Thomas Aherne (26 January 1919 – 30 December 1999), also referred to as Bud Aherne, 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 ...

and hurler. He played football for

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for polit ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and was a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI 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. As a hurler he also played one game for

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 2 ...

. After retiring as a player Aherne settled in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

where he coached the

youth team, worked in the local car industry and ran a very successful licensed premises. He also continued to visit

regularly and remained healthy and active until he was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

in the mid-1990s. He died in December 1999 at the age of 80 and was survived by his wife, Eileen, two sons, Pat and Brian, and three daughters, Maura, Trisha and Catherine.

Club career

Early years

Aherne was born in

, Ireland. As a youth, he initially emerged as a prominent hurler with Treaty Sarsfields and also played one game for

. However he subsequently decided to concentrate on football and began his senior career with Limerick United where his teammates included

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 ...

. During the Second World War, Aherne served in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

and was stationed at

Crosshaven Crosshaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in lower Cork Harbour at the mouth of the River Owenabue, across from Currabinny Wood. Originally a fishing village, from the 19th century, the economy of the area became more re ...

. His impressive performances 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 ...

attracted attention and in 1946 he was signed by

Belfast Celtic

While at

, Aherne played alongside Jackie Vernon,

Billy McMillan William McMillan (died 1991) was an Irish footballer who played for Belfast Celtic, Ballymena United and Crusaders. McMillan played for an IFA selection and the senior team of the FAI. Club career McMillan joined Belfast Celtic in 1932 and ...

Robin Lawler Joseph "Robin" Lawler (20 August 1925 – 17 April 1998) was an Irish professional footballer. From Dublin, he began his career with Home Farm. He later played with Distillery F.C., Drumcondra and Transport F.C., as well as for Drums in th ...

and Johnny Campbell and helped them win the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

in 1947 and an Irish League title in 1948. Aherne was also at Celtic during the infamous

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

riot which broke out during a game against local rivals Linfield. Within a few months, Aherne had left Celtic and signed for

. However, in May 1949, Aherne temporarily rejoined Celtic for their final tour before the club disbanded. Together with McMillan, Campbell, Lawlor, guest player

Mick O'Flanagan Mick O'Flanagan (29 September 1922 – 13 September 2015) was an Irish former sportsman who represented his country at both soccer and rugby union. As a soccer player, O'Flanagan played for, among others, Home Farm, Bohemians and Belfast Ce ...

and manager

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

, he went on the Celtic tour of the North America. The highlight of the 10 game tour came on 29 May when Celtic beat the reigning British champions,

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 ...

, 2–0.

Luton Town

Aherne signed for

in March 1949 for a fee of £6,000 and made his English League debut on 19 March in a 2–1 away defeat to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. Despite the fact he was over 30 when he joined Luton, he quickly established himself as a regular. Aherne played competitive football into his late thirties and was an ever-present during the 1954–55 season when Luton won promotion to

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...

. After playing 288 games for Luton, including 267 in the league, he only retired after a hairline fracture of the ankle ended his career. Even then he continued to play for a local league team, Luton Celtic, into his forties.

Irish international

When Aherne began his international career in 1946 there were in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

-based

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

and the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

-based Football Association of Ireland, 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 Aherne played for both teams.

FAI XI

Between 1946 and 1953 Aherne made 16 appearances for the FAI XI. He made his FAI debut in June 1946 during an Iberian tour, playing in both the 3–1 defeat to

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 16 June and then helping the FAI XI gain a surprise 1–0 victory 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") , ...

on 23 June. He remained a regular in the FAI XI throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s and featured prominently in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 World Cup. He was also a member of the FAI XI that defeated

2–0 at

, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. On 16 November 1953, during a 1–1 draw with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Aherne briefly became involved in controversy. Although only a friendly, the game quickly became heated and at one point, Aherne chased

Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa (né Kopaszewski; 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three Eu ...

down the tunnel after play had been stopped for a foul. Kopa allegedly ran for his life after upsetting Aherne once too often. The FAI selectors were not impressed and Aherne was told a repeat would end his international career. As it turned out he made only one more appearance for the FAI XI. That came on 4 October 1953 in 5–3 defeat against

during a qualifier for the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

IFA XI

Between 1946 and 1950, Aherne also made 6 appearances for the IFA XI. These include two Victory internationals played in early 1946. On 2 February at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Li ...

he made his debut for the IFA XI in a 3–2 defeat to

. Then on 4 May he helped the IFA XI defeat

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 ...

1–0 at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixtu ...

. On 28 September 1946 Aherne also played for the IFA XI in a heavy defeat to

. The highlight of career with the IFA XI came on 4 October 1947 when he helped them gain a 2–0 win against Scotland. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with Wales on 8 March 1950. As well as being part of the

1950 British Home Championship Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, the game also doubled up as a qualifier for the 1950 World Cup. Aherne, together with Con Martin,

Reg Ryan Reginald Alphonso Ryan (30 October 1925 – 13 February 1997), also referred to as Paddy Ryan, was an Irish footballer who played for West Bromwich Albion, Derby County and Coventry City. Ryan was also a dual international, playing for both ...

and

, was one of four players from the Republic, included in the IFA XI that day and as a result he played for two different associations in the same

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

tournament. This situation eventually led to intervention by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

and as a result Aherne became one of the last four

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

-born players to play for the IFA XI. Aherne died in

, England, aged 80.

Honours

''Player'' Belfast Celtic * Irish League **''Winners'' 1947–48: 1 *

: **''Winners'' 1947: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1949: 1 Luton Town *

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'' 1954–55: 1

Sources

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

*''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rolli

External links

Northern Ireland Footballing Greats Ireland (FAI) stats''Tom 'Bud' Aherne in 'Soccer Players' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aherne, Tommy 1919 births 1999 deaths Belfast Celtic F.C. players Dual Irish international footballers League of Ireland players Association football defenders Ireland (FAI) international footballers Irish Army soldiers NIFL Premiership players Limerick F.C. players Limerick inter-county hurlers Treaty Sarsfield hurlers Luton Town F.C. players Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers English Football League players Association footballers from County Limerick Irish League representative players Ireland (IFA) wartime international footballers