James McAlinden (27 December 1917 – 15 November 1993) was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, most notably, Belfast Celtic,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Shamrock Rovers and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. As an international, McAlinden also played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. After retiring as a player, he went on to manage Glenavon,

Distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

and

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

Club career

Belfast Celtic

In 1934, aged 16, McAlinden was playing for

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

Reserves, when after a game against their reserves, he was offered a professional contract by Belfast Celtic. McAlinden, together with Jackie Vernon, Tommy Breen, Billy McMillan and Charlie Tully, subsequently became a prominent member of the Celtic team managed by

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

. This team dominated the Irish League in the era before and during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Among his most notable contributions was scoring in the 2–1 win against Bangor in the 1938

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

final. After a spell with

, McAlinden returned to Celtic in 1939, helping the club to further honours before leaving for Shamrock Rovers in 1945.

Portsmouth

In December 1938 McAlinden signed for

for a fee of £7.500. He made his debut for the club against

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 went onto became a regular in the side. Within six months of his arrival at the club, he helped them win the 1939 FA Cup Final, beating

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

4–1. After the outbreak of the

, he played three times for Portsmouth in wartime regional leagues, but his first spell with the club ended when he then returned to Belfast Celtic. McAlinden returned to Portsmouth for a second spell in 1946. In September 1947 he left Portsmouth once again and joined Stoke City for a fee of £7,000.

Shamrock Rovers

Following the end of his second spell with Belfast Celtic and before he rejoined

, McAlinden signed for Shamrock Rovers in September 1945. He made his debut against Shelbourne at Milltown on 16 September. While playing for Rovers his teammates included

Paddy Coad Paddy Coad (14 April 1920 – 8 March 1992) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a forward for Waterford, Glenavon, Shamrock Rovers and Ireland. Although known, primarily, as a maker of goals, Coad scored 126 goals in the ...

, Peter Farrell and

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

. During his one season with Rovers, McAlinden helped the club reach the 1946 FAI Cup final. However Rovers lost 3–1 to Drumcondra.

Stoke City

McAlinden joined Stoke City in September 1947 for a then club record fee of £7,000. He became regular inside forward under manager

Bob McGrory Robert Gerald McGrory (17 October 1891 – 24 May 1954) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Burnley and Stoke City with whom he later had a long spell as manager. McGrory played football with Dumbarton before joining ...

in 1947–48 playing in 33 matches scoring just twice against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. His lack of goals saw him fall out of favour at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

and he was sold to

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

side

in October 1948.

Southend United

In 1948

signed McAlinden from Stoke City for a fee of £8,000. He continued to play for United until 1954 and during his time with the club he served as club captain. He also became something of a cult hero among the club's fans and is remembered as being possibly the best player ever to play for the club. In 1950, McAlinden was caught up in controversy after it was alleged that he received illegal payments during his second spell with

. As a result, he was suspended for the first two months of the 1950–51 season. In April 1954 he made his last home appearance for United in a 4–1 win over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

International career

When McAlinden began his international career in 1937 there were in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based

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 ...

and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

– based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including McAlinden played for both teams.

IFA XI

Between 1937 and 1948, McAlinden made 5 appearances for the IFA XI, making his international debut in a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they w ...

on 10 November 1937. His IFA XI appearances also include the 8–4 defeat against a ''Combined Services XI'' at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual renta ...

on 9 September 1944. This team was basically a

Great Britain XI The United Kingdom national football team is a football team that represents the United Kingdom. Despite football being the most popular sport in the country, the team has not played since 1965 as separate teams represent each home nation (Engl ...

and featured, among others, Matt Busby,

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in F ...

and

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a h ...

. He also played 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 ...

in 7–2 defeat at Windsor Park on 9 September 1946. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 10 October 1948 in a 6–2 defeat to England at Windsor Park. McAlinden made his first three appearances for the IFA XI while with Belfast Celtic, his fourth while at

and his fifth while at

FAI XI

In 1946, while with

, McAlinden also made 2 appearances for the FAI XI. He was one of several players born in Northern Ireland who benefited from the FAI's attempts to establish their all-Ireland influence. In June 1946 when the FAI organised an Iberian tour, McAlinden, together with Jackie Vernon, Billy McMillan and

Paddy Sloan Joshua Walter Sloan (30 April 1920 – January 1993), commonly known as Paddy Sloan, was an Irish footballer and manager. Sloan played with English clubs such as Manchester United, Millwall, Fulham and Arsenal. He also featured for Italian si ...

, was one of four Northern Irish players called up. McAlinden subsequently played in both the 3–1 defeat to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on 16 June and then helped Ireland gain a surprise 1–0 victory against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 23 June 1946.

Coaching career

In 1955 McAlinden became player/manager of Glenavon. He continued playing for a further year before finally retiring as a player to concentrate on management. During a thirteen-year spell with Glenavon he guided them two Irish League titles, three

victories and one Gold Cup. After leaving Glenavon, McAlinden worked as a full-time scout for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

before taking charge at

in 1969. He subsequently guided a Distillery team that included a young

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...

to a win in the 1971

. Later in his first season with

he guided them to the 1976 FAI Cup final, only to lose 1–0 to

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 ...

Career statistics

Club

*Sourced from

International

Source:

Honours

Player

Belfast Celtic * Irish League **''Winners'' 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1943–44: 7 *

: **''Winners'' 1938, 1941, 1943: 3 * Gold Cup **''Winners'' 1934–35, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45: 5 *

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Fo ...

**''Winners'' 1935–36, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1944–45: 4 Shamrock Rovers * Inter-City Cups: 1 **''Winners'' 1946 Portsmouth *

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 ...

**''Winners'' 1939: 1

Manager

Glenavon * Irish League **''Winners'' 1956–57, 1959–60: 2 *

: **''Winners'' 1957, 1959, 1961: 3 * Gold Cup **''Winners'' : 1956–57 1 Distillery *

: **''Winners'' 1971: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1969: 1 Drogheda United * FAI Cup **''Runners Up'' 1976: 1

References

; Specific ; General * *''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan *''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rollin

External links

Southend United fansite Ireland (FAI) stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlinden, Jimmy 1917 births 1993 deaths Association footballers from Northern Ireland Belfast Celtic F.C. players Dual Irish international footballers League of Ireland managers League of Ireland players Association football forwards Glenavon F.C. players Ireland (FAI) international footballers NIFL Premiership players Republic of Ireland international footballers from Northern Ireland Football managers from Northern Ireland Association footballers from Belfast Portsmouth F.C. players Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players English Football League players Drogheda United F.C. managers Glenavon F.C. managers Lisburn Distillery F.C. managers Place of death missing League of Ireland XI players FA Cup Final players