Peter Desmond Farrell (16 August 1922 – 16 March 1999) 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, rugb ...

who played as a right-half for, among others,

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 ...

, Everton and

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

. As an international, Farrell also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1949 he was a member of the FAI XI that defeated

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 ...

2–0 at

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 ...

, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. Farrell's playing career followed a similar path to that of

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

. As well as teaming up at international level, they also played together at three clubs.

Club career

Shamrock Rovers

Farrell was born and raised in the Convent Road area of Dalkey and was educated at Harold Boy's National School and the Christian Brothers in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, which he won a scholarship to. He was playing football with Cabinteely Schoolboys when spotted by a

scout and subsequently joined Rovers on his 17th birthday in August 1939. Among his early team-mates was the veteran

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: th ...

. With a team that also included Jimmy Kelly,

Jimmy McAlinden James McAlinden (27 December 1917 – 15 November 1993) was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for several clubs, most notably, Belfast Celtic, Portsmouth, Shamrock Rovers and Southend United. As an international, McAlinden also played ...

and

Paddy Coad Paddy Coad (14 April 1920 – 8 March 1992) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a forward for Waterford, Glenavon, Shamrock Rovers and Ireland. Although known, primarily, as a maker of goals, Coad scored 126 goals in the L ...

, Farrell later helped Rovers reach three successive

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

finals. They won the competition in 1944 and 1945 and finished as runners up in 1946.

Everton

In July 1946, together with

, Farrell signed for Everton. In eleven seasons with the club he played 421 league games and scored 14 goals. He also played a further 31 games in the

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 compet ...

and scored a further 4 goals. In 1951 he was appointed Everton captain and during the 1953–54 season he led them to the runners up place in the Second Division, thus gaining promotion to the First Division. During his time with the club his teammates, apart from Eglington, also included

Alex Stevenson Alexander Ernest Stevenson (9 August 1912 – 2 September 1985) was an Irish footballer who played for Rangers and Everton, amongst other teams. As an international, Stevenson also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...

, Peter Corr,

Harry Catterick Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...

Wally Fielding Wally Fielding (26 November 1919 – 18 January 2008) was a professional footballer from 1945 until 1960. In 1945, after leaving the Army, Fielding was signed by Everton manager Theo Kelly having been a youth amateur player for Charlton Athleti ...

, Tommy E. Jones,

Brian Labone Brian Leslie Labone (23 January 1940 – 24 April 2006) was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championship ...

and

Dave Hickson David Hickson (30 October 1929 – 8 July 2013) was an English professional footballer who played for Everton, Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town, Liverpool, Cambridge City, Bury and Tranmere Rovers Club career Hickson started his football c ...

. He was never sent off during his spell at

Later years

Farrell left Everton in October 1957 and followed

where he became player-manager. He played 114 league games for Tranmere, before leaving in December 1960. After a spell as manager at

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 19 ...

, Farrell became manager of Holyhead Town and, helped by a number of former Everton and Tranmere players, he guided them to the Welsh League (North) title. In September 1967 Farrell signed a one-year contract to manage

St. Patrick's Athletic F.C. St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Ir ...

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He managed Pats in their 1967-68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup ties against

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (de ...

but resigned in March 1968. He also managed his own insurance business.

Ireland international

When Farrell began his international career in 1946 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 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 Farrell, played for both teams.

FAI XI

Farrell made 28 appearances and scored three goals for the FAI XI. While still at

, he captained the FAI XI on his international debut on 16 June 1946, against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. On 21 September 1949, together with Johnny Carey and Con Martin, he was a member of the FAI XI that defeated

2–0 at

, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. After Martin had put the FAI XI ahead with a penalty in the 33rd minute, Farrell made victory certain in the 85th minute. Tommy O'Connor slipped the ball to Farrell and as the English goalkeeper

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He is credited as being ...

advanced, Farrell lofted the ball into the unguarded net. He scored his second goal for the FAI XI on 9 October 1949 a in 1–1 draw with

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, 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 ...

. His third goal came on 30 May 1951 as Farrell scored the opening goal in a 3–2 win against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

IFA XI

Farrell also made seven appearances for the IFA XI between 1946 and 1949. On 27 November 1946 he made his debut for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

. Together with Johnny Carey, Con Martin,

Bill Gorman William Charles Gorman (13 July 1911 – December 1978) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Bury and Brentford. Gorman was a dual internationalist who also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In Sep ...

and

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 dual ...

, he was one of seven players born in 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 ...

to play for the IFA XI that day. The draw helped the team finish as runners-up in the

1947 British Home Championship It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. Farrell also helped the IFA XI gain some other respectable results, including a 2–0 win against

on 4 October 1947 and a 2–2 draw with

on 5 November 1947.

Honours

''Player'' Shamrock Rovers *

**''Winners'' 1944, 1945: 2 Ireland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

**''Runners Up'' 1946–47 1 Everton *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

**''Runners Up'' 1953–54 ''Manager'' Holyhead Town * Welsh League (North) **''Winners'' 1962: 1

Sources

*''Who's Who of Everton'' (2004): Tony Matthew

*''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Rya

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
*
Ireland (FAI) Stats Profile at Everton fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Peter 1922 births 1999 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin People from Dalkey Sportspeople from Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers League of Ireland players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Holyhead Town F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. managers Drogheda United F.C. managers Republic of Ireland association football managers League of Ireland managers St Patrick's Athletic F.C. managers Tranmere Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland XI players Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football wing halves People educated at C.B.C. Monkstown