Dessie Glynn (7 June 1928 – 6 January 2017) was a Republic of Ireland international footballer who played for Drumcondra and Shelbourne in the late 1940s and 1950s, scoring 111 goals in his

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. Glynn was also Drumcondra's all-time top goalscorer with 96 goals between 1949 and 1956.

Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella Maris. Since retirin ...

described Glynn as "a splendidly versatile centre-forward, a scorer and maker of goals". Glynn grew up in

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central ...

, was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. and worked for the

Irish civil service The Civil Service ( ga, An Státseirbhís) of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the departments of state and certain state agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, ...

. In 1958 he spent nine months in hospital, suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

– a condition which effectively ended his playing career. He later coached in New York.

Club career

Early years

As a youth Glynn played for Johnville and was a member of their team that won the

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competi ...

in 1945–46. He subsequently played for Clifton United.

Drumcondra

Glynn joined Drumcondra in January 1949 and helped the club win the

title in his first season. He was an all rounder and appeared in virtually every position for Drumcondra. He also played in two FAI Cup finals, collecting a winners medal in 1953–54 and a runners-up medal in 1954–55. His teammates in these two finals included, among others,

Tim Coffey Timothy Alfred Coffey (20 February 1928 – 8 November 1999) was an Irish soccer player. He played for Drumcondra at club level and was a great favourite with the Drumcondra fans in the 1940s and 1950s. A wing-half, he won a League of Ireland ...

, Bobby Duffy and Benny Henderson. Glynn scored 96 league goals in eight seasons with Drumcondra and was the club's top scorer in six seasons. He was also the top scorer in the

1950–51 League of Ireland The 1950–51 League of Ireland was the 30th season of senior football in the Republic of Ireland. Cork Athletic were the defending champions. Changes from 1949–50 No new teams were elected to the League. Teams Season overview Cork A ...

season with 20 goals. In November 1951 Glynn scored five goals in a game against

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

. He scored the fifth from a penalty kick, which according to legend, burst the net and knocked out a seventeen year old fan in the crowd.

Shelbourne

Glynn joined Shelbourne for the 1956–57 season where he again finished as the club top scorer with 12 league goals. He continued to play for Shelbourne until 1958.

International career

League of Ireland XI

In October 1951 Glynn was a member of the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

that lost 9–1 to a

Football League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

Republic of Ireland

Glynn was capped twice by the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

at senior level. He made his international debut on 17 October 1951 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 ...

in a 3–2 win against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Together with

Florrie Burke Florrie Burke (7 August 1918 – 24 April 1995) was an Irish footballer who played for Cork United, Cork Athletic and Evergreen United. He also played for both Ireland and the League of Ireland XI. Burke was raised in the Ballintemple, Cork a ...

, Glynn was one of two

players selected for the starting eleven. Glynn scored the winner for the Republic after finishing off a move started by Peter Farrell and

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

. Glynn had cancelled his honeymoon in order to make his Republic of Ireland debut. He won his second cap on 25 May 1955 in a 3–1 away win against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Honours

; Drumcondra *

** 1948–49 * FAI Cup ** 1953–54 *

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 ...

** 1950–51 *

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 ...

** 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52 * Leinster Senior Cup ** 1949–50, 1953–54 ; Johnville *

** 1945–46: 1 ;Individual *

League of Ireland Top Scorer A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulst ...

: ** 1950–51 Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glynn, Dessie 1928 births 2017 deaths Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Drumcondra F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Association footballers from County Dublin Association football forwards People educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S., Glasnevin