Denis "Dinny" Doyle (born 1900, date of death unknown) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

football

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played professionally in Ireland and the United States. He earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the

Irish Free State national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

in 1926. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He joined Shamrock Rovers F.C. in 1922 and played in that year's

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

final which they lost in a replay. He then moved back to centre-half until he left the club in 1927. That year, he moved to the USA with

Bob Fullam Robert "Bob" Fullam (1895–1971) was an Irish footballer and one of the best-known players in the League of Ireland in the 1920 A versatile attacking player, he was skilful but also had a tough-man image. Born in Ringsend, the son of John and ...

where he signed with the

Philadelphia Celtic Philadelphia Field Club is a name used by four soccer teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four versions of Philadelphia F.C. competed in the first American Soccer League (1921-1933), American Soccer League, but none were in any way r ...

of the American Soccer League. The team played only ten games before failing financially. He then transferred to the

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

. He won three league titles with the Marksmens. He began the 1929-1930 season with the Marksmen, playing three games, before transferring to the

Pawtucket Rangers J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in ...

. In 1931, he moved to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He spent his last years in Niagara Falls. He won one cap for the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

on 21 March 1926. He was part of the Rovers sides that won two leagues in the 1920s going through the entire season unbeaten. He was also part of the side that played in the club's opening fixtures at

Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers ...

in 1926. His father, Tommy Doyle, had played for the Hoops in the early years and his younger brother, also Tommy, played for Rovers after Dinny emigrated. A nephew,

Jackie Mooney Jackie Mooney (1938 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish soccer player during the 1960s and 1970s. Mooney played for Shamrock Rovers, Athlone Town and Bohemians amongst others during his career in the League of Ireland. Club career Jackie was s ...

, won two FAI Cups with Rovers in the 1960s. Dinny's great grandson, Jason Doyle, played for Rovers during the 1991–1992 season. Dinny's brother, Christy (Kit), born 1904, had a son also named Christy who played in Toronto, New York and Chicago in the 1960s and had the honor of winning both the United States and Canadian amateur National Championships in the same year 1968. With the Chicago Kickers in July 1968 and the Toronto Royals in September 1968 before returning to Chicago in 1969 and rejoining the Kickers to win the title again in 1970. Now retired in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Honours

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 us ...

: 3 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27 *

: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1925 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

: 2 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1924-25, 1926–27 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1923 * Leinster Senior League: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1921–22

References

Sources

* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins () {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Denis Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Irish Free State international footballers Association football wing halves Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Fall River Marksmen players League of Ireland players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Celtic players Pawtucket Rangers players New York Yankees (soccer) players 1900 births Year of death missing Irish Free State association footballers Leinster Senior League (association football) players