Dolphin F.C. (Ireland)

Dolphin Football Club was an Irish association football club, originally based in the Dublin suburb of Dolphin's Barn. It was founded in 1921 by a group of butchers, including some of German origin whose families had come to Dublin in the late 1800s and who were linked to the Butchers Club on Gardiner Street. One of the founders was William Reinhardt. The club took its name from the Dolphin's Barn area where it first played. Dolphin was dissolved in the 1930s.

The club played in the League of Ireland from the 1930–31 season through 1936–37. In 1934–35, Dolphin won the League of Ireland title, becoming the sixth club to do so after St James's Gate, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians, Shelbourne, and Dundalk. In the 1931–32 and 1932–33 seasons, Dolphin appeared in two FAI Cup finals, losing both to Shamrock Rovers. Between 1930–31 and 1932–33, the club also reached three consecutive Leinster Senior Cup finals, winning the cup in 1931–32.

Dolphin originally played in the Leinster Senior League, a de facto second-level league that regularly supplied teams to the expanding League of Ireland. After winning the Leinster Senior League title in 1929–30, Dolphin was elected to the League of Ireland for the 1930–31 season, along with Waterford, when the league expanded from ten to twelve teams. The following season, a Dolphin reserve team won a second Leinster Senior League title for the club.

In 1931–32, Dolphin reached two cup finals. They defeated Shelbourne 1–0 in the Leinster Senior Cup final, but lost 1–0 to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final. That FAI Cup final team included Larry Doyle, Jeremiah Robinson, Alex Stevenson, Jimmy Shiels, and Johnny Somers. In 1932–33, Dolphin reached another FAI Cup final, again against Shamrock Rovers.

The team included George Lennox, Larry Doyle, Joe Kendrick, Jimmy Bermingham, Johnny Somers, and Willie Fallon. On 3 March 1933 at Dalymount Park, a crowd of 32,000 saw a 3–3 draw that featured three penalties; George Lennox scored two penalties and Willie Fallon one for Dolphin. Rovers won the replay 3–1. Dolphin's most successful season was 1934–35, when they won both the League of Ireland title and the Dublin City Cup.

They also finished runners-up in the League of Ireland Shield and reached the semi-finals of the FAI Cup. In 1935–36, three Dolphin players—Ray Rogers, James Leonard, and Eddie Carroll—each scored 16 or more goals, accounting for 56 of the team's 66 goals that season, and Dolphin finished as league runners-up. At the end of the 1936–37 season, Dolphin resigned from the League of Ireland and were replaced the following season by Limerick.

The club's colours were originally blue and white, but by the 1930s they wore white jerseys with black shorts and socks. Dolphin played home games at Dolphin Park, the same park later used by Kevin's Hurling Club, throughout their time in the League of Ireland. Between 1932–33 and 1933–34, they also played some games at Harold's Cross Stadium, and during their final two seasons, 1935–36 and 1936–37, they used Tolka Park for some matches.

Honours include one League of Ireland title (1934–35), one runners-up finish (1935–36), one Dublin City Cup (1934–35), two Leinster Senior League titles (1929–30, 1930–31), one Leinster Senior Cup win (1931–32) and two runners-up finishes (1930–31, 1932–33), two FAI Cup runners-up finishes (1931–32, 1932–33), and one League of Ireland Shield runners-up finish (1934–35). Notable former players include Ireland internationals Alex Stevenson, Joe Kendrick, Jeremiah Robinson, Larry Doyle, and George Lennox, all of whom won caps while at Dolphin, as well as Scotland international Alex Massie. Top goalscorers include Eddie Carroll (16 goals in 1935–36), James Leonard (17 in 1935–36), Ray Rogers (23 in 1935–36), Jimmy Shiels (18 in 1931–32), and Johnny Somers (14 in 1931–32).