Northern Ireland

Belfast Celtic to Return to Irish League – On This Day in 1924

BIG TWO: Belfast Celtic captain Jimmy McAlinden (right) takes the toss with his Linfield counterpart prior to the 1944 Irish Cup final at Windsor Park. Celtic won the game 3-1, goals coming from McAlinden, Paddy Bonnar and Artie Kelly. The Belfast Celtic team that day was: H Kelly, McMillen, Cullen, Walker, Vernon, O'Connor, Collins, McAlinden, Byrne, A Kelly, Bonnar 
Belfast Celtic captain Jimmy McAlinden (right) takes the toss with his Linfield counterpart prior to the 1944 Irish Cup final at Windsor Park. Celtic won the game 3-1
March 15 1924

A meeting of the Management Committee of the Irish League was held in the College Street Rooms last evening. Mr John Blair presided in the absence of Mr F W McKee, who is in Scotland in connection with the arrangement of Inter-League games for next season.

A letter was read from Belfast Celtic intimating the intention of that club to return to football next season.

Belfast Celtic, who withdrew from the Irish Football League in 1920, primarily due to how it felt it was being treated by the Irish Football Association (IFA) over violent incidents at matches, returned in 1924 but ultimately withdrew permanently from the league in 1949.
Dublin Engineers’ Anger over Shannon Scheme

Dublin engineers are up in arms against what they regard as the monopoly given to the great engineering firm of Messrs Siemens, Berlin, for the harnessing of the Shannon to supply electrical power and light to the Free State.

In a series of interviews published yesterday, these engineers point out from the action of the Free State government it would almost appear as if the engineering profession was non-existent in Ireland. It was suggested that the government should have a scheme or schemes drawn up not only in reference to the Shannon but to all the other rivers in the Free State, with the object of exploring and ascertaining their capabilities. Tenders should then be invited for the whole work, and a fair field provided for all intending contractors.

The general manager of the Dublin United Tramways Company recalled that he was professionally engaged on the Shannon with a well-known engineer, Professor Forbes, and that he knew the river well. He was perfectly satisfied it was not capable of being developed on commercial lines to supply the whole of the Free State. Undoubtedly, he said, the Shannon was a river of great possibilities, a great asset to the state, and ought to be explored from the source with a view to utilising it.

Despite complaints by locally-based engineers, the Shannon Hydro-Electric Scheme commenced by Siemens-Schuckert constructing the Ardnacrusha power plant (with much of the work completed by Irish engineers and an Irish labour force), which helped to introduce electricity to many households in the Irish Free State.