From Croke Park to the Spanish Civil war, taking a stroll through football history on Dublin’s north side

A walking tour on the inner-city streets reveals much about the Beautiful Game in Ireland

Niall Quinn (centre) on the walking tour with Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (left) and Gary Cooke

Seán O'Connor

As Croke Park towers high above, Clonliffe Road isn’t the first place you’d expect a walking tour of association football, to begin, but around Dublin’s north inner city there’s history from ‘The Beautiful Game’ to be found on every corner.

Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Yugoslavia can trace pieces of their history back to the area that surrounds the historic Jones’s Road venue.