Ned Courtney was an Irish footballer who played Gaelic football for Cork GAA and

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for Cork United, Cork Athletic and

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 ...

. Courtney, who played as a goalkeeper in both codes, was originally from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and was a captain in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

. He won a

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It ...

with Cork GAA before going onto win three

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 use ...

titles. Between 1950–51 and 1952–53 he also played in three successive FAI Cup finals.

Playing career

Cork GAA

In 1943 Courtney was a member of the Cork GAA team that won the

. On 6 June 1943, in the semi-final stage, Cork drew 2–3 to 0–9 with

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

at the

Cork Athletic Grounds The Cork Athletic Grounds was a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) stadium where major hurling and football matches were played. Situated in the Ballintemple area of Cork in Ireland, it was the home of Cork GAA between 1904 and 1974. The stadium ...

. On 11 July, in the replay at the same venue, Cork beat Kerry 1–5 to 1–4. In the final played in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dá ...

, Cork beat

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

1–7 to 1–4. Courtney also played for Cork in the

1943 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1943 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 57th staging of Ireland's premier Gaelic football knock-out competition. In the Leinster Quarter-Final Louth ended Dublin's year as All-Ireland Champions. Roscommon were the winners. Ki ...

semi-final at Croke Park against Cavan. However Cork lost 1–8 to 1–7. Among his teammates while playing for Cork GAA were Jack Lynch, Jim Ahern,

Tadhgo Crowley Timothy J. Crowley (24 April 1921 – 3 December 1963), also known as Tadhgo Crowley, was an Irish Gaelic football player and referee. Throughout his 18-year club career, he played for his hometown club Clonakilty, winning seven County Champions ...

Éamonn Young Edward D. Young (7 August 1921 – 3 August 2007), known as Éamonn Young, was an Irish Gaelic football player, trainer and selector. Throughout a club career that spanned over 25 years, he played for several clubs in Cork and experienced champi ...

and Nealie Duggan.

Cork United

Courtney signed for Cork United in 1945 and in the 1945–46 season he helped them win his first

title. His United teammates included, among others, Bill Hayes, Jack O'Reilly, Florrie Burke, Owen Madden, Jackie O'Driscoll,

Frank O'Farrell Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining ...

and

Tommy Moroney Tommy Moroney (10 November 1923 – 2 May 1981) was an Irish soccer and rugby union player. Moroney played soccer for Cork United, West Ham United, Evergreen United and Ireland. In 1949 he was a member of the Ireland team that defeated Englan ...

Cork Athletic

While playing for Cork Athletic, Courtney won two more

titles in 1949–50 and 1950–51. In 1950–51 he played in the first of three FAI Cup finals. Athletic beat Shelbourne 1–0 after a replay. In 1951–52 Athletic played

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. Courtney played in a 0–0 draw, but missed the replay which Athletic lost 3–0. In 1952–53 they won the first all-

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

FAI Cup final, beating

Evergreen United Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champ ...

2–1.

Representative Honours

Irish Army

In September 1944, the then Corporal Courtney participated in a 42 mile march that was later recognised as a world record for a speed march under peacetime conditions On 14 April 1946 Courtney played for an Irish Army XI that defeated an FAI XI 2–1. The Army team also included

Con Martin Cornelius Joseph Martin (20 March 1923 – 24 February 2013) was an Irish footballer. Martin initially played Gaelic football for the Dublin county team before switching codes and embarking on a successful soccer career, playing for, among oth ...

, Willie Fallon and

Ireland

In June 1946 Courtney was included in the

squad selected for an overseas tour featuring games against

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 ...

and

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 ...

. However, he was only included in the squad after Hugh Kelly withdrew. Courtney had to be driven from

in an

lorry in order to join up with the squad in time. He made his one and only appearance for Ireland against Portugal on 16 June 1946 at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...

. It was a less than memorable debut however. After just twenty minutes, Courtney had conceded three goals with Araujo, Rogerio and Peyroteo all scoring. He was also injured trying to save Portugal's third goal and had to be replaced by

after only thirty minutes. Ireland eventually lost 3–1. www.fai.ie
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Ned Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Cork United F.C. (1940–1948) players Cork Athletic F.C. players League of Ireland players Men's association football goalkeepers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football goalkeepers Gaelic footballers who switched code Dublin Gaelic footballers Irish Army officers 1997 deaths Year of birth missing Association footballers from County Dublin