Eamonn Gerard O'Keefe (born 13 October 1953) is an English-born Irish former professional

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 ...

. He played as a forward, but in later years was moved into a

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

role. He moved from non-league Stalybridge Celtic to Plymouth Argyle, and back into the non-league scene with

Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to play for Al-Hilal, before returning to England in 1976 to sign with

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...

. His 1978–79 Northern Premier League success at the club won him a move to Everton in 1979, before he was sold on to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

in 1982, who were on the verge of promotion into the Third Division. He switched to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

the next year, before penning a deal with Blackpool in 1985. His goals took the club out of the Fourth Division in 1984–85. In 1987, he was appointed player-manager at

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

, where he won the Munster Senior Cup and

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

in 1988. He moved to Chester City in 1989, after a spell with St Patrick's Athletic. He joined

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

the next year, before retiring in 1991. An England Semi-Pro international, he also won four under-21s caps for the Republic of Ireland. He also went on to win five senior caps between 1981 and 1985, scoring one goal at full international level.

Club career

O'Keefe was born and raised in

Blackley Blackley is a suburban area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is approximately north of Manchester city centre, on the River Irk. History The hamlet of Blackley was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name derives from ...

, in the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He went to school with

Mike Pickering Mike Pickering (born 21 February 1954) is an English musician and DJ. Career Pickering was a DJ at The Haçienda's Nude and Hot nights, and later Shine. He worked for Factory Records, where he signed Happy Mondays, To Hell with Burgundy and ...

, who later found fame as a musician. As a youth he was a

ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...

at Old Trafford, and was on course to join the Manchester United youth team when he broke his leg in a collision with David Allison, son of Malcolm Allison, in a regional schoolboy game. Upon his recovery he joined Stalybridge Celtic of the Cheshire County League, and playing as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

he won the club's Player of the Year award. This won him a chance in the Football League, and he turned down

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

to instead sign with Third Division club Plymouth Argyle in February 1974. He was told by manager

Tony Waiters Anthony Keith Waiters (1 February 1937 – 5 November 2020) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is better known for his coaching career in Canada. He managed the Vancouver Whitecaps to an NASL championship, and was in charg ...

that he would never be anything more than a fringe player in the professional game, who then allowed him to leave

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.Hyde United Hyde United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England. Formed in 1919, they were renamed Hyde F.C. between 2010 and 2015 as part of a sponsorship deal with Manchester City.1975–76 season. He scored on his Cheshire County League debut for the club, in a 5–3 defeat at

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and pla ...

. He scored four goals in a 6–3 victory over

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the we ...

Ewen Fields Ewen Fields in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, is the home ground of Hyde United F.C. and has also hosted Manchester City Reserves, Manchester United F.C. Reserves, Stockport County Reserves and Oldham Curzon Ladies. The stadium holds 4,250 ...

. In total he scored 19 goals in 36 appearances for the club. In November 1975 he flew out to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

for a trial at top-flight Al-Hilal, as manager George Smith, the man who had signed him at Stalybridge, offered him the chance to earn a tax-free contract in the oil-rich nation. He impressed on the trial and was offered a contract, this made him the first European to play professionally in Saudi Arabia. Club president Prince Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Saud bought O'Keefe a

Pontiac Ventura The Pontiac Ventura was an automobile model that was produced by Pontiac. As was common practice at the time, its name was derived from Ventura, California, joining other similarly derived models such as the fellow Pontiac Catalina, the Chevrolet ...

, before taking the young player on a luxurious tour of Europe, visiting five star hotels in London, Paris,

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

, and Rome, before returning to

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

for the start of the new Saudi season of football. However, on the trip he asked O'Keefe to give up his football career to become his lover, and was refused. As Prince Abdullah was such as a wealthy and powerful man in Saudi Arabia (a member of the House of Saud), O'Keefe fled the country, fearing for his safety. As he needed Prince Abdullah's permission to leave the country, O'Keefe had to convince him that he was only going to stay in England for one week so as to visit his ill father (who was in fact in good health). Upon his return he informed

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

, who gave him advice after forming an emergency meeting. As the Saudi affair was being resolved,

manager Bob Murphy offered O'Keefe a contract at the Northern Premier League club. In December 1976, he duly signed for Mossley after the Saudi club eventually agreed to release him from his contract.

Howard Wilkinson Howard Wilkinson (born 13 November 1943) is an English former footballer and manager. Despite having a low-profile playing career, Wilkinson embarked on a successful managerial career. He won the First Division championship in 1992 with Leeds ...

was appointed as Mossley's manager in 1976, only for Murphy to return the following year. Wilkinson used O'Keefe as a left-back, though Murphy decided to play him an attacking midfielder due to his 'pace, power and eye for goal'. Under Murphy, the club won the Northern Premier League and Premier League Cup double in 1978–79 – this was the club's first significant success in seventy years. A part-time player, he also worked as a van driver for the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

''. O'Keefe was snapped up by

Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to: *Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials *Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia *Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...

at First Division Everton for a £25,000 fee. He received a red card in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

, after a late challenge on

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...

. He played in the derby again on 24 January 1981, in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Third Round clash, and unwittingly set up

Imre Varadi Imre Varadi (born 8 July 1959) is an English former professional footballer, known as a journeyman forward who appeared for 16 different clubs at all levels of professional football in England. Playing career Varadi was born in Paddington, L ...

for the "Toffees" second goal of a 2–1 win. He went on to score the only goal of the Fourth Round Replay against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, 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 ...

. However Manchester City knocked Everton out at the quarter-final stage, whilst O'Keefe broke his leg in a game against Manchester United. O'Keefe managed to recover in time for the club's pre-season tour of Japan and the United States, and was rewarded with a new two-year contract. However, he found himself on the bench in the 1981–82 season under new manager

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

, and put in a transfer request. He was then transferred to

for a £65,000 fee in January 1982, signing a four-year contract. Under manager

Larry Lloyd Laurence Valentine Lloyd (born 6 October 1948) is an English retired association football central defender and manager. He won domestic and European honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the 1970s. ...

the "Latics" won promotion out of the Fourth Division in third place in 1981–82. He helped Wigan to consolidate their Third Division status in 1982–83, but was transfer-listed after the club went into liquidation, his wages being too high for the club to sustain. In July 1983, John McGrath's

paid £10,000 for his services. With eleven goals in 43 games, he was the club's top scorer and

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

in his debut season. The day after picking up his award he put in a transfer request because Vale had been

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. O'Keefe had also taken a dislike towards new manager

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, as well as the lengthy daily commute from his home to

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

. During the following season he played less regularly, but carried two children to safety when a perimeter fence collapsed during an

2–1 win at

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

on 17 November 1984. On 25 March 1985, he refused to play for the "Vale" against

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 count ...

because he was due to play for his country the following night. Three days later, on 28 March, he joined Sam Ellis's Blackpool for £17,500; having decided to turn down a move to Preston North End. He made his debut for the "Seasiders" two days later, in a 4–2 victory over

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...

, scoring Blackpool's fourth goal. With Blackpool second in the table, he then scored against leaders

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in his second appearance for the club. He went on to score four more goals in ten games before the end of the campaign, at which point Blackpool won promotion to Third Division. The following season, 1985–86, O'Keefe scored seventeen goals in nineteen league starts (including a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

on 1 October 1985). With seventeen goals, he finished the season as the club's top scorer. After only two games in 1986–87, O'Keefe announced his retirement from professional football due to injury. His final game for Blackpool came on 6 September 1986, in a 2–1 home defeat by Carlisle United. He was awarded a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

as the summer wound down, with First Division champions Everton visiting Bloomfield Road. He repaid the favour in August 1987, when O'Keefe organized a fun run in order to raise £15,000 for Blackpool F.C. – the club were in great financial trouble at the time. Upon the recommendation of

Harry McNally Harold McNally (7 July 1936 – 12 December 2004) was an English football player, coach and manager, noted for his spells as manager of Wigan Athletic and Chester City. The Non-League Background Unusually for a Football League manager, McNall ...

, O'Keefe was appointed as manager of

, a club in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He appointed former Blackpool coach Billy Haydock as his assistant, and signed Blackpool goalkeeper

Phil Harrington Philip Harrington (born 23 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach at Cork City in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Career Although he was born in Bangor, Har ...

for a small fee. Also coming out of retirement as a player, his team won the pre-season Munster Senior Cup. He then signed former Stoke City defender Alan Dodd on a month-long deal. O'Keefe also doubled up as the club's commercial manager, and he arranged four Sportsman's Dinner events, with special guests as

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

, Sir Alex Ferguson,

Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times betw ...

, and

Emlyn Hughes Emlyn Walter Hughes (28 August 1947 – 9 November 2004) was an English footballer. He started his career at Blackpool in 1964 before moving to Liverpool in 1967. He made 665 appearances for Liverpool and captained the side to three league ti ...

. The club finished in seventh place in 1987–88 and lifted the

. Cork were heading to another mid-table place finish in 1988–89 when O'Keefe was sacked. Cork terminated his contract to cut costs, as the directors were forced to subsidise the club out of their own pockets. Following his dismissal he turned out for Brian Kerr's St Patrick's Athletic in a handful of games. In March 1989, he came out of professional retirement to sign for Chester City, then managed by friend and former colleague Harry McNally. The signing was delayed due to lengthy negotiations with the Football League over his insurance payout from two years earlier. He was also appointed as the club's commercial manager, and attempted to form a

football pool In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may encou ...

for the entire Football League, in conjunction with the FA and the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

''; however he could not break the Littlewoods monopoly due to a law that specifically banned newspapers from becoming involved in a pools game – O'Keefe believed that this arrangement "reeked of corruption". On the playing side, his Chester debut came at his former club, Blackpool, on 18 March 1989; he came off the bench to score in a 1–1 draw, denying Blackpool two points in their battle against relegation. Although he appeared in every game until the end of the season and became the club's

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

taker, O'Keefe only featured in three more matches in 1989–90 and drifted out of professional football circles, signing for

International career

O'Keefe became an England semi-pro international, playing against Scotland and the Netherlands in a tournament in May 1979, scoring the winning goal against the Dutch in the final. In January 1981, the FAI arranged for him to be given an Irish passport; he qualified for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

due to the fact that his father was born in Ireland. He made his debut in a 3–1 defeat to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

in Dublin. After the game, he was informed by FIFA that he would not be permitted to play another international games as he had voided himself from the Ireland team due to his England semi-pro appearances, and that he had voided himself from the England team due to his appearance for Ireland. In summer 1983, FIFA agreed to grant him permission to play for Ireland again, so he travelled to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

in France, to play as over-age player with the Republic of Ireland under-21s in a friendly tournament. His four goals against the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

made him the competition's leading scorer, and his performances in his three other games impressed the management team of

Eoin Hand Eoin Kevin Joseph Colin Hand (born 30 March 1946) is an Irish former footballer and football manager. As a player, his normal position was centre-half. He works as a television and radio football commentator for RTÉ in Ireland. Playing career ...

and

Terry Conroy Gerard Anthony Francis Conroy (born 2 October 1946) is an Irish former professional footballer. A winger and forward, he scored 74 goals in 372 league and cup appearances in a 14-year career in the English Football League from 1967 to 1981. ...

enough to win him a place in the senior team. He was selected to play for the Ireland senior team in the 1984

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

, and scored the only goal of the semi-final tie with China. However the Irish lost 2–1 to Brazilian side

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...

in the final. He also played in a 1–0 win over the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in a World Cup qualifier at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

on 12 September 1984, as he came on for

Mickey Walsh Michael Anthony Walsh (born 13 August 1954) is a former professional footballer who works as a football agent. A striker, he spent his club career in England and Portugal. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team ...

as an 80th-minute substitute. On 26 March 1985, he played for Ireland in a friendly against

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 b ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

; the English won 2–1, with

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...

scoring his first international goal. This would be the last of his five senior caps.

Legacy and personal life

O'Keefe was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...

in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; O'Keefe is in the 1980s. After retiring from football he became a social worker, helping adults with disabilities and special needs, as well as children in care. O'Keefe lived in the Portuguese town of

Vilamoura Vilamoura is a coastal resort in the Loulé municipality in Algarve, Portugal. It is one of the three corners of Algarve's Golden Triangle. Vilamoura comprises one of the largest single tourist complexes in Europe and with about 2,000 hectares ...

, where he worked for Monarch Property Group, with his wife, Lorna. His son, Paul, was a youth team player at Manchester United, but he failed to make the grade and never turned professional. As of April 2019, O'Keefe was semi-retired, living near Manchester and working part-time for former club Everton.

Autobiography

In 2010, he released his autobiography, entitled ''... I Only Wanted to Play Football''. The foreword is written by Fred Eyre, his manager at Stalybridge Celtic. He decided to write the book under persuasion by wife Lorna, who also edited it.

Career statistics

Club statistics

Source:

International statistics

Honours

Individual * Stalybridge Celtic F.C. Player of the Year: 1974 *

Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited t ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Mossley * Northern Premier League: 1978–79 *Premier League Cup: 1979 Wigan Athletic * Football League Fourth Division promotion (in third place): 1981–82 Blackpool * Football League Fourth Division promotion (as runners-up): 1984–85 Cork City * Munster Senior Cup: 1988 *

: 1988

References

Specific

General

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Eamon 1953 births Living people Footballers from Manchester 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Association football forwards Republic of Ireland association footballers England semi-pro international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Al Hilal SFC players Mossley A.F.C. players Everton F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Cork City F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Northern Premier League players English Football League players Saudi Professional League players League of Ireland players Association football player-managers English football managers Cork City F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Chester City F.C. non-playing staff Everton F.C. non-playing staff Irish autobiographers