1959 And All That…

by Brian Kennedy

(first published in the August 2011 St Patrick’s Athletic FAI Cup match programme)

I always find it astonishing that in the over 81-year history of this club, Waterford United has only ever won the FAI Cup twice. We’ve had several close calls down through the years, with the 1959 FAI Cup Final being one of the prime examples. Here is the story of one of the most exciting, yet ultimately heartbreaking, Cup campaigns in our history.

The make-up of the 1959 Blues side was a real case of brotherly love as the Fitzgerald brothers would be the dominant driving force in a Waterford side that came so close to eclipsing the Cup heroics of 1937. However, the ‘59 final would prove to be particularly cruel on Dixie Hale, as the brother of another great family dynasty would miss a penalty in the final replay which would overshadow a fantastic performance over both games and unfairly haunt the majestic Blues midfielder.

That Cup campaign began with a 2-2 away draw against Transport, as goals from Dixie Hale, Peter Fitzgerald and two from a young Alfie Hale, saw the Blues run out comfortable 4-1 winners. The start of March would pit the Blues against Dundalk in the second round of the Cup. The Lilywhites were struggling badly and propping up the League table – however everyone knows League form counts for nothing when the Cup rolls around, particularly as Dundalk were then the FAI Cup holders.  The Northerners themselves had survived the fright of their lives in the previous round against non-League Albert Rovers: the Cork side holding the League strugglers 3-3 before going out to Dundalk 4-0 in the replay. It would prove a tough, dramatic encounter at Oriel Park, but Peter Fitzgerald and Alfie Hale proved to be the heroes as the Blues edged out their Northern counterparts 2-1.

By this stage our eventual final opponents St Patrick’s Athletic had come through a relatively easy path to reach the semi-finals. It started with a straightforward 3-1 win at home to Sligo Rovers which was rewarded with a second round tie against non-League opposition in Chapelizod, which the Saints won comfortably 4-1.

April rolled around and the semi-final line-up included three Munster teams. Waterford would line up against Limerick while St Pat’s would play our near neighbours Cork Hibernians. Per usual, the Blues and a vast travelling support made their way to Dalymount that Sunday where a tight, tense encounter was finally decided by a young Tommy Coady. It proved to be the only goal of the game and sent Waterford through to their first FAI Cup final for 18 years.

St Patrick’s prevailed over Cork Hibs with a goal from Pascal Curtin, and April 19th 1959 would host the first ever FAI Cup Final between both sides, however Alfie Hale would miss then final after being injured against St Pat’s two weeks earlier in a dress rehearsal for the final. Come the third Sunday in May, over 22,000 supporters packed the rafters of Dalymount Park. It proved to be an absorbing end-to-end game, which would ultimately end in deadlock after 90 minutes.

Waterford got off to the worst possible start. In the sixth minute a long ball from the Saints’ Tommy Dunne was taken down by Johnny McGeehan who slipped Con Martin and struck a weak shot towards goal. However, Vinny Dunphy in the Blues goal was out of position and, in an attempt to clear, Jack Hunt sliced the ball into the corner of his own net. The Blues levelled soon after. Dixie Hale went on a solo run across field and sent over a ball into the Saints’ area, and the incoming Jack Fitzgerald took it down to his feet and drove past Lowry in Athletics’ goal to level the scores.

With eight minutes left Dixie Hale, who had been so instrumental in everything the Blues did that day, passed to Peter Fitzgerald who unleashed a bullet-like drive which flew past full back O’Brien and goalkeeper Lowry before going in off the far upright. The sheer speed of the ball meant the Pat’s defence couldn’t do anything about it and Waterford, in the 82nd minute, finally had the lead. Elation in the stands for the sea of blue and white. It only lasted sixty seconds. Just as it looked as if the Suirside men would win the Cup for the first time in 22 years, St Pat’s equalized almost straight from the kick-off. Curtin managed to break up a passing bout between Con Martin and Jack Hunt to drive in an effort, which Dunphy in the Blues goal could only parry, and the in-coming Johnny McGeehan pounced to level the scores at 2-2, which is how it stayed.

Three days later and again a huge travelling support made its way to Dublin to see if eleven men in blue could bridge a gap of over two decades. Despite the hassle of a midweek game for supporters, the attendance was even bigger that evening, as over 25,000 people came to watch the sides do battle again. Teddy Brett was the only change in the Waterford side – coming in for the relatively inexperienced Shamie Halpin. Again the game started with an early goal and again from Johnny McGeehan, after only two minutes.

Vincent Dunphy in the Blues goal had been a star that afternoon but shortly after half time he was picking the ball out of the net for a second time, the goal arriving from Willie Peyton to put Athletic in reach of their first ever FAI Cup triumph. Yet one minute earlier things could have been so different. Despite the early set back and surviving what Athletic could throw at them, Waterford had got the upper hand and eventually won a penalty. With the absence of Alfie Hale it was decided before the game that older brother Dixie would assume the penalty taking responsibilities. However, at exactly 7.30 that night, Dixie Hale stepped up to strike a penalty that would fly high over the Patrick’s bar and within a minute the tie would effectively be settled with  Peyton’s goal for the Dubliners. Despite this, the Blues pluckily got themselves back in the game through Peter Fitzgerald but still lost 2-1.

Thankfully one Brian Gardiner helped to exorcise the ghost of ’59 back in April 1980. Let’s hope this is the start of a run to a similar and long overdue success in the Blue Riband!