William Kennedy Gibson (1 October 1876 – 9 December 1949) 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 le ...

and political activist.

Football career

Although born in Glasgow, Gibson's family were from Belfast, and Gibson moved there at a young age.Shamrock on Blue
Scots Football Worldwide
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats, 10 December 2006 He was noted as a talented footballer who played for

Cliftonville F.C. Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership – the top division of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club was founded in September 1879 by John ...

while still at school.Neal Garnham, ''Association football and society in pre-partition Ireland'', pp.153-158 He also spent time in the north-east of England and played with local teams on an amateur basis, including

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, for whom he made one appearance in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in the 1901–02 season when the club finished as English champions. He played thirteen matches for the Ireland national team from 1894 to 1902, making his debut aged 17, scoring once (against England) and captaining the side on four occasions. He won numerous honours with Cliftonville, including the Irish Cup in 1897 and 1901, before becoming President of the club, then becoming active in its management.

Political career

Outside football, Gibson worked as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, and he provided legal advice to the Irish Football Association, becoming its vice-chairman in 1907. In 1909, he was elected to the

Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

as an independent Unionist, with the support of the Belfast Citizens' Association. He defeated future Lord Mayor of Belfast William George Turner, who had the unofficial backing of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. Gibson stood again as an independent Unionist in Belfast Ballynafeigh at the

1929 Northern Ireland general election The 1929 Northern Ireland general election was held on 22 May 1929. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. It was the first held after the abolition of prop ...

, but he was narrowly defeated by Thomas Moles, the official Unionist candidate.Neil Garnham, "

Association football and politics Association football and politics are connected in club identities, clashes, and footballers who choose a career in politics. Association football has played a role in maintaining the differences which give each European country a distinct identity ...

in Belfast: the careers of William Kennedy Gibson", ''International Journal of the History of Sport'', Vol.16, No.1, March 1999, pp.128–136

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, William Kennedy 1876 births 1949 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Politicians from Belfast Irish association footballers (before 1923) Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Solicitors from Northern Ireland Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Scottish footballers Scottish people of Irish descent Cliftonville F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players English Football League players Members of Belfast City Council Association footballers not categorized by position Association footballers from Belfast NIFL Premiership players Irish League representative players