Denis J. Hannon, also known as Dinny Hannon or Dinney Hannon (31 January 1888 – 23 August 1971), 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 le ...

who played as an inside-right for both

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

and

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

. Born in

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

, Ireland, Hannon was also a dual international and played for both Ireland teams - the IFA XI and the FAI XI. He was the first player ever to do this. In 1913 he was a member of the first ever IFA XI to beat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and in 1924 he represented 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 ...

at the

Paris Olympics Paris Olympics Paris has played a role in hosting the Modern Summer Olympics twice before 2024. 1900 following the first Modern Games Olympics in Athens Greece then in 1924. Now more recently, in 2024 starting July 26th. Paris will be the second ...

Club career

Bohemians

Hannon helped

reach three

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

finals in 1908, 1909 and 1911. They won the competition in 1908, beating Shelbourne 3–1 in a replay after initially drawing 1-1.

Athlone Town

In 1924 Hannon helped

win the

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 ...

, beating

and Shelbourne in early rounds, before scoring the winner as they defeated Fordsons in the final. Together with Tommy Muldoon, Frank Ghent,

Paddy Reilly Patrick "Paddy" Reilly (born 18 October 1939) is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions of "The Fields of Athenry", "Rose of Allen ...

and

John Joe Dykes John Joe Dykes (30 October 1898 – 25 June 1976) was an Irish footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VI ...

, Hannon was one of five Athlone Town players subsequently included in the

squad for the 1924 Olympic Games.

Irish international

When Hannon began his international career in 1908, Ireland was represented by a single team, selected by the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

-based

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

. However, during the 1920s, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and the

. Amid these political upheavals, a rival association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged 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 ...

and from 1924 organised their own national team. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Hannon played for both teams – the IFA XI and also the FAI XI.

IFA XI

Between 1908 and 1913, while playing for

, Hannon then made 6 appearances and scored 1 goal for the IFA XI. He made his international debut on 15 February 1908 in a 3–1 defeat against

at the

Solitude Ground Solitude is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest football stadium in Ireland, and the home ground of Ireland's oldest football club, Cliftonville. The stadium holds 6,224, but is currently restricted to 2,530 under s ...

. Hannon soon scored on his debut, but this would prove to be his first and last goal at international level. He made his second appearance against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 14 March 1908 in a 5–0 defeat at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. He went on to make three appearances against England, two against Scotland and one against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 15 February 1913 in a 2–1 win against England at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...

. This was the first time they ever had beat England. While playing for the IFA XI, Hannon's teammates included Billy Scott,

Val Harris Valentine Harris (Irish: ''Vailintín Ó hEarchaí''; 23 June 1884 in Ringsend, Dublin, Ireland – 9 November 1963), commonly referred to as Val Harris, was an Irish footballer who played Gaelic football for the Dublin county team and soccer f ...

, Bill Lacey and

Billy Gillespie William Ballintrae Gillespie (6 August 1891 – 2 July 1981) was an Irish association football, football player who played as a Forward (association football), striker for Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United over a twenty-year period from 1 ...

Irish Free State

In 1924 Hannon had made 2 appearances for the

. Together with

Paddy Duncan Paddy Duncan (1894 – 9 April 1949) was an Irish association football, footballer. At the Ireland at the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 Olympic Games he scored the Republic of Ireland national football team, Ireland (FAI)'s first ever goal in a sen ...

, Tommy Muldoon and Joe Kendrick he had competed in the

. He made his debut for the Irish Free State against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

in their first ever senior international on 28 May 1924. As a result of winning this game they qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition. Hannon also played in this game on 2 June, a 2-1 extra-time defeat against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Hannon, aged 36, was a veteran during this era of his career and was one of the oldest players ever to play Olympic football. Hannon captained Ireland in both games and although amateur internationals, Olympic Games matches in Paris are recognised by FIFA as full internationals.

Honours

Bohemians *

**''Winners'' 1908: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1909, 1911: 2 Athlone Town *

**''Winners'' 1924: 1

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannon, Denis 1888 births 1971 deaths People from Athlone Sportspeople from County Westmeath Irish association footballers (before 1923) Republic of Ireland association footballers Irish Free State association footballers Dual Irish international footballers Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Olympic footballers of Ireland Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Bohemian F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players League of Ireland players People educated at Summerhill College Northern Ireland amateur international footballers Association football inside forwards