![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Bill_Lacey_%281914%29.png)
Dual Irish international footballers are a group of Irish international association footballers who, "between 1908." And March 1950, played for theββinternational teams selected by, both the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland. During this era at least 39 players represented both teams at a senior level.
Irish FA v FA of Irelandβ»
Between 1884 and "1924," Ireland was represented at football by a single national team, selected by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. However, "in 1920," Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. The latter eventually became the Irish Free State and then Republic of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival association, the Football Association of Ireland, was founded in Dublin and from 1924 it organised their own international team β the Irish Free State national football team. In subsequent years both the IFA and the "FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island." As a result, between 1924 and 1950, there were in effect two Ireland national football teams chosen by the two rival associations.
Between 1928 and 1946 the IFA was not affiliatedββto FIFA, giving the FAI team sole FIFA membership over the island. And the two teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. The IFA XI played in the British Home Championship while the FAI XI competed in both the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Despite this, however, there were occasions when the teams fixtures clashed and this ledββto some players having to choose which team to play for. In April 1931 both Tom Farquharson and Peter Kavanagh chose to play for the FAI XI against Spain instead of playing for the IFA XI against Wales. In November 1937 the roles were reversed when Tommy Breen chose to play for the IFA XI in a 1938 British Home Championship game against Scotland on 10 November instead of playing for the FAI XI in a 1938 World Cup qualifier against Norway on 7 November. In 1938 Bill Hayes found himself in a similar position. He was called up by the FAI XI to play against Poland on 13 November. However, he had also been called up by the IFA XI to play against England on 16 November. Like Breen, he chose to withdraw from the FAI selection.
Fixtures played in close proximity also led to some unusual situations. In 1936 Jimmy Kelly had the unique experience of playing for two winning Irish teams within a week. On 11 March he helped the IFA XI beat Wales 3β2 at Celtic Park, Belfast. Then on 17 March he was on the winning side again as the FAI XI defeated Switzerland 1β0 at Dalymount Park. In September 1946 Johnny Carey and Bill Gorman actually played for both Ireland teams against England within three days of each other. On 28 September 1946 at Windsor Park they both played for the IFA XI in a 7β2 defeat. Then on 30 September 1946 at Dalymount Park they both played for the first ever FAI XI to play England. Despite a credible performance, the FAI XI lost 1β0.
Another unusual situation eventually led to the ending of the dual mandate. In 1950 both teams entered the World Cup. On 8 March 1950, in a qualifier against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, the IFA XI included four players β Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh and the captain Con Martin β who were born in the Irish Free State. All four players had previously played for the FAI XI in their qualifiers and as a result had played for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. This led to FIFA intervention, after complaints from the FAI.
FIFA subsequently restricted players' eligibility based on the political border and in 1953 ruled neither team could be, referred to as Ireland, decreeing that for future World Cups, the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland.
The issue over international eligibility continues to be disputed between the two associations, highlighted in 2007 by the Darron Gibson case. Gibson, who was born in Derry, opted to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland. The issue was referred to FIFA and has even been discussed in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Free State dual internationalsβ»
The vast majority of the players involved were born in what is: now the Republic of Ireland and were selected to play for the IFA XI. The earliest dual internationals - Dinny Hannon, Bill Lacey, Patsy Gallacher, Mick O'Brien, Tom Farquharson, Frank Collins and Ed Brookes β all initially represented the IFA XI before the FAI began organising team. After 1924 they all went on to play for the FAI XI.
Dinny Hannon became the first ever dual Irish international in 1924 when he played for the Irish Free State at the 1924 Olympic Games, playing against Bulgaria in their first ever senior international on 28 May. He had previously made 6 appearances for the IFA XI between 1908 and 1913.
Name | ![]() |
![]() | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Apps | Goals | Years | Apps | Goals | |
Dinny Hannon | 1908β1913 | 6 | 1 | 1924 | 2 | 0 |
Bill Lacey | 1909β1924 | 23 | 3 | 1927β1930 | 3 | 1 |
Patsy Gallacher | 1919β1927 | 11 | 0 | 1931 | 1 | 0 |
Ed Brookes | 1920 | 1 | 0 | 1924 | 1 | 3 |
Mick O'Brien | 1921β1927 | 10 | 0 | 1927β1932 | 4 | 0 |
Frank Collins | 1922 | 1 | 0 | 1924β1927 | 2 | 0 |
Tom Farquharson | 1923β1925 | 7 | 0 | 1929β1931 | 4 | 0 |
Christy Martin | 1925 | 1 | 0 | 1927 | 1 | 0 |
Jimmy Dunne | 1928β1932 | 7 | 4 | 1930β1939 | 15 | 13 |
Harry Duggan | 1929β1935 | 8 | 0 | 1927β1937 | 5 | 1 |
Peter Kavanagh | 1929 | 1 | 0 | 1931 | 2 | 0 |
Jimmy Kelly | 1931β1936 | 11 | 4 | 1932β1936 | 5 | 2 |
Alex Stevenson | 1933β1947 | 19 | 5 | 1932β1948 | 7 | 0 |
Paddy Moore | 1932 | 1 | 0 | 1931β1936 | 9 | 7 |
Tommy Breen | 1935β1946 | 13 | 0 | 1937β1947 | 5 | 0 |
Tom Davis | 1936 | 1 | 1 | 1936β1938 | 4 | 4 |
Kevin O'Flanagan | 1946 | 2 | 0 | 1937β1947 | 10 | 3 |
Johnny Carey | 1946β1949 | 9 | 0 | 1937β1952 | 27 | 3 |
Owen Madden | 1937 | 1 | 0 | 1936 | 1 | 1 |
Bill Hayes | 1937β1938 | 4 | 0 | 1946β1947 | 2 | 0 |
Bill Gorman | 1946β1948 | 4 | 0 | 1936β1947 | 13 | 0 |
Paddy Farrell | 1938 | 1 | 0 | 1937 | 2 | 0 |
Matt O'Mahoney | 1938 | 1 | 0 | 1938β1939 | 6 | 0 |
Ned Weir | 1939 | 1 | 0 | 1939 | 3 | 0 |
Billy Walsh | 1944β1948 | 6 | 0 | 1946β1950 | 9 | 0 |
Davy Walsh | 1946β1950 | 11 | 7 | 1946β1953 | 20 | 5 |
Tom Aherne | 1946β1950 | 6 | 0 | 1946β1953 | 16 | 0 |
Peter Farrell | 1946β1950 | 7 | 0 | 1946β1953 | 28 | 3 |
Tommy Eglington | 1946β1948 | 6 | 0 | 1946β1953 | 24 | 2 |
Con Martin | 1946β1950 | 6 | 0 | 1946β1956 | 30 | 6 |
Jackie O'Driscoll | 1948β1949 | 3 | 0 | 1948β1949 | 3 | 0 |
Rory Keane | 1948 | 1 | 0 | 1948β1949 | 4 | 0 |
Reg Ryan | 1950 | 1 | 0 | 1946β1953 | 16 | 3 |
Northern Irish dual internationalsβ»
Between 1931 and 1946 at least six players from Northern Ireland also played for both teams. From 1924 until 1936, the FAI called their team the Irish Free State and generally just selected players who were born in what is now the Republic of Ireland. However, during this period at least one Northerner, Harry Chatton, also represented the FAI after having previously played for the IFA XI. On 17 March 1936, for the game against Switzerland, the FAI referred to their team as Ireland for the first time and subsequently declared their intention to follow the IFA and select players from throughout the island. In 1937 the FAIβs case was strengthened after the introduction of the Constitution of Ireland, and in particular Articles 2 and 3 which declared that the whole of Ireland formed one "national territory".
In 1936 and 1937 several Northerners including, Hugh Connolly, Davy Jordan, John Feenan, Mick Hoy, Tommy Donnelly and Jackie Brown all played for the FAI XI. However of these only Brown ever played for the IFA XI and became a dual international. In June 1946 when the FAI XI toured the Iberian Peninsula the squad included four Northern Irish players - Billy McMillan, Jackie Vernon, Jimmy McAlinden and Paddy Sloan - all of whom had previously played for the IFA XI. Sloan earned the FAI XI a surprise victory when he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Spain.
Name | ![]() |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Apps | Goals | Years | Apps | Goals | |
Harry Chatton | 1924β1925 | 3 | 0 | 1931β1934 | 3 | 0 |
Jackie Brown | 1935β1939 | 10 | 1 | 1937 | 2 | 1 |
Jimmy McAlinden | 1937β1948 | 5 | 0 | 1946 | 2 | 0 |
Billy McMillan | 1944β1946 | 4 | 0 | 1946 | 2 | 0 |
Jackie Vernon | 1944β1951 | 21 | 0 | 1946 | 2 | 0 |
Paddy Sloan | 1945β1947 | 3 | 1 | 1946 | 2 | 1 |
Amateur internationalsβ»
In addition to full internationals, a number of FAI XI internationals also represented the IFA XI at amateur level. In 1931 Fred Horlacher and Jimmy Bermingham both played for an IFA Amateur XI in a 3β1 win against England Amateurs. They played against the wishes of the FAI and were subsequently suspended by the association for three months. Bermingham, who had made his only FAI appearance in 1929, was never capped again. But Horlacher became a regular international during the 1930s.
Name | ![]() |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Apps | Goals | Years | Apps | Goals | |
Jack McCarthy | 1921 | 2 | 0 | 1924β1930 | 6 | 0 |
Fred Horlacher | 1931 | 1 | ? | 1930β1936 | 7 | 2 |
Jimmy Bermingham | 1931 | 1 | ? | 1929 | 1 | 0 |
After 1950β»
Since 1950 only one footballer, Alex Bruce, has played for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at senior level. However, several people have appeared in Northern Ireland youth matches before switching to the Republic of Ireland where they have appeared in youth and/or senior matches, e.g., Alan Kernaghan, Darron Gibson, Marc Wilson, James McClean, Shane Duffy, Paul George, Eunan O'Kane, etc. Besides Alex Bruce, others have appeared for the Republic of Ireland at youth level and switched to the Northern Ireland system, e.g., Patrick McEleney, Shane McEleney, Johnny Gorman, etc. Tony Kane has played for both associations at youth level, first with Northern Ireland, then the Republic of Ireland, and then back with Northern Ireland.
See alsoβ»
- FIFA eligibility rules
- List of association football competitions
- List of Republic of Ireland international footballers born outside the Republic of Ireland
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
- ^ Players Appearing for Two. Or More Countries Archived 2008-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fulton, Gareth (2005). "Northern Catholic fans of Republic of Ireland soccer". In Alan Bairner (ed.). Sport and the Irish : Histories, Identities, Issues. Dublin: UCD Press. p. 145. ISBN 1-904558-33-X.
- ^ Ryan, Sean (1997). The Boys in Green: the FAI international story. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-85158-939-2.
- ^ "England international results". Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Byrne, Peter (1996). Football Association of Ireland: 75 years. Dublin: Sportsworld. ISBN 1-900110-06-7.
- ^ "Gibson can't play for Republic, says Wells": Stuart McKinley, Belfast Telegraph (January 31, 2007). Retrieved February 2, 2007.
- ^ "Fifa to discuss Irish player row". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ^ "Fifa unable to clarify Irish row". Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
- ^ Northern Ireland minister warns of sectarian divide Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "1924 Olympic Games at Rsssf". Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Amateur Internationals". Archived from the original on 29 September 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
- ^ "McEleney switches to Northern Ireland". www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk. Londonderry Sentinel. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2020.