JOHN ‘JIMMY’ BUCHANAN OF THE IRISH FREE STATE, JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL CAP, 1934 vs. Birmingham F.A., in emerald green velvet with silver bullion inscription, trim and tassel, stamped maker’s mark to red velvet liningNote: The following lots pertain to John ‘Jimmy’ Buchanan of the Irish Free State.They come from a poignant and important period for both the nation and the sport.Football in Ireland had, since 1880, been controlled by the Irish Football Association (IFA). Shortly after the Irish War of Independence and the country’s partition, a rival Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was set up to govern football in the newly formed Free State.Disputes between members of the IFA and the FAI dated back several years, the former perceived by the latter as a Northern-based Unionist body.Further to these disputes, in the South, popular British sports such as football were treated with a degree of suspicion, the Gaelic Athletic Association going as far as to ban its members from playing or watching the ‘foreign’ game.Whilst to this day, something of a divide lingers, the importance of the creation of the FAI cannot be overstated. In the face of adversity, it fought to popularise the sport in a newly liberated country, setting the foundations for today’s Republic of Ireland team.Anything relating to those early years of Free State football should be viewed as rare and highly collectable. Relatively few fixtures were played before the team changed from the Free State to Éire (1936), and then to the Republic of Ireland (1956).Disputes between the FAI and the IFA continued long after the partition and relate back to those changes. Before the FAI was formally recognised by the Home Nations, and indeed for some time after, both Associations claimed legitimacy over the island of Ireland. As a result, players were selected on a national basis, with at least 38 representing both the North and South. This was until FIFA intervened, implementing restrictions based on the border, this following both teams’ appearance at the 1950 World Cup.It was during the early years of the FAI, Jimmy Buchanan pulled on the national shirt to represent that newly reborn nation. The shirts and caps offered relate to a few of those games, presenting a rich and important insight into the development of the sport.Whilst it remains difficult to say which matches the shirts were worn in, this cap, with it's embroidered detail, opens a door to a historic fixture.This game was played on Saturday 12th May 1934 at Dalymount Park, Dublin, and appeared to all accounts an exciting one. One contemporary news report noted:'The visitors were the more aggresive, for whom Dean made three unsuccesful attempts to open the scoring. Clarke went close for the Free State, who took the lead when Lynch headed through. Birmingham quickly replied and Small equalised. Small broke through and added two more goals. In the second half Coen headed a fourth, but the home team reduced the lead when Clarke scored. The same player added a third. BUCHANAN (to whom this cap was awarded), AMID GREAT EXCITEMENT, EQUALISED. Then Small got Birmingham's fifth and sixth, while Clarke got a goal for the Free State.'The game thus ending 5-6 to Birmingham.The fixture continued to be contested annualy until 1938 (with ourselves having offered one such cap for Buchanan), and was later dubbed by some as a Ireland vs. England youth fixture.This lot offers a rare opportunity to own an important instance of Irish and footballing history.