Joe Kirkup (born 17 December 1939 in Hexham, Northumberland) is a retired English footballer who played as a full-back.
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Kirkup played Junior football with West Ham United, and was a member of the FA Youth Cup Final team of 1956-57 alongside John Lyall and John Smith. After signing for the senior team at the age of 17, he made his League debut against Manchester City in December 1958. He was a member of the team that won the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Kirkup made 165 League appearances for West Ham, scoring six goals, before joining Chelsea in March 1966 for £27,000. He made 53 League appearances for the west London club, and joined Southampton in 1967. He made 193 appearances for the Saints, scoring four goals.
In 1975, Kirkup emigrated to South Africa to join Durban City F.C. as player-manager, taking over the post from his old team-mate Johnny Byrne. He returned to England in mid-1976 and joined Byfleet Machine & Tool Company.
Following family tradition, Kirkup's nephew - Grant Kirkup - also went semi-professional, whilst Grant's granddaughter, Aly Lyons, currently plays for Wootton Bassett Town F.C. His great nephew - Matthew Baldwin - was a member of the Farnham Knights 2009 Youth National Championship team.
Joe married his wife Jill and had 2 sons. One of his sons, Tony, now plays football for his local team, and has become a committed fan of football. Joe now has 2 grandchildren and lives in Surrey.