Jimmy Kelly (1911 – November 1970) 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 lea ...

who played for, among others, Derry City,

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

. Kelly was one of the most prolific goalscorers ever to play in the (Northern) Irish League, scoring 748 goals in the league between 1928 and 1952. He also scored 12 goals during his time in the (Southern) League of Ireland and scored a further 193 in other competitions. Kelly was noted for having a powerful left footed shot. Kelly was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. In 1932 he became the first (Northern) Irish League player to play for an FAI XI and in 1934 was a member of their first team to play in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

. In 1936 Kelly actually played for both the IFA XI and the FAI XI within the same week and finished on the winning team on both occasions.

Club career

Early years

As a youth Kelly played for several teams in the

Derry and District League Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Foyle. Cityside and the old walled ...

and also turned out for

Newry Town Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish football club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in Newry, County Down and played its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white. The club was relegated from ...

. He then began his senior career with

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

before being signed by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in May 1928. However, he failed to make any senior appearances for the Reds and after over two years at the club, a disillusioned Kelly signed for Derry City for a fee of £100 in October 1930.

Derry City

Kelly made his debut for Derry City on 26 October 1930 against Linfield at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

. However it took him four matches to score his first goal for the club in a game against Glenavon. This was the first of 363 goals he would score for City. Among these goals was one in a 2–1 defeat against Linfield in the 1936

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

final. This was the club's first major final. Kelly continued to play for City into the early 1950s, helping the club to their first Irish Cup success, a 3–1 victory over

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

in 1949.

League of Ireland

Although Kelly spent most of his career with Derry City, during the mid-1940s he played a couple of seasons in the League of Ireland, first with Shamrock Rovers and then with

. While on loan at Rovers he played alongside Peter Farrell,

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 b ...

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 Le ...

. He made his debut for Rovers on 22 February 1942, scoring the only goal in a league game at

St. James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, Dublin, James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrima ...

. Kelly spent the 1946–47 season at Dundalk and finished as the club's top scorer, scoring 6 in the league, 1 in the FAI Cup and 10 in other competitions. His goals helped the club finish as runners-up in the

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 ...

. In 1947 Kelly also played three times for the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the Airtricity League XI for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of Ireland. For much of its history, the League ...

Irish international

When Kelly began his international career in 1931 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

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

– 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 Kelly, played for both teams. In 1936 Kelly had the unique experience of playing for two winning Irish teams within a week. On 11 March he helped the IFA XI beat

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 ...

3–2. Then on 17 March he was on the winning side again as the FAI XI defeated

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 ...

1–0.

IFA XI

Between 1931 and 1936 Kelly made 11 appearances and scored 4 goals for the IFA XI. He scored his first international goal on his debut on 17 October 1931 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 ...

at Windsor Park. The other IFA XI goal that day was scored by Jimmy Dunne. In his next game on 12 December 1931 Kelly scored twice in a 4–0 win against Wales. These three goals saw Kelly finish as joint top scorer in the 1932 British Home Championship. He scored his fourth goal for the IFA XI on 11 November 1935 in 2–1 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 ...

at Tynecastle. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 18 November 1936 in a 3–1 defeat to England.

FAI XI

Between 1932 and 1936 Kelly also played 5 times and scored 2 goals for the FAI XI. He made his debut on 5 May 1932 against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and as a result became the first (Northern) Irish League player to play for an FAI XI. He subsequently helped them to a credible 2–0 win, setting up the second goal for

Paddy Moore Patrick Moore (4 August 1909 – 24 July 1951) was an Irish professional footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers and Aberdeen. Moore was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA X ...

. Kelly made his second appearance for the FAI XI on 25 February 1934 at

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., ...

when they made their

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

debut in a qualifier 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 ...

. Moore scored all four goals for the FAI XI as they came from 2–0, 3–1 and then 4–3 down to draw 4–4. Kelly turned provider for two of Moore's goals, one from a cross and one from a corner. He won his third cap from the FAI on 17 March 1936 in a 1–0 win against Switzerland. Kelly made his final two appearances and scored his only two goals for the FAI XI during a European tour in May 1936. On 6 May he played in a 4–1 defeat to a Rhineland XI and then on 9 May he scored twice in a 5–1 win against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. Jimmy Dunne also scored twice that day. Kelly would have won a further two caps for the FAI XI if it were not the IFA's then ban on Sunday football. He was initially called up for the game against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 13 December 1931 and during the European tour of May 1936 he missed the opening game against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Both games fell on a Sunday and as a result Kelly missed out.

Irish League XI

Between 1931 and 1948 Kelly also played 16 games and scored 6 goals for the

Irish League XI The Irish League representative team was the representative side of the Irish Football League, the national league for football in Northern Ireland from 1922 and, prior to that the league for Ireland. The Irish League was suspended from 1941–42 ...

. He made his debut for the Irish League XI in October 1931, scoring twice in a 3–2 win against a

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

. He also scored the winner in a 2–1 victory over an

English League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

in September 1935 and the following year he scored a hat-trick against the same opposition in a 3–2 win.

Honours

Derry City *

**''Winners'' 1949 1 **''Runners Up'' 1936 1 Dundalk *

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 ...

**''Runners Up'' 1946–47 1 Jimmy was still playing football in the 1950s/60s for sea eagle rovers.

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats

Ireland (FAI) stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jimmy 1911 births 1970 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Coleraine F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Irish Free State men's international footballers Irish Free State men's association footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players People from Ballybofey Association footballers from County Donegal NIFL Premiership players League of Ireland XI players Ballymoney United F.C. players Irish League representative players Men's association football outside forwards