillespie, Ireland beat England for the first time with a 2–1 win at Windsor Park. In 1914 Ireland went a stage further and won the championship outright. Harris and Gillespie were joined in the squad by among others, Patrick O'Connell and Bill Lacey. Gillespie scored twice as Ireland beat Wales 2–1 away, Ireland then beat England 3–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough with Lacey grabbing two of the goals. They clinched the title following a 1–1 home draw with Scotland in what would be their last match until the end of the First World War.
caption: Ireland v Wales during 1913–14 British Home Championship
   Back(l-r):Val Harris, Fred McKee, Davy Rollo, Patrick O'Connell
   Front(l-r): EH Seymour, Sam Young, Billy Gillespie, Alex Craig, Bill Lacey, Louis Bookman, Bill McConnell
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