Down the years, there has always been a sporting rivalry between Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers, which is still alive and well today.

In April 1944, we had a FAI Cup Final played at Dalymount Park between the two teams. Ringsend was alive with excitement and no more so than Whelan House, where me and my pals lived and were divided by the team we supported.

We would travel all over Dublin to see our team, mine being Shelbourne. To get to games quickly we used to run six lampposts and walk one.

For weeks Ringsend was getting ready for the big game. In Nelson’s Shop which was where the pub Hobblers End is now, was a statue of ‘Give it to Bob’, which referred to Bob Fulham.

He was one of the great players of the past, when Rovers had a team, all of whose names began with the letter F: Flood, Farrell, Fagan, Fulham and Fitzpatrick. Two of these lived in Whelan House, John Joe Flood and Bob Fulham.

On the day itself, the crowds started to assemble at the church after 12 o’clock mass, which in those days was the last mass on Sunday.

As the time came to make our way to Dalymount Park for a 3.30 pm kick off, there were about 1,000 Rovers supporters on the move and I was probably the only Shelbourne supporter among them, but then I was only about ten years old.

The game was very exciting, with good football being played and goals being scored. At the end of the match, Rovers were the winners by three goals to two but there was controversy as, coming to the end of the game with Rovers winning three-two, Shelbourne were awarded a penalty and Paddy (Tonner) Kinsella, who was a penalty expert taker, hit the crossbar and the ball rebounded to safety.

The next morning in the Irish Independent there was a photograph of the handball and it clearly showed the Rover’s full back (Matty Clarke) had handled the ball inside the net and so Shels were disallowed a goal, awarded a penalty which they missed and Rovers went on to win the cup.