Thomas Roderick "Rory" Keane (born

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Republic of Ireland, 31 August 1922; died Swansea, Wales, 13 February 2004) 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 ...

who spent most of his career at Swansea Town. A hard-tackling defender, he is still regarded as one of Swansea's greatest ever players. Keane was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. Two broken legs limited his international career to just five caps and he eventually retired after breaking his leg for a third time. Keane then settled in south Wales where he lived until his death in 2004. His grandson, Jamie Harris is also a notable footballer. He began his career with

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ...

and has also played for several clubs in 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 ...

Club career

Keane began his career with

side

. In June 1947, he signed for Swansea Town and quickly became a firm favourite with Swans fans. Keane was part of a strong Irish contingent playing for the club at the time. Others included

Jackie O'Driscoll John Francis O'Driscoll (20 September 1921 – 11 March 1988), commonly referred to as Jackie O'Driscoll, is a former Irish footballer who played as a winger for several teams in the League of Ireland. He also played for Swansea Town. O'Dris ...

Jim Feeney James McBurney Feeney (23 June 1921 – March 1985) was a Northern Irish professional footballer. During his career he made almost 100 appearances for Swansea City and over 200 appearances for Ipswich Town. Feeney's son and grandson, both named ...

and

Sammy McCrory Samuel McKee McCrory (11 October 1924 – 4 May 2011) was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, most notably spending five years with Southend United and scoring the first goal at their Roots Hall stadium. Club career McCrory was born ...

. The team also included

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

internationals

Jack Parry Brynley John Parry (11 January 1924 – 20 January 2010) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career he made almost 100 appearances for Swansea Town and 138 appearances for Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professio ...

and

Roy Paul Roy Paul (18 April 1920 – 21 May 2002) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a half-back for Swansea Town and Manchester City. He also represented the Welsh national team over 30 times and is regarded as one of Wales' best ever ...

and was one of the club's most successful sides of all time. Together they won the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

title in impressive style in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

. They regularly playing to crowds of up to 30,000 and were promoted as champions after winning 27 games during the season, including 17 successive wins at home and 6 successive away wins. They had a goal difference of 45. Keane also helped Swansea reach two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...

finals and collected a winners medal after they beat

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

4–1 in the 1950 final. After 164 league games for Swansea, he went on to play for

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

in the Southern League and

Haverfordwest County Haverfordwest County Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Sir Hwlffordd) is a Welsh semi-professional football team based in Haverfordwest, Wales. They currently play in the Cymru Premier, the top flight of Welsh football. The club ...

and Pembroke Borough in the

Welsh League The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournam ...

Irish international

When Keane began his international career in 1948 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based IFA and the Republic of Ireland – 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 Keane, played for both teams.

IFA XI

On 17 November 1948, Keane made his international debut with the IFA XI in a 3–2 defeat against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

. His teammates on the day included several fellow dual internationalists, including another Swan,

and another former

player,

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016), commonly referred to as Davy Walsh or Dave Walsh, was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dua ...

, who scored both goals for the IFA XI. This, however, was Keane's one and only appearance for the IFA XI.

FAI XI

Between 1948 and 1949, Keane also made 4 appearances for the FAI XI. He won his first FAI cap on 5 December 1948, in a 1–0 defeat in a friendly against Switzerland 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 ...

. He also played for the FAI XI on 22 May 1949, in another friendly at Dalymount against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and helped the FAI XI win 1–0. He won his third FAI XI cap on 2 June 1949, in a 3–1 away defeat against Sweden. This was a qualifier for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

. He made his final appearance for the FAI XI on 12 June 1949, in a 4–1 home defeat 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") , ...

. Ireland (FAI) stats
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Honours

Swansea Town *

**''Winners'' 1948–49: 1 *

**''Winners'' 1949–50: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1948–49: 1

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Rory 1922 births 2004 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers League of Ireland players Swansea City A.F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Association footballers from County Limerick Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players Men's association football defenders Pembroke Borough A.F.C. players