Tommy Donnelly is an Irish former

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 played for Drumcondra, Shamrock Rovers 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 ...

. When Donnelly played as an international 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. Donnelly was one of several players born in Northern Ireland who benefited from the FAI's attempts to establish their all-Ireland influence. He made 2 appearances and scored 1 goal for the FAI XI. Together with fellow Northerner, Mick Hoy, he made his international debut in a 3–2 away defeat to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

on 10 October 1937, in a qualifier for the

1938 World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...

. Donnelly won his first cap while with Drumcondra and subsequently joined Shamrock Rovers. He made his second appearance for the FAI XI on 18 September 1938 in a friendly against Switzerland and scored the fourth goal in 4–0 win. The other goalscorers that day were

Paddy Bradshaw Paddy Bradshaw (16 March 1912 –11 March 1963) was an Irish footballer who played for St James's Gate and Shelbourne in the League of Ireland. Bradshaw was something of a late bloomer, making his League of Ireland debut at the age of 26, bef ...

and Connelly's Rovers teammate,

Jimmy Dunne James Dunne (3 September 1905 – 14 November 1949) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton. Dunne was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams: ...

. Despite getting on the score sheet against the Swiss, Donnelly later lost his place to

Kevin O'Flanagan Kevin Patrick O'Flanagan (10 June 1919 – 26 May 2006) was an Irish sportsman, physician and sports administrator. An outstanding all-rounder, he represented his country at both soccer and rugby union. He was also a noted sprinter and long jum ...

and was released by Rovers shortly afterwards.

Honours

Shamrock Rovers *

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 ...

**''Winners'' 1937-38: 1 *

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 ...

**''Winners'' 1937-38: 1 * Leinster Senior Cup **''Winners'' 1938: 1

Sources

*''The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Rya

External links

Ireland stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Tommy People from Enniskillen Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers from Northern Ireland Ireland (FAI) international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Drumcondra F.C. players Possibly living people Year of birth missing Irish Free State international footballers Association football forwards