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Just a three-minute walk from Shelbourne’s Tolka Park home, a man who went on to become “the absolute hero” of Ajax Amsterdam claimed a senior All-Ireland championship title. Jack Kirwan was a member of the Dublin side that saw off Cork in controversial circumstances at Clonturk Park in the 1894 decider. The Dubs were awarded the title after one of their players was assaulted by a Cork supporter while they trailed the Rebels by two points. And so the first chapter in Kirwan’s remarkable sporting career was written. The second was penned in England where he played for Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea, and claimed an FA Cup with Spurs in 1901, making him the only player to complete an All-Ireland-FA Cup double until Kevin Moran in the 1980s. It was when he moved into management that chapter three began. “John Kirwan holds a highly significant place in the history of AFC Ajax as the club's very first professional coach,” says Dutch journalist Jurryt van de Vooren. He has written extensively about the Wicklow native, who managed the Amsterdam side between 1910 and 1915. Tonight the Dutch giants take on Shelbourne, whose Tolka Park home is less than 200m from what was once the home of the All-Ireland final, in the Europa Conference League. Kirwan is more closely associated with Shels’ League of Ireland neighbours Bohemians, having had two spells in the 1920s coaching the Gypsies. But the man who passed away 67 years ago in London at the ripe old age of 86 would no doubt have taken a keen interest in this fixture. Gerard Farrell, an Irish football historian, has also written about Kirwan. He says: “Jack ended up in difficult circumstances later in life, and when he retired and was living in London, Ajax sent him a cheque to help him out. “It was an acknowledgement of what he did for the club.” Back to van de Vooren for an insight into how an Irishman became Ajax’s first professional manager. In his research he has compiled information on Kirwan from a number of sources, including Kampioenen ‘14-’18, a book on how Dutch football grew during World War One. “Around 1910, Ajax chairman Chris Holst travelled to England with a specific mission to hire a professional trainer, which was an absolute rarity in Dutch football at the time,” van de Vooren quoted from the book. “The choice fell on John Kirwan, an Irishman.” A new style of play Kirwan is credited with introducing “tactical awareness” to Dutch football which, up to that point, typically involved “playing without much formal guidance.” Farrell adds that Kirwan is credited for introducing the first example of what would later be known as ‘total football’. Under their Irish manager, Ajax quickly rose through the ranks in Dutch football, winning the Second Class West title and in May 1911, securing a first ever promotion to the First Class - then the highest level of Dutch football. In his writing, van de Vooren notes: “Following this historic promotion, Kirwan was celebrated as the absolute hero of the club. “A charming historical detail is that the Irishman could barely understand the Dutch tributes he received during the festivities. “The historical records describe this moment with the following quote: ‘Kirwan is the hero, even though he barely understands a word of the many praises’.” Kirwan’s reign continued until August 2015, when he was succeeded by English coach Jack Reynolds, who had three spells in charge and also managed the Netherlands. However, his legacy as the man that “brought professional tactics to Amsterdam and guided Ajax to the top tier,” according to van de Vooren, lives on to this day. As Farrell notes, his Ajax departure did not mean the end of Kirwan’s managerial career. His next stop was Bohs back in Dublin, where he was seen more as a coach, because of the club’s selection committee approach at the time. It wasn’t until 1964 that Sean Thomas became the club’s first manager, in the more recent meaning of the title. “He was highly thought of and did quite well and was on the coaching team when Bohemians won the league in 1924,” says Farrell. That came in his second spell at the Phibsborough side - bookending a successful stint in Italy with a talented Livorno side. Kirwan, capped 17 times for Ireland, took charge of a team packed with Italy internationals for one season. But it’s in Ajax where he is most fondly remembered. Farrell continues: “Jack Kirwan is a fascinating guy as far as I am concerned. He got Ajax promoted to the top division for the first time. “There is some discussion over whether he was responsible for the club changing their jerseys to what we know today. “But when he retired to London and wasn’t living in great circumstances, it says a lot about his time in Amsterdam that the club sent him a cheque.”