John Henry Kirwan (9 February 1878 – 9 January 1959) was an Irish

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 and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

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 ...

. He had previously played

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 ...

for

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. As a football coach he became the first professional manager of Dutch side

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

. He was the last survivor of the Tottenham team that won the 1901 FA Cup.

Playing career

Early years

Kirwan initially played

for the Dublin county team and won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal with Dublin in

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

when they defeated

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

by 1–2 to 0–5 after a replay. Although both the final and the replay finished level, Dublin were awarded the cup. He then played soccer joined Southport Central of the Lancashire League where he attracted the attentions of both Everton and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

. He opted to sign for Everton in July 1898 and was subsequently used to replace John Cameron who had been sold to

. He made his league debut for Everton against Preston N.E. in September 1898. During his one season at the club he made 24 league appearances and scored 5 goals. He also played a further 2 games in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. While at Everton his teammates included among others Samuel Wolstenholme.

Tottenham Hotspur

After just one season at Everton, Kirwan followed John Cameron to

where the latter was now manager. During his six seasons at Tottenham, he played alongside

John Brearley John Brearley (October 1875 – 1944) was an English association football player and manager. He played as a forward for several clubs, most notably Millwall Athletic, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. He was able to play in at least five outfi ...

and

Vivian Woodward Vivian John Woodward (3 June 1879 – 31 January 1954) was an English footballer who enjoyed the peak of his career from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of the First World War. He played for Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. He capta ...

. Kirwan scored 97 goals in 347 games for the club. This included 23 in games in the

. He also helped the club win the Southern League in 1900 and the

in 1901. This saw Tottenham become the only club outside the English League to win the competition. Kirwan kept the ball used in the final until he died in 1959. In 1900 Kirwan also became the first Spurs player capped by

Later years

In May 1905 Kirwan left

and joined

. He made 76 appearances in total for Chelsea and scored 16 goals. In

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

he helped Chelsea finish runners up in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

and thus gain promotion. Kirwan also played 3 games for Chelsea in the

, scoring 1 goal. After leaving Chelsea he played for

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

and

Leyton F.C. Leyton Football Club was an English association football club based in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The club withdrew from the Isthmian League Division One North in January 2011 due to severe financial difficulties, and disba ...

before retiring as a player.

Irish international

Between 1900 and 1909 Kirwan played 17 times for

. He made his international debut on 24 February 1900 in a 2–0 away defeat to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Kirwan, together with Archie Goodall, Billy Scott,

Billy McCracken William Robert McCracken (29 January 1883 – 20 January 1979) was a Northern Irish footballer who played as a defender. He is famous for inventing the offside trap. He was a cousin of Robert McCracken who also had a career as a professional f ...

and Robert Milne, was a member of the Ireland team that clinched a share in the 1903 British Home Championship. Until then the competition had been monopolised by

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 ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. However, in 1903, before

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

was applied, Ireland forced a three way share. Despite losing their opening game 4–0 to England, the Irish then beat Scotland for the first time on 21 March 1903. Kirwan scored his first goal for Ireland in the 2–0 win at

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 ...

. He then helped Ireland beat Wales 2–0 in the final game of the tournament. He scored his second goal for Ireland in a 3–1 defeat to

on 12 March 1904. His final game for Ireland was a 5–0 defeat to Scotland on 15 March 1909.

Coaching career

In September 1910 Kirwan moved to 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 ...

where he became the first professional manager at

Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

. In 1911 he led Ajax to the Dutch Second Class title and victory in a promotion play-off, thus guiding the club into the Dutch top flight for the first time. Kirwan returned to London after the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was succeeded as Ajax coach by Jack Reynolds. Kirwan later coached

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 ...

in his native country and

A.S. Livorno Unione Sportiva Livorno 1915 (formerly A.S. Livorno Calcio, commonly known as Livorno), is a semi-professional Italian football club based in Livorno, Tuscany. They compete in Serie D, the top tier of semi-professional Italian football after ...

in Italy for one season before settling in the London area.

Additional information

John Kirwan was survived by his widow Edith who died in 1976, and daughters Eileen who died aged 101 in 2014 and Maureen who died aged 94 in 2009. Many of his international caps and shirts are still in the family, although a lot of his more historical possessions were given to the Tottenham Hotspur museum including the 1901 FA Cup Ball.

Career statistics

International

''Ireland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kirwan goal''

Honours

As a Gaelic footballer

Dublin *

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 ...

As a soccer player

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1900–01 * Southern League: 1899–1900, runner up: 1901–02, 1903–04 * Western League: 1903–04 *

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

: 1902 Ireland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

(shared)

References

Sources

*Tony Matthews,
Who's Who of Everton
' (2004) *''Bohemian F.C. Match Programme Vol. 41, No. 1

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwan, John 1878 births 1959 deaths Association footballers from County Wicklow Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish association footballers (before 1923) Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Everton F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Clyde F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Irish association football managers Irish expatriate association football managers AFC Ajax managers Wicklow Gaelic footballers Association football forwards FA Cup Final players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate football managers in Italy Irish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands