Joe Grace was an Ireland international footballer.

International career

On 21 March 1926, Grace made his only appearance for the

Irish Free State national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

in a 3–0 defeat to Italy in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. His appearance at international level was controversial as the selectors included the former

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for polit ...

defender who was playing in the Leinster Senior League with Drumcondra at the time. Grace had previously appeared for the Ireland amateur international team in November 1920 in a 4–0 defeat to England at Solitude,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. This was an all island team.
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Club career

In 1927, Drumcondra became the first non-senior team south of the border to win the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

. They were competing in the Leinster Senior League at the time. Grace, a tall, commanding, centre-half was hugely influential as Drumcondra defeated Brideville 1–0 in the final. Drumcondra further enhanced their reputation and paved their way for promotion to the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

by reaching the final again the following year losing 2-1 to Bohemians.

References

Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Irish Free State men's association footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers League of Ireland players Year of birth missing Place of birth missing Drumcondra F.C. players 1959 deaths Men's association football forwards {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub