Ben Hannigan (3 September 1943 – 4 February 2021) was an Irish

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 ...

who played as 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 spent most of his career playing for Shelbourne in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

Career

Hannigan had three different spells with Shelbourne as a player from 1961–66, 1972–74, and finally in the 1980–81 season. His first spell was the most successful as Shels won the league championship in 1962 after defeating

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

in a play-off and then defeating

Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. History The ...

in the following year's FAI Cup final. In December 1965 he signed for Wrexham but was soon back home with Dundalk where he won the League in 1967. He scored over 50 goals for the

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey F ...

side. Hannigan then signed for Shamrock Rovers in April 1969 and made his debut on 6 April. He won the FAI Cup in his first season and represented Rovers twice in European competition against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

. In

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

' first ever game in the

Hannigan scored four times in a 10–2 win on 17 August 1969. Hannigan later signed for Sligo Rovers in February 1971. He scored on his debut on 28 February. In his time at the Showgrounds he played a total of six games scoring once. This was followed by a short spell at

Fortuna Köln Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until a ...

in the early stages of the 1971–72 season but unlike Noel Campbell, whom Fortuna had signed simultaneously, Hannigan went back home soon.

Death

Hannigan died on 4 February 2021, aged 77.

Honours

Shelbourne *

: 1961–62 * FAI Cup: 1963 Dundalk * League of Ireland: 1966–67 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

: 1968 Cork Celtic * League of Ireland: 1973–74 Shamrock Rovers * FAI Cup: 1969

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannigan, Ben 1943 births 2021 deaths League of Ireland players Shelbourne F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players SC Fortuna Köln players League of Ireland XI players Men's association football inside forwards Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Chelmsford City F.C. players Association footballers from Dublin (city)