Ian Patrick Walsh (born 4 September 1958 in

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...

) is a former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

international

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 ...

Club career

Walsh began his career at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, winning the FA Youth Cup in 1977, before forcing his way into the first team, making his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Chester City on 4 September 1976 at the age of 18, where he was a key member of the side that won the Division Two title in the 1978–79 season. After playing over 100 times for the side, he joined Swansea City in February 1982, spending two years at the

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 ...

before leaving following the club's relegation in 1984. He spent two years at Barnsley, scoring fifteen times, before leaving for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

where he won promotion in his first season. His second year at Grimsby was hampered by a number of minor injuries and he was allowed to leave midway through the season to sign for Cardiff City. The majority of his appearances at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

came as a substitute and he was forced into retirement in 1989.

International career

Walsh made a goalscoring debut for

in September 1979 during a 2–1 win over

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 ...

, becoming a regular for the side of the following four years before making his final appearance on 2 June 1982 in a 1–0 win over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Wales comprehensively defeated England at The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, in May, 1980, with Walsh among the goalscorers in a 4-1 Victory.

After football

Walsh subsequently became a commentator and football pundit for BBC Wales. He is also the uncle of former Premier League footballer Simon Davies who played for Wales and Fulham.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Ian 1958 births Living people People from St Davids Sportspeople from Pembrokeshire British sports broadcasters British association football commentators Swansea City A.F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players English Football League players Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers People educated at Ysgol Dewi Sant Men's association football forwards