Emmet McLoughlin (also spelled Emmet McLaughlin) (6 October 1922 – 26 February 1988) was an amateur

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at the 1948 London Olympic Games. He also represented the Ireland Amateur team selected by the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

. McLoughlin came from

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfor ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

and grew up in and around the towns of

Moville Moville (; ) is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end. Location ...

and

Carndonagh Carndonagh (; ) is a town on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland, close to Trawbreaga Bay. It is the site of the Donagh Cross (or St. Patrick's Cross), believed to date to the 7th century. The Irish name, ''Carn Domhnach'', means ...

. However, some sources give his birthplace as

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. At the time of the 1948 Olympics he was a medical student at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and was attached to the

Mater Private Hospital The Mater Private Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Príobháideach an Mater) is a private hospital business. Its main hospital is located just to the east of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to the main hospital ...

in Dublin. In January 1948 he played for the hospital football team in a challenge match against Belfast's

Mater Infirmorum Hospital The Mater Infirmorum Hospital, commonly known as The Mater, is an acute hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It provides services to most of North Belfast and South Antrim, reaching as far as Glengormley, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey It is m ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

. At the time of the Olympics, McLoughlin is listed as a UCD player. On 26 July 1948 he played as an inside-right for

at the 1948 Olympic Football Tournament. He featured in the 3–1 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 ...

played at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

. www.fifa.com
/ref> Brendan O'Kelly, who scored Ireland's only goal, like McLoughlin, also played for

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 UCD. McLoughlin joined

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

in 1951, scoring on his début against

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

on 27 January 1951. While at Portadown he represented the Ireland Amateur team on three occasions, played in games against

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 ...

, Scotland and the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. McLoughlin later emigrated to England.

References

External links

*
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcloughlin, Emmet 1922 births 1988 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from County Donegal League of Ireland players Derry City F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Portadown F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players University College Dublin A.F.C. players Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic association footballers for Ireland Alumni of University College Dublin Men's association football inside forwards Sportspeople from Derry (city) St James's Gate F.C. players People from Moville People from Carndonagh