John Francis O'Driscoll (20 September 1921 – 11 March 1988) 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 lea ...

who played as a winger for several teams in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

. He also played for Swansea Town. O'Driscoll was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI.

Irish international

When O'Driscoll began his international career in 1948 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 Act ...

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 O'Driscoll, played for both teams.

IFA XI

Between 1948 and 1949 O'Driscoll made 3 appearances for the IFA XI. On 9 October 1948 he made his international debut for the IFA XI in a 6–2 defeat against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. On 17 November 1948 he made his second appearance for the IFA XI in a 3–2 defeat against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 9 March 1949 in a 2–0 defeat.

FAI XI

Between 1948 and 1949 O'Driscoll also made 3 appearances for the FAI XI. He won his first cap on 5 December 1948 in a 1–0 defeat in a friendly

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. He also played for the FAI XI on 24 April 1949 in another friendly at Dalymount against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. This time the FAI XI lost 2–0. He won his final FAI XI cap on 2 June 1949 a in 3–1 away defeat against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, a qualifier for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

Honours

Player

Waterford *

runner-up: 1940–41 *

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

runner-up: 1941 Cork United *

: 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46 *

: 1947; runner-up: 1943 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield 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 and was seen as the third most imp ...

: 1943 * Munster Senior Cup: 1945, 1946, 1947 Swansea Town *

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

: 1948–49 Llanelli *West Wales Senior Cup: 1952–53

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing GreatsIreland (FAI) stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odriscoll, Jackie 1921 births 1988 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers League of Ireland players Swansea City A.F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Cork F.C. players Cork United F.C. (1940–1948) players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Cork City F.C. (1938–1940) players Men's association football forwards Association footballers from Cork (city)