John McCarthy (born 1955) is a former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Dublin county team, who making his championship debut in a defeat by

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

in a Leinster SFC Replay in 1973. However this would be his team's last defeat in the province until 1980. He was once described by former Donegal manager Brian McEniff as the most lethal of the six Dublin forwards.

Playing career

Inter-county

In the period 1974 to 1979, McCarthy won three All Ireland medals in 1974, 1976 and 1977. McCarthy was a crucial figure in these years particularly in the 1976 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final against old rivals Kerry as McCarthy struck for the first goal to set Dublin on their way to victory. He proved to be a real thorn in Kerry's side as he was also fouled for the penalty which led to Dublin's second goal. He repeated the dose against Kerry in the classic semi-final of 1977 when he plundered Dublin's first goal shortly after half time. In the final of 1977, McCarthy was part of a Dublin full forward line that amassed all but two of the team's two points in a tally of 5-12 against Armagh.

Club

Throughout his career he played for three clubs Garda, Na Fianna and

Ballymun Kickhams Ballymun Kickhams ( Irish: ''Ciceam Bhaile Munna'' ) is a GAA club in Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland. The club has a clubhouse and its home pitch, ''Pairc Ciceam'', just off the Ballymun (junction 4) exit of the M50. Ballymun also has a full size ...

. He is currently a selector with Ballymun Kickhams senior team, which won the 2009 Dublin SFL (bridging a 20-year gap).

Personal

MCCarthy was a Garda by profession based at Mountjoy and holds a unique record alongside Kerry's

Aidan O'Mahony Aidan O'Mahony (born 8 June 1980, in Tralee) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at senior level for the Kerry county team. He has 5 All-Irelands, 3 NFLs, 10 Munster Championships, 1 County Senior Championship, 1 Senior Club County Champio ...

and Tom O'Sullivan within the force of being the only Gardaí to play in six successive All-Ireland finals. He retired from the Garda Síochána in 2005. McCarthy's son named

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

also became a senior footballer with Dublin, winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship on nine occasions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, John 1955 births Living people Ballymun Kickhams Gaelic footballers Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football selectors Garda Gaelic footballers Garda Síochána officers Na Fianna Gaelic footballers Police officers from County Dublin