Peter Kavanagh (1910–15 February 1993) 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, rugb ...

who played for, among others, Bohemians and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

. Kavanagh was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. After leaving Celtic, Kavanagh had spells with several clubs before finishing his career with a works team prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He eventually settled in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

where he died on 15 February 1993.

Club career

Bohemians

Kavanagh played junior football in the Drumcondra area of

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 ...

before signing for Bohemians in 1927. Bohs manager, an ex- Rangers player, Bobby Parker, put the teenage Kavanagh straight into the first team. Together with Jack McCarthy,

Harry Cannon Henry James Cannon (11 July 1897 – 16 March 1944) was an Irish football player during the 1920s and 1930s. Bohemians Cannon was a goalkeeper during this era in the League of Ireland and spent most of his career with Bohemians. He captained ...

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

Jimmy Bermingham Jimmy Bermingham was an Irish footballer who played as forward during the 1920s and 1930s. Bermingham was an outside right during this era in the League of Ireland and was part of the Bohemians team of 1927/28 who won every trophy on offer tha ...

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and

Christy Robinson Christopher "Christy" Robinson (1902 – 21 February 1954) was an Irish soccer player during the 1920s and 1930s. Robinson was a skilful inside forward during this era in the League of Ireland and was part of the All-Conquering Bohemians te ...

, he was a prominent member of the successful amateur Bohs team during the late 1920s. During the 1927–28 season they won a quartet of trophies including 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 use ...

title, 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 ...

, the

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

and Leinster Senior Cup.Bohemian FC match programme, Vol. 53, no. 17 In April 1928 he also played in a prestige friendly for Bohs against

. While at Bohs, Kavanagh also played twice for the

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 ...

. In October 1928 he scored twice as they defeated a Welsh League XI, 4–3 at

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 ...

. Then in October 1929 he played against an

Irish League XI The Irish League representative team was the representative side of the Irish Football League, the national league for football in Northern Ireland from 1922 and, prior to that the league for Ireland. The Irish League was suspended from 1941–42 ...

, losing 2–1.

Celtic

In April 1929 Kavanagh signed for

and made his

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

debut in 2–1 win over Hearts on 10 August 1929. He then scored his first goal for the club two weeks later against

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

. Despite an initial bright start at Celtic, Kavanagh subsequently lost his first team place and was released by the club in May 1932.

Irish international

When Kavanagh played international football between 1929 and 1930, 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. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Kavanagh played for both teams.

IFA XI

On 19 October 1929 at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Li ...

, Kavanagh made his one and only appearance for the IFA XI in a 3–0 defeat to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. His teammates on the day included

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

and

Joe Bambrick Joseph Gardiner Absolom Bambrick (3 November 1905 – 13 October 1983) was a Northern Irish footballer who played for Chelsea, Walsall, Glentoran, and Linfield. A former gas worker of medium build, he was a prolific goalscorer in the Irish L ...

. In 1931 he turned down the offer of a second cap from IFA to play for the FAI XI against

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") , ...

FAI XI

In 1931 Kavanagh he also played twice for the FAI XI against

. On 26 April 1931 he helped an FAI XI that also included Tom Farquharson,

Paddy Moore Paddy Moore (4 August 1909 – 24 July 1951) was an Irish professional footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers and Aberdeen. Moore was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...

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and

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 ...

gain a respectable 1–1 draw at the Montjuic Stadium in Barcelona. In the dying seconds of the game, Kavanagh almost won the game for the FAI XI. Just after Farquharson had saved a penalty, he kicked the ball out to Kavanagh, who then made a break down the wing. However, as the Spanish goalkeeper,

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Catala ...

advanced, his shot hit the post and went wide. He made his second and last appearance for the FAI XI in the return game against Spain on 13 December 1931 at Dalymount Park. This time however, Spain easily won 5–0.

Honours

Bohemians

**''Winners'' 1927–28: 1 *

**''Winners'' 1928: 1 * Leinster Senior Cup **''Winners'' 1928: 1 *

**''Winners'' 1927–28, 1928–29: 2

References

*''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Rya

External links

Northern Ireland Footballing Greats Irish Free State statsPeter Kavanagh
www.ihibs.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Peter 1910 births 1993 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Bohemian F.C. players League of Ireland players Celtic F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Scottish Football League players League of Ireland XI players Irish Free State association footballers Men's association football outside forwards