colin_hanley
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Anyone know why Boh's have this nickname ? Just something that has been bugging me for a while.
Why are Bohemians F.C called the gypsies ?
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colin_hanley said:
As Bell's Academy (after the eponymous Civil Service college in North Great George's Street under the tutelage of Hamilton P. Bell) and from 1890 as Bohemian FC, they wandered from ground to ground in the early years (Polo Grounds, Phoenix Park, Jones' Road where Croker now stands, Whitehall etc.) and when they were picking a name during their official formation in 1890 they were torn between Bohemians* and (believe it or not) Rovers! The vote was tied and the president of the club, Dudley Hussey, made his casting vote in favour of the former. The Gypsies nickname refers to both the club's initial wanderings (before they eventually settled in Dalymount Park neé the Pisser Dignam's field in Phibsboro in 1901) and the fact that Bohemia is the European origin of the Romany/Gypsy people as well as the general idea of the original club members being of a bohemian/artistic disposition.
There's some more historical information, in particular about Dalymount Park, [broken link removed] and [broken link removed].
* The official club name is Bohemian FC and not Bohemians or Bohemians FC.
colin_hanley
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Cheers for that, I can impress a few of my Bohs and Shamdock Rovers mates before they go to tonights game.
Piece of trivia from an historian friend of mine which I can't verify (but the guy is not a spoofer):
Q. Where did the black stripe on the Bohs jersey come from?
A. It was put on as a gesture of mourning to mark the death of the Great Queen Victoria.
Hoops forever!
om.
Q. Where did the black stripe on the Bohs jersey come from?
A. It was put on as a gesture of mourning to mark the death of the Great Queen Victoria.
Hoops forever!
om.
Doesn't bother me if it was but care to back that assertion up with some evidence? I've never heard that story and have am pretty well acquainted with the history of the club on a first and second hand basis.
Anyway, great result tonight - 2-1 to Bohs. And those peace loving Rovers supporters, who can do no wrong except in the eyes of Ollie Byrne, were at it again before, during (nearly physically attacking their manager), and after the game. Oh well - these things happen when a club is in its death throes.
Cheerio Rovers - going down (and out) real soon now! So sad.
Update: I looked into this and it doesn't add up. Bohs adopted their current strip (red and black striped shirts) in 1894. Queen Victoria died in 1901. Case closed. Before they wore read and black they initially wore white shirts with two red stripes down the back and a star on the right breast, with white shorts - simply because this was the only strip that they could lay their hands on at the time!
Anyway, great result tonight - 2-1 to Bohs. And those peace loving Rovers supporters, who can do no wrong except in the eyes of Ollie Byrne, were at it again before, during (nearly physically attacking their manager), and after the game. Oh well - these things happen when a club is in its death throes.
Cheerio Rovers - going down (and out) real soon now! So sad.
Update: I looked into this and it doesn't add up. Bohs adopted their current strip (red and black striped shirts) in 1894. Queen Victoria died in 1901. Case closed. Before they wore read and black they initially wore white shirts with two red stripes down the back and a star on the right breast, with white shorts - simply because this was the only strip that they could lay their hands on at the time!
No need to get back - it's simply not true.
As for slagging off Bohs right now - I think Rovers have a lot more to occupy their time than that if they could just channel their energies into something more constructive than attacking Gardaí and opposing fans and doing their best to get evicted for the last ground in Dublin that will put up with them at this stage.
As for slagging off Bohs right now - I think Rovers have a lot more to occupy their time than that if they could just channel their energies into something more constructive than attacking Gardaí and opposing fans and doing their best to get evicted for the last ground in Dublin that will put up with them at this stage.
40coats said:
Hilarious. Except that Rovers lost 2-1. Duh!
Not for much longer. From what I hear eviction notice could be served (yet again) as early as next week. After that it'll be either ejection (from the league for having no "home" ground), relegation or extinction, whichever comes first. One way or another - good riddance.
Question for oysterman and 40coats: do either/both of you actually attend Rovers games or is your support all talk? If you do go to games what do you think of the behaviour of a large minority of Rovers supporters before, during and after games - such as on Friday?
Grew up near Glenmalure and attended regularly as a kid. Then emigrated to UK for a number of years and when I came back in the nineties it was difficult to find where Rovers' home ground was from week to week....plus, must confess that after watching mainly Division 2 (now Championship) in England, the LofI was pretty much unwatchable on my return. If I wanted to watch overweight, unfit and untalented blokes running around I just had to look down at myself.ClubMan said:
Having said that, there is a noticeable improvement in the fare of late, for which Shels must take much of the credit.
As for behaviour? You pay your money and if you want to slag off opposition/own team/manager/board that's largely your own business. If the behaviour was as thuggish as you suggest, however, that's another matter and may well trace to the loss of the traditional supporter core as they moved from ground to ground.
I agree with you - they're probably on their way out. I will shed a nostalgic tear but will reserve my energy for hoping that the Kilcoynes end up in the gutter.
oysterman.
oysterman said:
So it's all talk after all - thanks for clearing that up. Funny the number of so called Rovers supporters who don't actually go to games.
Rovers supporters were held back after the game. Some of them eventually started fighting with the Gardaí and stewards. Then up to 100 broke up advertising hoardings, ran onto the pitch and attempted to get at the Bohs fans who remained in the main stand singing (admittedly triumphalist) songs and celebrating the victory. Thankfully the Gardaí on the main stand side prevented the Rovers mob from reaching the Bohs fans and the possibility of further violence being perpetrated. Of course most of the Rovers supporters are disclaiming responsibility variously saying that nothing happened (and yet contradicting themselves by claiming credit for "running" Bohs yet again) or that if something did happen then it was the fault of the Gardaí/stewards, segregation arrangements which left Rovers out in the rain (don't forget that this was their home game so security and segregation was Rovers' responsibility) or the Bohs fans who remained for singing taunting/celebratory songs (football supporters singing rude songs - gosh!) - i.e. as usual, anybody else's fault but their own. Like so many times before. See [broken link removed] for more. There was also trouble before the game between Rovers and Bohs casuals (i.e. scumbags on both sides). However the trouble inside the ground was 100% caused by Rovers. In all my years supporting Bohs this is certainly not the first time that Rovers have caused trouble. Even when they were in Milltown it was the same so thuggish behaviour can't be so easily dismissed as something new and resulting from their homless status.
Or some of us would just call it maturity - recognising the LofI for what it is and choosing to spend our time and money otherwise.ClubMan said:
Apparently your lifetime of Bohs supporting may not trace back to the 70's when the only time there was ever trouble at a Rovers home fixture was when your predecessors came to support the Mourning Good Queen Victoria 11.ClubMan said:
Just how long will we be able to keep this up?
oysterman.
oysterman said:
Obviously it's a case of each to their own but how exactly do you consider that this necessarily indicates maturity?
Actually I was going to games in the (19)70s as a kid with my father but I don't recall anything like the above. Are you saying that, like Friday night, a few Bohs supporters singing songs "forced" Rovers supporters to resort to violence again - a mode of expression common to them it seems? In fact I have no idea who "Mourning Queen Victoria 11" is at all. Maybe you can explain? If you are referring to the myth about the origin of the black stripe in the jersey then please note that I've already debunked that earlier in this thread.