Mick O'Flanagan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mick O'Flanagan
Personal information
Full name Michael O'Flanagan
Date of birth September 29 1922
Place of birth    Dublin, Ireland
Playing position Centre Forward (soccer)
Centre (rugby)
Youth clubs
19xx
19xx
19xx		 Kenilworth
Home Farm
St. Patrick’s CYMS
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1939-1949
1949
1947-19xx		 Bohemians
→ Belfast Celtic (guest)
Lansdowne R.F.C. (rugby)		    
National team
1946
1948		 Ireland (soccer)
Ireland (rugby)		 1 (0)
1 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Mick O'Flanagan is a former Irish 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 Celtic. His older brother, Kevin O'Flanagan, was also a notable sportsman who also represented his country at both sports and played soccer for Bohs and Arsenal. On September 30 1946 Mick and Kevin also played international soccer together for Ireland against England. A third brother, Charlie O'Flanagan, also played for Bohs.

Contents

[edit] Bohemians

O'Flanagan played soccer as a youth with several clubs, most notably Home Farm, before joining Bohemians in 1939 [1]. He quickly established himself in the first team and was top goalscorer in the League of Ireland for the 1940-41 season, scoring 19 league goals. He also scored 31 times in 31 appearances in all competitions that season [2][3]. In 1945 O'Flanagan, together with his brother Kevin, was a member of the Bohs team coached by Jimmy Dunne that won the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup [4]. He also scored the winning goal in the final against Belfast Celtic at Dalymount Park.

[edit] Belfast Celtic

During the summer of 1949 O'Flanagan also guested for Belfast Celtic on their tour of North America. Other members of the touring party included Billy McMillan, Tom Aherne, Robin Lawler, Johnny Campbell and manager Elisha Scott. These were the last games Belfast Celtic played before the club disbanded. O'Flanagan scored twice during the tour. His first goal came on May 12 in 5-0 win against Ulster United and he scored again in a 4-0 win against Montreal All-Stars on June 1. However the highlight of the 10 game tour came on May 29 when Celtic beat Scotland 2-0 at Triborough Stadium. [5][6][7].

[edit] Irish international

[edit] Soccer

O'Flanagan made his only appearance for Ireland on September 30 1946 in a 1-0 defeat against England at Dalymount Park. Among his team mates that day was his brother Kevin. Mick was only called up as a late replacement for the injured Davy Walsh and he had spent the previous night entertaining a party of English journalists at Templeogue tennis club. The following morning he went to work in his pub in Dublin and did not learn of his call up until just a few hours before the game was due to kick off. [8][9][10]

[edit] Rugby

In 1947 O'Flanagan began playing rugby union with Lansdowne R.F.C. and on February 28 1948 he played for Ireland against Scotland in a 6-0 win at Lansdowne Road. This helped an Ireland team captained by Karl Mullen, win the Triple Crown, Grand Slam and the 1948 Five Nations Championship[11][12].

[edit] Honours

Soccer Player

Bohemians

Rugby Player

Ireland

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Complete Who's Who of Irish International Football, 1945-96 (1996):Stephen McGarrigle [1]
  2. ^ Bohemian FC match programme, Vol. 52, no. 24
  3. ^ Rsssf stats
  4. ^ Bohemians 1944-45 squad
  5. ^ Belfast Celtic USA tour results
  6. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1949
  7. ^ Paradise Lost and Found: The Story of Belfast Celtic (1999):Padraig Coyle [2]
  8. ^ Ireland soccer stats
  9. ^ England international results
  10. ^ The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story (1997): Sean Ryan [3]
  11. ^ 1948 Five Nations
  12. ^ The Complete Who's Who of Irish International Football, 1945-96 (1996):Stephen McGarrigle [4]