This St Patrick's Day marks a significant milestone for Athlone Town - 100 years on from their one, and to date only, men’s FAI Cup triumph, a success that spawned into Olympic honours for nearly half the team.
A crowd of 18,000 made their way to Dalymount Park on 17 March, 1924 for the final of what was known then as the Free State Cup, with Town prevailing 1-0 against Fordsons thanks to a goal from Dinny Hannon - the first ever player to represent both the FAI and IFA in international competition.
Hannon’s story is just one of a number of interesting threads that emerged from an impenetrable team that lifted the cup without conceding a goal.
In 1913, under the guise of the IFA, which at that stage governed football across the isle, Hannon played in the first Ireland team to beat England. In royal blue tops and white shorts, they won 2-1 at Windsor Park in Belfast.
Eleven years later, Hannon would also play in the FAI’s first post-Independence international as the Ireland Free State team, as they were known, defeated Bulgaria 1-0 at the 1924 Paris Games before losing a quarter-final clash with the Netherlands.
Hannon was not alone in France with goalkeeper Paddy Reilly, John Joe Dykes, who would captain the side, Tommy Muldoon and Frank Ghent also getting the Olympic call.
Another player, Jimmy Hope, was scheduled to go before a bout of pneumonia took that opportunity away from him.
Still, Hope, who died in 1976, had a massive impact on that Athlone Town team and took particular pride in that fact that they didn’t concede a goal en route to the cup, a select group that also contains Dundalk (1958), Shamrock Rovers (1968) and Sligo Rovers (2010).
"One of the greatest stories from that Athlone team, and one of the things grandad Jimmy was most proud of, was that they didn’t concede a single goal during that run," his grandson Brian Hope told RTÉ Sport.
"That was something they were always proud of, he always spoke to my dad about that.
"It’s the only time they won it, a fantastic achievement.
"We have been keeping an eye on the date now with 100 years coming up, he was a mighty man."
"I suppose that day 100 years ago will always stand out, as after 37 years in existence, winning the Free State Senior Cup in 1924 without conceding a goal, was a tremendous source of pride for all concerned," added Liam Gaffney, who has served the Westmeath club in nearly every role conceivable, including president.
Athlone’s route was fraught with danger, making that zero goals conceded column all the more impressive.
Midland Athletic, who lost to eventual champions Alton United in the first round in 1923, suffered the same fate the following season when Athlone claimed a 2-0 win in the first round.
That set up a quarter-final clash with a Shelbourne side that had just lost out in the league to Shamrock Rovers the previous season.
Again, 2-0 was the score as Jim Kennedy and Ghent were on target in front of 5,000 fans.
After a scoreless semi-final draw with Bohemians, Athlone returned to their favourite score with Ghent and Norman Lyster sealing their final spot with goals in the replay to secure their final date.
There, Hannon’s goal after 20 minutes was enough to see off Munster kingpins Fordsons and send their large travelling support delirious.
For Gaffney, that day is one of the landmark moments of the club’s history alongside such achievements as their first League of Ireland triumph in 1980/81, their two FAI Junior Cup successes in the '30s, the women’s FAI Cup triumph last year and, of course, that day just shy of half a century ago when they nearly downed European giants AC Milan.
"In the UEFA Cup (1975/76) second round, we were drawn against one of the giants of football and former World Cup champions and European champions AC Milan," he said.
"In that famous match in St Mel’s Park Athlone, we held them to a draw in a game everyone thought we were the better side. A game we should have won but for a missed penalty by my own brother in law John Minnock."
Milan won the second leg 3-0 back in front of 70,000 at the San Siro with the scores level with less than half an hour to go.
Maybe they could have done with the expertise of Jimmy Hope, who made his name mostly as a left full-back and had played such a massive role in that defensive shield in 1924.
Sport was in his blood and has been passed down through the generations.
A talented swimmer, he won a Westmeath championship in a race across Lough Ennell in 1923 and he also played rugby for Mullingar.
His son (Fergal) played football and hurling with Westmeath, his grandson Brian played soccer, hurling and football with Mayo at underage level and played with the Scottish University representative team before a knee injury cut his career short and his granddaughter Stephanie won an All-Ireland under-15 title with Westport United in 1985.
Great grandson Jack Carney is currently catching the eye in Kevin McStay’s Mayo midfield while last month, another great grandson Paddy Hope lined out with Mayo FC’s U15s against Limerick as the club played their first ever League of Ireland game at any level.
"He left us with good genes," laughed Brian Hope.
"Three generations and to have my son playing with Mayo nearly exactly 100 years on from the League of Ireland story starting for the family is amazing.
"The 100-year anniversary is so close to our hearts, we are all so proud of his achievements."
Hannon and Hope are just part of the Athlone cup-winning story. A century on, the team still holds a special place in the heart of Town fans.
