Thomas Roderick "Rory" Keane (31 August 1922 – 13 February 2004) 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 spent most of his career at Swansea Town. A hard-tackling defender, he is still regarded as one of Swansea's greatest ever players. Keane was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. Two broken legs limited his international career to just five caps and he eventually retired after breaking his leg for a third time. Keane then settled in south Wales where he lived until his death in 2004. His grandson, Jamie Harris is also a notable footballer. He began his career with

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

and has also played for several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

Club career

Keane began his career with

side

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. In June 1947, he signed for Swansea Town and quickly became a firm favourite with Swans fans. Keane was part of a strong Irish contingent playing for the club at the time. Others included Jackie O'Driscoll,

Jim Feeney James McBurney Feeney (23 June 1921 – March 1985) was a Northern Irish professional footballer. During his career he made almost 100 appearances for Swansea City and over 200 appearances for Ipswich Town. Feeney's son and grandson, both named ...

and Sammy McCrory. The team also included

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

internationals Jack Parry and

Roy Paul Roy Paul (18 April 1920 – 21 May 2002) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a half-back for Swansea Town and Manchester City. He also represented the Welsh national team over 30 times and is regarded as one of Wales' best eve ...

and was one of the club's most successful sides of all time. Together they won the

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

title in impressive style in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. They regularly playing to crowds of up to 30,000 and were promoted as champions after winning 27 games during the season, including 17 successive wins at home and 6 successive away wins. They had a goal difference of 45. Keane also helped Swansea reach two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

finals and collected a winners medal after they beat

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

4–1 in the 1950 final. After 164 league games for Swansea, he went on to play for

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

in the Southern League and

Haverfordwest County Haverfordwest County Association Football Club () is a Welsh professional football team based in Haverfordwest, Wales. They currently play in the (Welsh top tier) also qualified for UEFA Conference League and UEFA Youth League. The club was fo ...

and Pembroke Borough in the

Welsh League The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournam ...

Irish international

When Keane began his international career in 1948 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 Republic of Ireland – 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 Keane, played for both teams.

IFA XI

On 17 November 1948, Keane made his international debut with the IFA XI in a 3–2 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 ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

. His teammates on the day included several fellow dual internationalists, including another Swan, Jackie O'Driscoll and another former

player,

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016) was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams – ...

, who scored both goals for the IFA XI. This, however, was Keane's one and only appearance for the IFA XI.

FAI XI

Between 1948 and 1949, Keane also made 4 appearances for the FAI XI. He won his first FAI cap on 5 December 1948, in a 1–0 defeat in a friendly against

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 ...

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., ...

. He also played for the FAI XI on 22 May 1949, in another friendly at Dalymount against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and helped the FAI XI win 1–0. He won his third FAI XI cap on 2 June 1949, in a 3–1 away defeat against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. This was a qualifier for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

. He made his final appearance for the FAI XI on 12 June 1949, in a 4–1 home defeat 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 ...

. Ireland (FAI) stats
/ref>

Honours

Swansea Town *

**''Winners'' 1948–49: 1 *

**''Winners'' 1949–50: 1 **''Runners Up'' 1948–49: 1

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Rory 1922 births 2004 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers League of Ireland players Swansea City A.F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Association footballers from County Limerick Haverfordwest County A.F.C. players Men's association football defenders Pembroke Borough A.F.C. players