Henry Patrick Dixon (2 March 1918 – 29 December 1998) 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. He played with a number of clubs, including Garrymore and

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. It is the fastest growing town in the county. There was a 31% increase in the town's population between 2006 and 2011 an ...

, and also lined out at inter-county level with the Mayo senior football team.

Career

Dixon's club career spanned four decades and four different clubs. After beginning his career with Carramore and Garrymore, he won a Mayo JFC title with Mayo Abbey in 1944. Dixon won a second junior title, this time with the

club, in 1960. He claimed a Mayo SFC medal with Claremorris in 1961 before bringing his club career to an end with a

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

display in a defeat by Ballina Stephenites in 1962. Dixon first appeared for

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in 1939, however, his emigration to

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 ...

that year halted his inter-county progress. In 1944 he played with the Mayo junior team, while also making a few appearances for the senior team. Dixon was a non-playing substitute when Mayo were beaten by

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

in the 1948 All-Ireland final. He became a regular member of the team the following year and claimed his first silverware after victory in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. Dixon was at centre-back when Mayo claimed back-to-back All-Ireland SFC titles after defeats of

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

in 1950 and Meath in 1951. He continued to line out for Mayo until 1954. His inter-county performances also earned inclusion on the

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

team, with Dixon winning a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal in 1951.

Personal life and death

Dixon was born into a farming family just outside

in March 1918. He spent a number of years working in England g

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After returning home, Dixon opened his own pub in Claremorris in 1956. Dixon died after a period of illness on 29 December 1998, at the age of 80.

Honours

;Mayo Abbey *

Mayo Junior Football Championship The Mayo Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Mayo GAA clubs. Islandeady are the title holders (2022) defeating Cill Chomáin in the Final. Honours The trophy presented to the winners is ...

: 1944 ;Claremorris *

Mayo Senior Football Championship The Mayo Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Connacht Gold Mayo Senior Football Championship'') is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top Mayo GAA clubs. Westport are the title hol ...

: 1961 *

: 1960 ;Mayo *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

: 1948–49, 1953–54 ;Connacht *

: 1951

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Henry 1918 births 1998 deaths Carramore Gaelic footballers Garrymore Gaelic footballers Mayo Abbey Gaelic footballers Claremorris Gaelic footballers Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers Drinking establishment owners