Francis Wilson (26 July 1970 – 28 October 2022) was an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er,

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 ...

er and manager. During his playing days he lined out for several clubs including Crewe United, Cliftonville and Omagh Town. He also represented Lámh Dhearg and the Antrim senior football team.

Playing career

Wilson joined Lámh Dhearg as a 17-year-old and was part of the club's first ever Antrim MFC title-winning team in 1988. He won an Antrim SFC title in 1992. That same year Wilson was drafted onto the Antrim senior football team and lined out in the All-Ireland SBFC final defeat by Wicklow. Wilson continued to line out with Antrim for about a decade. Wilson combined his Gaelic football career with that of a semi-professional

er. Usually lining out at midfield, he played for Northern Ireland Football League clubs Crewe United, Cliftonville, Carrick Rangers, Ballyclare Comrades, Larne, Omagh Town and Bangor.

Managerial career

Wilson returned to the Bangor as manager and guided the club to the Steel & Sons Cup in 2011. He also had spells as manager of Lurgan Celtic,

Sport and Leisure Swifts Belfast Celtic Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the Ballymena & Provincial Intermediate League. The club hails from Belfast and plays its home games at Páirc Na gCeiltigh (Glen Road Heights), which is in ...

and Banbridge Town. Wilson was also the long-serving manager of the

Northern Ireland national under-18 schoolboys football team The Northern Ireland national under-18 schools football team (also known as Northern Ireland U18 schoolboys) represents Northern Ireland in association football at under-18 level. It is controlled by the Northern Ireland Schools Football Associa ...

Personal life and death

Wilson worked as a teacher, where he was head of the PE department at

Our Lady and St Patrick's College Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock, known locally as Knock or OLSPCK, is a Catholic diocesan grammar school in Knock in the east of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The school, with an expanding enrolment, announced in late 2019 it antic ...

in Knock. He was diagnosed with terminal

bile duct cancer Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Symptoms of cholangiocarcinoma may include abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, generalized itching, and fever. Light colored stool ...

in January 2022. Wilson died on 28 October 2022, at the age of 52.

Honours

Player

;Lámh Dhearg *

Antrim Senior Football Championship The Antrim Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Antrim GAA. The winners of the championship represent Antrim in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship ...

: 1992 *Antrim Minor Football Championship: 1988

Manager

;Bangor * Steel & Sons Cup: 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Frankie 1970 births 2022 deaths Lámh Dhearg Gaelic footballers Antrim inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Association football managers from Northern Ireland Cliftonville F.C. players Carrick Rangers F.C. players Ballyclare Comrades F.C. players Omagh Town F.C. players Larne F.C. players Bangor F.C. players Bangor F.C. managers Sport & Leisure Swifts F.C. managers Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality