Michael Terrance O'Brien (10 August 1893 – 21 September 1940) 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 ...

and coach whose career took him to at least 17 different clubs. A well-built six-footer, O'Brien was highly regarded as a centre-half. O'Brien was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. In April 1927, O'Brien made his debut for the FAI XI, four days after he made his last appearance for the IFA XI. During the 1930s, O'Brien managed both

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and Ipswich Town.

Club career

O'Brien did not play football until he was 18, when his family settled in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

in County Durham. He then played for several clubs in the North East of England, including Blyth Spartans, before attracting the interest of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. However, after failing to make it into the Celtic first team he joined

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in December 1914. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, O'Brien served in both the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

. Between 1919 and 1933, O'Brien went on to make 370 English League appearances, scoring 19 goals, for eight different clubs. These included

, Leicester City, Hull City,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Although best known as a centre half, he was also capable of playing in the forward line and, while playing as an inside-left, he scored twice for an English League XI against a British Army XI in 1921''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan In 1926 he also had a brief spell playing for Brooklyn Wanderers, making 7 appearances in the American Soccer League.

Irish international

During the years O'Brien played international football, there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland–based IFA 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 O'Brien, played for both teams. Meanwhile, many sources claim that O'Brien was from Kilcock, County Kildare. But although he may well have had family there, it has been established by the programme editor at Brentford FC (a former club) that he was born in Ushaw Moor, County Durham. There is speculation that he may have concocted the story about Kilcock in order to be eligible to represent the two Irish Associations (a parent or grandparent was not sufficient to qualify in those days, it had to be birthplace).

IFA XI

Between 1921 and 1927, while playing for

, Leicester City and Hull City, O'Brien made 10 appearances for the IFA XI. He made his international debut on 2 February 1921 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 ...

in a 2–0 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 ...

. His teammates on the day included Bill Lacey and Louis Bookman. On 13 February 1926, on his ninth appearance, he helped the IFA XI to a 3–0 win 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 ...

. This was the only time O'Brien played in a winning IFA XI. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 19 April 1927 in a 2–2 draw with Wales.

FAI XI

Between 1927 and 1932 O'Brien also made 4 appearances for the FAI XI. O'Brien was playing for four different clubs – Derby County,

and

– when he won each of his four FAI caps. He made his debut for the FAI XI on 23 April 1927, four days after he made his last appearance for the IFA XI. Despite the FAI XI losing 2–1 in the friendly against Italy B at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) 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 the Aviva Stadium on ...

, O'Brien was noted for his performance. The game also saw him, together with, Tommy Muldoon, Harry Duggan and Joe Kendrick, become one of the first four English League based players to represent the FAI XI. He subsequently played twice for the FAI XI 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 ...

in 1929 and 1930, helping them to 4–0 and 3–1 victories respectively. He won his last cap for the FAI XI 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 ...

. The now veteran O'Brien put in a commanding performance as he captained a young FAI XI that included Paddy Moore, Alex Stevenson and Jimmy Kelly to a 2–0 win.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player O'Brien became a coach, managing

between 1933 and 1935. He led the club to fourth place in Third Division South in the 1933–34 season. However a poor season in 1934–35 led to his dismissal. After a spell as assistant manager at

, O'Brien then took charge at Ipswich Town on 29 May 1936. He became the club's first professional manager and during the subsequent 1936–37 season they made their professional debut in the Southern League and finished as champions. In later years O'Brien worked as a coach for the Middlesex FA.

Honours

Manager

Ipswich Town * Southern League: 1936–37

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Mick 1893 births 1940 deaths Association footballers from County Kildare Royal Flying Corps officers Irish people of World War I British Army personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War I Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football midfielders Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Brooklyn Wanderers (1922–1931) players Derby County F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Gateshead A.F.C. players Watford F.C. players Republic of Ireland association football managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Ipswich Town F.C. managers Irish association footballers (before 1923) Dual Irish men's international footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Irish Free State men's association footballers English Football League representative players English Football League players Brentford F.C. non-playing staff People from Ushaw Moor Footballers from County Durham