Arthur Fitzsimons (16 December 1929 – 9 May 2018) was an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

player and manager. An

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, he notably made over 200 appearances for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the are ...

Career

Originally from Penrose Street, in the shadow of

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim ...

, the stadium named after

Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. She ...

("the Shels", or "the Reds"), their then home ground, Arthur signed with 'the Shels' from the famous schoolboy nursery club, Johnville F.C. Already well known for his talent at junior level, the scouts were anxious to see how he would perform at this higher level. So well did he perform with 'the Reds', that it is almost forgotten he played for them only one season, 194849, before being transferred over the water. But it was no coincidence that that season was one of the best in the club's history, being in contention until the last match in all four available competitions, finally winning two of them, and finishing runner-up in the others. At the end of the season, he was part of a two-player deal when transferred (with Peter Desmond) to

Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

in the English First Division. He went on to play in 223 games, scoring 49 goals. His teammates included

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

and

Wilf Mannion Wilfrid James Mannion (16 May 1918 – 14 April 2000) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward, making over 350 senior appearances for Middlesbrough. He also played international football for England. With his blond ...

. In the 1960s, his coaching career took him to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, where he spent five and a half years in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

until Colonel Gaddafi came to power, when he was advised to leave. In August 1967, he signed for

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

as player-coach, a position he shared with Theo Dunne. In April 1969, his contract was terminated. In June 1969, he was appointed manager of

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most suc ...

, taking over from Liam Tuohy. Despite beating FC Schalke 04 in a 1969-70 European Cup Winners' Cup first leg tie, he was fired two months later. He also played 26 times for the Republic of Ireland national team, scoring 7 goals.

Later life and death

In 2009, Fitzsimons was inducted into the Football Association of Ireland Hall of Fame. He died aged 88 on 9 May 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimons, Arthur 1929 births 2018 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Ireland (FAI) international footballers Association football forwards Shelbourne F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland managers Drogheda United F.C. managers Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland XI managers Dublin University A.F.C. coaches Republic of Ireland football managers Association football coaches Republic of Ireland expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Libya Expatriate sportspeople in Libya