[1] With its first name being associated with its more common nickname, Shels, the club plays its home matches at Tolka Park, in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra.

Their performances in European competition and former striker Jason Byrne being capped for the Republic of Ireland whilst with the club, gained Shelbourne international exposure.

In 1906 Shelbourne won their fourth Leinster Senior Cup, the club also playing in a charity match against Bohemians the same year and raised more than 100 pounds to build a church in Ringsend.

Shelbourne became one of the original League of Ireland founder clubs along with Bohemians, St James's Gate, Jacobs, Olympia, Frankfort, Dublin United and YMCA.

During the 1935–36 season a team called Reds United, made up of a number of Shelbourne players and backed by Shels personnel, competed in the League of Ireland and finished a respectable fourth.

Sligo Rovers who boasted Dixie Dean, the goalscoring legend of the Football League, were eventually beaten after a replay thanks to a long-range goal from 'Sacky' Glen.

As the euphoria of the first FAI Cup success wore off, the forties started slowly enough for the Reds, and it wasn't until 1944 that the league championship was won again — for a fourth time — along with the Shield.

Three-goal wins over Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk put Shelbourne in the 1960 FAI Cup Final where they beat Cork Hibernians 2–0 to get their hands on the trophy for only the second time.

Clubs in the league came under huge financial pressure, players left for England at a younger age, grounds became derelict, and media coverage almost disappeared.

There was a bright enough start to the seventies as Athlone Town were beaten in the Shield final second replay, a win that would see the Reds enter the new UEFA Cup the following season.

The heavy investment in the club by the Donnelly family gave an almost instant return as Shelbourne captured their eighth league title at the end of the 1991/92 season – the first for 30 years – when they won 3–1 away to outgoing champions Dundalk.

Although the league title was lost the following season after two series of play-offs involving Cork City and Bohemians, the FAI Cup was won, again after a 30-year wait, when a Greg Costello header was enough to defeat Dundalk in Lansdowne Road.

The following season Shelbourne won their first game in Europe for 30 years when they beat FC Karpaty Lviv of Ukraine and advanced to play Greek Giants Panathinaikos but were beaten 5–1 on aggregate.

Having secured the league with a 2–0 win in Waterford which saw Shelbourne lose just once before then, the double was claimed thanks to a Pat Fenlon goal in the FAI Cup final replay away in Dalymount Park against Bohemians.

The 2001–02 season was dogged by controversy as title challengers St. Patrick's Athletic were docked nine points for fielding an unregistered player in accordance with the league's rules, before having them restored.

Under new manager Pat Fenlon the title was missed out on in 2002–03 and Shelbourne were knocked out in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round by Maltese side Hibernians.

Then for the first time ever, the club won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004 as the league changed to a summer season, although they were eliminated from the 2003–04 UEFA Cup in the competition’s opening round by Slovenians NK Olimpija Ljubljana.

However, Shelbourne's historic Champions League run came to an end when they were beaten by Spanish club, Deportivo La Coruña 3–0 on aggregate, having achieved a 0–0 draw in Lansdowne Road in front of 25,000 fans.

There, Shels met French side Lille and were beaten 4–2 on aggregate, having come back from a two-goal deficit in Lansdowne Road to achieve a creditable draw thanks to a brace from substitute Glen Fitzpatrick.

They also managed to reach the Intertoto Cup semi-finals in the Northern Region after beating Lithuanian club FK Vėtra 5–0 on aggregate, the largest victory in European Competitions for Shelbourne, but they were knocked out of the competition by Danish side Odense BK 3–1 on aggregate — The Reds had been beaten 3–0 in the first leg at Fionia Park in Odense but earned a very respectable 1–0 win at Tolka, remaining undefeated at home in Europe for eight games, an Irish record.

Under Mathews, Shelbourne won the 2010 Leinster Senior Cup and later that year narrowly missed out on a place in the promotion play-offs thanks to a 2–1 defeat at home to Waterford United on the final day of the season.

[8][9] After victories over Limerick in the quarter-final and St Patrick's Athletic in a semi-final replay, after playing with ten men in the first meeting, they secured a place in the 2011 FAI Cup Final, where they were beaten 4–1 on penalties by Sligo Rovers after the game finished 1–1 after extra time.

[10] However Shelbourne stayed in the top flight for just two seasons, with the Reds finishing bottom of the 2013 Premier Division[11] Alan Mathews was replaced by Johnny McDonnell as manager on 24 May 2013.

in early 2023,[20] Turkish media company Acun Medya, owners of EFL Championship side Hull City, announced the purchase of Shelbourne in June 2023.

In the same month, the men's side qualified for UEFA club competition after finishing fourth in the league and Bohemians losing the FAI Cup final.

[29] In February 2025, Shels won the season curtain raiser, the President of Ireland's Cup, for the first time defeating Drogheda United 2:0 in Tolka Park.

The first-ever League of Ireland match to be broadcast live on TV was a fixture between Shelbourne and Derry City, staged at Tolka Park during the 1996–97 season.

[42] Shelbourne have a long, illustrious history in European competitions, taking on clubs such as Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Panathinaikos, Rangers, Rosenborg, Brøndby, Hajduk Split, Deportivo de La Coruña, Lille, FCSB (formerly Steaua Bucharest), and FC Zürich.

[51] The most notable individual performance to come out of the game was undoubtedly that of Shels' Leanne Kiernan, who scored a hat-trick and picked up the 'player of the match' award for her efforts.

They dropped the word Ladies from the women's team's name and moved WNL home games from the AUL Complex to the main stadium at Tolka Park.