He played with Bohemians for a season, while he also became active in the IRA. He was strongly associated with Michael Collins and joined the pro-Treaty forces, becoming a major-general in the National Army at the age of 24.

In 1924, while Dalton was Clerk of the Seanad, he was elected president of Bohemian FC. He later became a film producer.

Dalton lived in Drumcondra and Phibsboro and he will be the subject of a talk by Des Gunning during Phizzfest on 5th May.

The devastating effect Ireland’s property crash had on the club’s finances is well-documented and Devaney acknowledges that if it wasn’t for Brien’s determination to tackle spending, negotiate with creditors and rally troops when the future looked ominous, a 123-year-old institution could have been lost.

Devaney said: “As I mentioned at last week’s AGM, all members and fans owe a huge debt to Chris Brien for his selfless, thankless work over the past few years.

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to state that without him, we wouldn’t have a club – or at least the club as we know it.

“He mightn’t always get the recognition he deserves but the sacrifices he made over the recent past to ensure the club survived have been incredible.

“They have not gone unnoticed by those of us who have worked closely with him during this time and I know it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the membership in general, who I hope are extremely appreciative of his efforts.

“He has epitomised the true meaning of a members-owned club and its volunteer ethos by listening to everyone’s opinion, rallying the fans when needed and at all times carrying himself with great dignity.

“I hope to carry on in much the same vein and while we still face great difficulties, the pathway has been cleared somewhat by Chris’ sterling work.”

Unfortunately, the prognosis does not look good. While groundstaff have been working tirelessly, the recent appalling weather has had an impact –  the surface is patchy and bobbly, and doesn’t lend itself to flowing football at the moment.

Dave Scully partnered Stephen Paisley at the heart of the Bohs defence. Scully became a cult figure for Bohs fans last season and boss Aaron Callaghan has hinted that centre-half is a position the 28-year-old could fill regularly, having previously played there under Roddy Collins at Carlisle United.

The Gypsies started with a new-look midfield trio of Conor O’Brien, Shane Murray and Darragh Reynor. The latter was particularly impressive, showing a fine range of passing and a bit of bite that could come in handy this term.

Reynor, a former Nottingham Forest youth player, kickstarted the first meaningful move of the match. His raking 40-yard crossfield pass found the overlapping Nangle, whose cross should really have been converted by the head of Dwayne Wilson. The ball struck Wilson’s shoulder when a clean contact would have surely put the home side in front.

Wilson was playing in the lone frontman role that he excelled in against Shamrock Rovers in the famous 4-0 slaying, and he had another half chance after 11 minutes. Reynor’s Scholes-esque through ball put Wilson in behind the UCD defence, but his control let him down and the ball was cleared for a corner.

The pitch was causing problems for midfielders trying to play the ball on the deck. O’Brien got himself stuck and gave the ball away to ex-Bohs man Dinny Corcoran, who unleashed a lovely curling left-footed shot that seemed destined for the top corner, only for Greg Murray to pull off a terrific fingertip save.

The best chance of the first half fell to Wilson. A dinked cross from Karl Moore forced UCD’s Sean Coyne into a poor defensive header. It went straight to Wislon just seven yards out, but his strike was fired high over Conor O’Donnell’s crossbar.

Bohs definitely had the better of the opening half, but the only other effort of note was a Karl Moore 25-yarder that had O’Donnell scrambling before looping wide.

Despite the Leinster Senior Cup’s status as a competitive competition, this game had a distinct pre-season friendly feel about it, especially in the second half. Neither side really pressed in midfield areas, and goalmouth action was at a premium.

Wilson caught UCD’s Hughie Douglas napping on the hour mark, nipping in to force O’Donnell into a smart save. The ball rebounded to Murray, but his looping shot was cleared off the line by the retreating UCD defence.

Moore missed a guilt-edged chance to open the scoring with just  nine minutes remaining. The bustling Reynor clipped the ball through, but Moore shot wide from just 12 yards with only the keeper to beat.

It looked like that would be a costly miss, as the Students took the lead with just three minutes left on the clock thanks to a nightmare error from Bohs keeper Murray.

Having collected a routine backpass, the pitch and poor technique meant Murray’s kick trickled to Gary Burke, who had the simple task of rolling the ball in against his former club.

It looked like the visitors had completed a smash-and-grab raid, but Scully had other ideas. Just a minute later, he nodded in Reynor’s free-kick to send the game into extra-time.  His outrageous John Travolta-style dancing celebration was probably the highlight of a bitterly cold afternoon.

Extra-time seemed to be an unwanted period for all concerned, especially those concerned with the state of the pitch. Again, there was little goalmouth action until the second period. After referee Paul Tuite had given UCD a soft free-kick on the corner of the box, Sean Russell fired in a wicked cross that Nangle could only direct into his own net.

The teams (and hopefully the temperature) will be drastically different when the teams meet next in the Airtricity League opener in 12 days’ time. Callaghan will also be hoping for a different outcome.

Bohemians: Greg Murray, Michael Barker, Stephen Paisley, Dave Scully, Ciaran Nangle, Shane Fitzgerald (Lee Whelan, 106), Conor O’Brien (Niall Forrester, 64), Darragh Reynor, Shane Murray, Karl Moore, Dwayne Wilson (Adam Kelly, 64). Subs not used: Conor Little, Kevin O’Leary, Luke Kelly.

UCD: Conor McDonnell, Gareth Matthews, Hughie Douglas, James Kavanagh, Sean Coyne, Dean Clake, Colm Crowe (Tomas Boyle, 61), Craig Walsh (Adam Whelan, 102), Sean Russell, Gary Burke, Daniel Corcoran (Oua Adeyemo, 61). Subs not used: Ger Barron, Ayman Ben Mohamed, Robbie Suayer, Liam Traynor.

In the first of three early-season meetings with UCD, the Gypsies hope to lay down a marker with McEvoy determined to make an impression in the league and improve on last season’s seventh-place finish.

He said: “We’re going to have a go at the league and we have no fear after last season.

“It’s an overall better squad this year and if we could beat Shamrock Rovers and the like last season I don’t see why we can’t have a good go this year.

“I’d be massively disappointed if we don’t improve on last season. The lads that have come in are hungry and they know what it’s about.

“Everybody is fighting for positions, so you have to be on your toes all the time. It’s good that we’re all pulling in the same direction.”

The 22-year-old has had a bright start to pre-season and while he insists the fans should not get too carried away, he reckons this squad is better than last year’s.

McEvoy added: “We’re back six weeks now and we’re flying. It’s good to be scoring goals considering the slow start we had last season.

“We have a good base and it’s not thrown together like last year and I think we’ll be really disappointed if we’re not doing well right from the start.

“We feel capable of doing a hell of a lot better this year and we felt last year we didn’t do ourselves justice in the end.

“Personally I’m fit and happy enough with how I’m doing. I’m in a lot better shape than last year and I’m buzzing to be back – it’s going to be a big year.”

In next month’s CUFL final, Traynor will oppose yet another of his Bohemian team-mates. Roberto Lopes scored a late extra-time goal to secure DIT’s semi-final win over Athlone IT.

DIT were also finalists in 2010 but were beaten on that occasion by UCD.

On Monday (February 25th), a buoyed-up DCU begin their Collingwood Cup campaign in Jordanstown with a match against University of Ulster Magee.

“Your input into these plans and, hopefully, your assistance in achieving them is what will make this club strong again. I look forward to seeing you tonight.”

Meanwhile, members in attendance tonight can purchase the superb 2013 Bohemian FC calendar for less than HALF its original price.