Matt O'Mahoney
Encyclopedia
Matt O'Mahoney was an Irish footballer
who played for, among others, Bristol Rovers
and Ipswich Town
. O'Mahoney was a dual international
and played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI
.
, O'Mahoney was something of an under achieving journeyman player. He had initially been on the books of several teams in the Merseyside
area and had spent uninspiring spells at both Liverpool
and New Brighton
before eventually making something of a breakthrough at Southport
, where he made 12 league appearances. He then joined Wolves
but failed to make it into the first team. After a brief spell with Newport County, where he made 8 league appearances, he signed for Bristol Rovers
in May 1936.
. He also made a further 4 appearances for Rovers in the FA Cup
. O'Mahoney also won all 7 of his international caps while playing for Rovers. During the Second World War he returned to Rovers as a guest player and made 24 South West League appearances and scored 4 goals in the 1939-40 season. He also scored 1 Wartime cup goal for Rovers.
. However within a few months the Second World War broke out and Town did not enter any of the wartime regional leagues. After playing just 3 league games for the club he returned to Bristol Rovers
as a guest. During the 1940-41 season he also played 4 games for Bristol City
in the Southern Regional Division and between 1942 and 1944 he guested regularly for Aberaman Athletic
in the Football League West. O'Mahoney returned to Ipswich Town when they resumed playing in the 1945-46 season, making 36 league appearances and scoring 3 goals. During three more seasons with Town he made a further 58 appearances and scored 5 goals in the English League. He made his last appearance for Town on 16 October 1948 in a Third Division South
game against Norwich City
.
- based IFA
and the Irish Free State
- based FAI
claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland
and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era, including O'Mahoney, played for both teams.
and then on 22 May he played in a 6-0 defeat against Poland
. The highlight of his international career came during his third game against Switzerland
on 18 September 1938. O'Mahoney earned the unusual distinction of becoming the first FAI XI international to fly in for a home game. He arrived from Bristol
only an hour before kick-off, but proceeded to play superbly, helping the FAI XI to a 4-0 win. On 13 November 1938 he played in a winning FAI XI for the second time when he helped them beat Poland
3-2 in another home game. O'Mahoney made his final two appearances for the FAI XI in May 1939 during another European tour, helping them to 2-2 and 1-1 draws with Hungary
and Germany
respectively. These were the last two internationals that the FAI XI played before the start of the Second World War.
on 8 November 1938 in a 2-0 defeat against Scotland
at Windsor Park
. He had earned an IFA XI call up after his impressive performance for the FAI XI against Switzerland
the previous month. He was the only debutant on the day and his team mates included fellow dual internationalists Tommy Breen
, Jackie Brown
, Jimmy McAlinden
and Alex Stevenson
.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played for, among others, Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
and Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
. O'Mahoney was a dual international
Dual Irish international footballers
Dual Irish international footballers are a group of Irish international footballers who, between 1908 and March 1950, played for the international teams selected by both the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland...
and played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
.
Early years
Before establishing himself at Bristol RoversBristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
, O'Mahoney was something of an under achieving journeyman player. He had initially been on the books of several teams in the Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
area and had spent uninspiring spells at both Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and New Brighton
New Brighton A.F.C.
-Revived club:New Brighton A.F.C. were reborn in 1993, and joined the Birkenhead and Wirral League, which they won in their first season. In 1995 the club switched to the South Wirral League. After upgrading their new ground, the club were admitted to the Second Division of the West Cheshire League...
before eventually making something of a breakthrough at Southport
Southport F.C.
Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...
, where he made 12 league appearances. He then joined Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
but failed to make it into the first team. After a brief spell with Newport County, where he made 8 league appearances, he signed for Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
in May 1936.
Bristol Rovers
Between 1936 and 1939 O'Mahoney went onto make 101 English League appearances, scoring 6 goals, for Bristol RoversBristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
. He also made a further 4 appearances for Rovers in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. O'Mahoney also won all 7 of his international caps while playing for Rovers. During the Second World War he returned to Rovers as a guest player and made 24 South West League appearances and scored 4 goals in the 1939-40 season. He also scored 1 Wartime cup goal for Rovers.
Ipswich Town
In July 1939 O'Mahoney signed for Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
. However within a few months the Second World War broke out and Town did not enter any of the wartime regional leagues. After playing just 3 league games for the club he returned to Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
as a guest. During the 1940-41 season he also played 4 games for Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
in the Southern Regional Division and between 1942 and 1944 he guested regularly for Aberaman Athletic
Aberaman Athletic F.C.
Aberaman Athletic Football Club is a Welsh football club that currently play in the Welsh Football League Division One. Their ground is situated on Cardiff Road, Aberdare, between the suburb of Aberaman and the village of Abercwmboi....
in the Football League West. O'Mahoney returned to Ipswich Town when they resumed playing in the 1945-46 season, making 36 league appearances and scoring 3 goals. During three more seasons with Town he made a further 58 appearances and scored 5 goals in the English League. He made his last appearance for Town on 16 October 1948 in a Third Division South
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
game against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
.
Irish international
When O'Mahoney began his international career in 1938 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
- based IFA
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
and the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
- based FAI
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era, including O'Mahoney, played for both teams.
FAI XI
Between 1938 and 1939 O'Mahoney played 6 times for the FAI XI. He made his first two appearances for the FAI XI in May 1938 during a European tour. On 18 May he played in a 2-2 draw with CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia national football team
The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...
and then on 22 May he played in a 6-0 defeat against Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
. The highlight of his international career came during his third game against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
on 18 September 1938. O'Mahoney earned the unusual distinction of becoming the first FAI XI international to fly in for a home game. He arrived from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
only an hour before kick-off, but proceeded to play superbly, helping the FAI XI to a 4-0 win. On 13 November 1938 he played in a winning FAI XI for the second time when he helped them beat Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
3-2 in another home game. O'Mahoney made his final two appearances for the FAI XI in May 1939 during another European tour, helping them to 2-2 and 1-1 draws with Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
respectively. These were the last two internationals that the FAI XI played before the start of the Second World War.
IFA XI
O'Mahoney made his 1 and only appearance for the IFA XIIreland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
on 8 November 1938 in a 2-0 defeat against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
at Windsor Park
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:...
. He had earned an IFA XI call up after his impressive performance for the FAI XI against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
the previous month. He was the only debutant on the day and his team mates included fellow dual internationalists Tommy Breen
Tommy Breen
Tommy Breen is a former Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, amongst others, Belfast Celtic, Manchester United, Linfield and Shamrock Rovers...
, Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown (footballer)
Jackie Brown , also referred to as Johnny Brown or John Brown, was a dual internationalist who played football for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and FAI XI...
, Jimmy McAlinden
Jimmy McAlinden
Jimmy McAlinden was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, most notably, Belfast Celtic, Portsmouth, Shamrock Rovers and Southend United. As an international, McAlinden also played for both Ireland teams - the IFA XI and the FAI XI...
and Alex Stevenson
Alex Stevenson
Alexander Ernest Stevenson was an Irish footballer who played for Rangers and Everton, amongst other teams. As an international, Stevenson also played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI...
.
Sources
- The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story (1997): Sean Ryan http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1851589392
- Soccer at War – 1939 - 45 (2005): Jack Rollin http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/075531431X