Bohemian FC, or Bohemians, initially wore white shirts with two red stripes and black shorts, but in the early 20th century that was changed to the now-familiar red and black stripes.
However, there have occasionally been exceptions, such as the red with black sleeves worn in the mid-1980s, and again in 2006, the club’s final year with O’Neills as their kit suppliers.
Bohs fan Luke O’Riordan feels that Bohs’ player-manager of the time, Gareth Farrelly, may have pushed for an all-black look, and while there were red flashes reminiscent of the Umbro style of the time, the fans didn’t take to it. “It was reviled,” Luke said.
The fact that Bohs finished ninth out of 12 teams in the Premier Division – and also incurred a three-point penalty for fielding an unregistered player – added to lack of memorability for the kit.
From a personal point of view, this kit does have one other insignificant association. On March 24, March 2006, I saw 35-year-old Vinny Arkins come off the bench for Bohs against Cork City at Turner’s Cross – 15 years and 364 days previously, he had played up front for Shamrock Rovers against City in an FAI Cup game, the first match I attended, and it was the last time I saw any of the players from the 1990 match in action.
