The first game played between the two sides was a
Leinster Senior Cup fixture on Saturday, 9 January 1915. The game, staged at Dalymount Park, finished 3–0 to Bohemians. Shamrock Rovers achieved their first victory over Bohemians when they defeated them in the semi–final of the
FAI Cup in
1921–22. In 1945, the two clubs contested the FAI Cup final in front of a record attendance of almost 45,000 people, with Rovers winning the game 1–0. In 1969, Bohemians dropped their amateur ethos in favour of professionalism. The subsequent success achieved by the club and the demise of
Drumcondra, positioned them as the major club on the
Northside. Since then, the relatively minor rivalry that existed between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians has developed into a
classic rivalry, producing intense games and large attendances. While there have been many examples over the years of the importance of the rivalry to the supporters of each club, one of the more recent incidents of note was the signing of
Tony Grant and
James Keddy by Bohs from Rovers, which led to a
pig's head being thrown onto the pitch during their first game versus their old club, in a gesture aimed at Grant in particular. The incident was one of many to reach the front pages of Ireland's newspapers, particularly over the last ten to fifteen years and remained a topic of humour amongst the media for weeks after. In contrast, some of the darker incidents of recent times have been the desecration of the monument commemorating the former home of Shamrock Rovers,
Glenmalure Park, and two instances of crowd trouble at Dalymount Park in 2000 and
Richmond Park in 2003, with the latter resulting in the eviction of Rovers from the
Inchicore venue. While violence at the fixture is increasingly sporadic, a large
Garda presence remains commonplace. In 2016 during an away 4-0 for Rovers, fans from both sides invaded the pitch, fighting was reported with the Garda Public Order unit intervening. Rovers and Bohs games attracted relatively large crowds in the 1980s and 1990s, including two FAI Cup fixtures in the
1993–94 season which saw over 10,000 people at each, but the attendances at the fixture have generally followed the same sliding trend as the rest of the League's fixtures over the last forty years. A significant drop occurred during the second half of the previous decade as a result of Shamrock Rovers playing their matches in Tolka Park, Richmond Park and Dalymount Park and the club having an average attendance of just over 1,000 during these years. The attendances rose in 2009, largely due to Rovers' move to
Tallaght Stadium and, Bohs' status as League of Ireland champions, with the attendance at one game doubling the previous encounter. In February 2025, a
Showcase of Irish Football match was organised as a season opener for both clubs in Ireland's national football venue,
Aviva Stadium. The fixture set an all-time attendance record for League of Ireland with 33,208 spectators in attendance. ==Culture==