John Joseph Feenan (1 July 1914 – October 1994) was an Irish and Northern Irish

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 ...

who played for Belfast Celtic, Sunderland and Shelbourne. As an international he also played for

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 ...

. In the 1940s he served as manager of Shelbourne. He was born in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

, Ireland.

Early years

Feenan began his career with his local team,

Newry Town Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish football club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in Newry, County Down and played its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white. The club was relegated fro ...

, before moving to Belfast Celtic in 1932 in a transfer deal that also saw Tommy Breen moving from Town to Celtic.

Sunderland

Feenan made his English League debut for Sunderland on 19 September 1936 in a 4-1 win against Brentford at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated ...

. He made his final league appearance for the club on 6 May 1939 in an away game against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

which finished as a 0-0 draw. Feenan made 28 league appearances for Sunderland and played 1 further game for the club 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 ...

. Among his teammates at the club were

Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland, Derby County and Hull City, as well as representing England on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cri ...

and Johnny Mapson.

Shelbourne

After leaving Sunderland, Feenan returned to Ireland and played for Shelbourne. On 28 April 1940, while at Shelbourne, he played for a

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

that also included

Paddy Bradshaw Paddy Bradshaw (16 March 1912 –11 March 1963) was an Irish footballer who played for St James's Gate and Shelbourne in the League of Ireland. Bradshaw was something of a late bloomer, making his League of Ireland debut at the age of 26, bef ...

Jimmy Dunne James Dunne (3 September 1905 – 14 November 1949) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton. Dunne was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams: ...

and

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953 ...

, which lost 3-2 to a

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

. Between 1942 and 1946 Feenan also served as Shels manager.

Ireland international

When Feenan played international football 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. Feenan was one of several players born in Northern Ireland who benefited from the FAI's attempts to establish an all-Ireland influence. In 1937, while playing for Sunderland, Feenan won 2 caps for

. In May of that year the FAI organised a European tour with a squad that included Feenan and two other Northerners,

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jac ...

and

Davy Jordan David Jordan (12 December 1908 – 30 November 2006) was a footballer who played as a forward for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ireland during the 1930s. He also played for Glentoran, Hull City and Crystal Palace. Club career Jordan began his p ...

. He made his debut for the FAI XI on 17 May in a 1-0 win against Switzerland. A week later, on 23 May, he also helped the FAI XI defeat

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 ...

2-0. These would prove to be Feenan's only international appearances. Feenan died in Gloucestershire in October 1994 at the age of 80.Ancestry: John Joseph Feenan in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feenan, John 1914 births 1994 deaths Belfast Celtic F.C. players Association football defenders League of Ireland managers League of Ireland players Irish Free State international footballers NIFL Premiership players Association footballers from Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland international footballers from Northern Ireland Sportspeople from Newry Shelbourne F.C. managers Shelbourne F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland XI players Football managers from Northern Ireland