Michael John Farrell (born 1902, date of death unknown) was an 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 le ...

. He competed in the men's tournament at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

1924 Olympics

Farrell was one of five

St James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrimage from Dublin to Santiag ...

players selected for the Irish Free State team at the Paris Olympics. Others included

Paddy Duncan Paddy Duncan (1894 – 9 April 1949) was an Irish association football, footballer. At the Ireland at the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1924 Olympic Games he scored the Republic of Ireland national football team, Ireland (FAI)'s first ever goal in a sen ...

, Tom Murphy,

Charlie Dowdall Charles Dowdall (7 April 1898 – 7 November 1987) was an Irish footballer. He played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League and was also capped at international level by Ireland. He was born in Dublin. Club car ...

, and

Ernie MacKay Ernest MacKay (7 October 1896 – November 1995) was an Irish footballer who played in an international tournament representing Ireland in 1924. Personal life MacKay was born in Tipperary as the second son and fifth child of John and Mary Eliza ...

. Farrell started Ireland's inaugural game against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

on 28 May 1924 at the

Stade Olympique Olympic Stadium (french: Stade olympique) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is n ...

where his teammate Duncan would score the only goal to secure a historic debut win for the Irish Free State. Farrell himself hit the woodwork during the tie. Farrell started Ireland's next match against

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 ...

in the tournament Quarter-Finals at the

Stade de Paris The Stade Bauer (also called the Stade de Paris) is a 10,000-capacity football stadium in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine in the northern suburbs of Paris. The stadium is mainly used by Red Star F.C. who currently play in Championnat National but have tas ...

on 2 June 1924. Ireland would lose the game 2-1 after Dutch forward

Ok Formenoy Ocker Nicolaus "Ok" Formenoij (16 March 1899 – 14 February 1977) was a Dutch association football player. He was part of the Dutch team that finished fourth at the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'ét ...

settled the tie with a strike in the 104th minute of play. Ireland would end their time in France by playing

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in a friendly at the Stade Olympique, winning 3–1. However, Farrell didn't play in this match. His two appearances at the Olympics would be his last for Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Michael 1902 births Year of death missing Irish association footballers (before 1923) Olympic association footballers for Ireland Irish Olympic Council men's international footballers Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics St James's Gate F.C. players Place of birth missing Men's association football forwards