Richard Patrick McEvoy (born 6 August 1967) is a Gibraltarian born Irish retired

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 ...

Career

A schoolboys international from Patrician College Finglas McEvoy along with

Martin Russell Martin Russell is an English recording engineer, record producer, composer, and musician. He has been a core member of the music group Afro Celt Sound System since the recording of the first album '' Volume 1: Sound Magic'' in mid-1995, and has ...

helped his school win the Leinster Junior Schools Cup and the All Ireland Colleges Junior title for the first time in 1983. McEvoy scoring in both finals. He was spotted by Luton scout Eddie Cochrane while playing for the national schoolboy team. McEvoy played for the

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

youth team against Iceland in the qualifiers for the

1986 UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1986 Final Tournament was held in Yugoslavia. It also served as the European qualification for the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship. Teams The following teams qualified for the tournament: * * * * ...

in November 1985. Future Rovers teammate Wayne Cooney scored in this 2–0 win. In the

1986–87 Football League The 1986– 87 season was the 88th completed season of The Football League. Play-offs to determine promotion places were introduced in 1987 so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time ...

season where Luton finished 7th in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

McEvoy made one appearance as a substitute against Watford F.C. in the M1

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

St. Stephen's Day Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Chr ...

1986. He was then loaned to

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

Cambridge United where he scored one goal in 11 league appearances, which he scored at Turf Moor on 4 April 1987. The following season he appeared once for Luton in the Full Members Cup at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. On the back of his great form he was called up to the Ireland U21 team for the 1989 Toulon Tournament. Despite an offer of a one-year contract from

Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

, McEvoy returned home to sign for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

in August 1988. McEvoy played in Rovers first game at the RDS Arena on 30 September 1990. In his last game for The Hoops, McEvoy scored from a free kick against Waterford United for the RDS on 30 December 1990. He scored a total of 15 goals in 97 total appearances for The Hoops. He moved on loan to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

in February 1991. McEvoy signed for defending Champions

Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...

in June 1991. McEvoy scored in a

1991–92 European Cup The 1991–92 European Cup was the 37th season of the UEFA Champions League, European Cup association football, football club tournament. It was the first European Cup to have a group stage, from which the winning clubs progressed to the final. 19 ...

tie at Budapest Honvéd FC. For the Lilywhites, McEvoy scored a total of 7 goals. In October 1992 McEvoy moved to Bangor F.C., during the best season in their history, with Paul Byrne. They won the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

and the

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

with McEvoy scoring in the latter final. He made 2 appearances in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

scoring once against

APOEL F.C. APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

for the

1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1993–94 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by English club Arsenal, who beat defending champions Parma in the final. The tournament would be renamed to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Teams Lithuania, Latvia, Es ...

. This goal was the Seasiders' debut goal in European competition. In July 1996 he returned to the League of Ireland signing for Home Farm and scoring against Norwich City in a pre-season

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

. McEvoy was a natural two-footed player with superb passing ability, dribbling skills and shooting power but had disciplinary problems and a lack of consistency. During his spell at Rovers he was considered the best midfielder in the League.

Honours

: ** Bangor F.C. – 1992–93 *

: ** Bangor F.C. – 1992–93 * Ulster Cup: ** Bangor F.C. – 1994–95 *

Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Count ...

: ** Bangor F.C. – 1995–96 * Irish FA Charity Shield: ** Bangor F.C. – 1993–94 (shared)

Notes

General references

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McEvoy, Ricky 1967 births Living people Gibraltarian men's footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Men's association football midfielders Luton Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players English Football League players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Bangor F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Stella Maris F.C. players Belvedere F.C. players Monaghan United F.C. players