Tom Aherne

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Thomas Aherne (born January 26, 1919 in Limerick, died December 30, 1999 in Luton) was an Irish professional footballer who played both Ireland teams - IFA XI and the FAI XI.

Tommy ‘Bud’ Aherne began his career with his hometown side Limerick. He hurled with Treaty Sarsfields and played one game for the Limerick county team before opting for football. He joined Belfast Celtic in 1945 and in June 1946 made his full international debut for the FAI XI at the same time as Peter Farrell against Portugal in Lisbon. Three months later he made the first of four international appearances for IFA XI, his debut coming against England. In 1947 he won an Irish Cup winners medal as Celtic beat Glentoran 1-0 at Windsor Park.

He went on to play 16 times for the Republic of Ireland, including the 1949 victory agaist England at Goodison Park, England's first ever home defeat to anyone other than one of the Home Nations.

With Celtic about to fold as a consequence of the events of the 1948 Boxing Day riot during the game against local rivals Linfield, Aherne moved to Luton Town in March 1949 for a fee of £8,000. His league debut came on March 19, 1949 in a 2-1 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur and he immediately established himself as a regular in the Luton side. He was an ever-present in the 1954-55 season as Luton won promotion to Division One. He retired from professional football after playing 288 times for Luton, scoring twice and worked as Luton’s youth coach, playing non-league football for Luton Celtic until in his forties.

He later worked in the car industry and continued to live in Luton until his death in 1999 at the age of 80.