maroon quartered shirt with white shorts and maroon socks in 1939–40, but they promptly lost to non-league opposition in the first round of that season's FAI Cup, and went back to wearing white shirts for the following season, this time paired with black shorts. Possibly by coincidence, when the clubs of the town amalgamated to form the first Dundalk Association Football Club in 1904, the colours chosen were "white shirt, bearing the Dundalk coat of arms, and black pants". The 'home' colours have remained essentially unchanged with red trims being incorporated occasionally since the 1990s. An all-white kit was introduced for the first time in the 1965–66 season, and was also the combination used in 1973–74 and 2003. All-white kits are still worn occasionally when required to avoid kit clashes. Away colours The earliest photographic record of the team in 'away' colours comes from the 1928–29 season. For their first visit to play Fordsons after adopting white shirts, Dundalk were obliged to wear borrowed shirts with their own navy blue shorts and black socks, as the home side also wore white shirts. For the next two seasons, they wore their old black and amber-striped shirts when travelling to face teams wearing white. The club did not have an official away kit until 1977–78. In the interim, red shirts were worn if change colours were needed. An all-red kit was produced for the Cup Winners' Cup tie away to Hajduk Split in 1977 and this became the away kit for domestic games that season. An all-red away kit was worn against Tottenham Hotspur in 1981 but otherwise official away colours were not required again until the 1990–91 season, when all-red was again adopted. Since then, away kits have usually been based on red or black. The club has twice introduced away colours that pay homage to its G.N.R. roots—in 2016 and again in 2021. Prior to 2019, ad hoc third colours had been worn by the team only when both home and away kits clashed with an opponent's colours. An official commercially available third kit was introduced that season for the first time—an all-lilac strip with white and black trim. It was designed by then kit supplier CX+ Sport, as part of a fundraising partnership between the club and Temple Street Children's University Hospital. The logo of the charity replaced that of the official sponsor Fyffes on the chest of the