Austin Noonan (16 July 1933 – 7 November 2022) was an Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager who played for Cork Celtic and

Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. The club was di ...

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 ...

. He also served as manager of Cork Hibernians.

Career

Noonan first played football as a schoolboy with Maymount. Considered too small and light as a youth player, he later played with Colmcille's and Ballinlough before being selected on the Cork AUL. Noonan signed for

Evergreen United Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champio ...

(later Cork Celtic) for the 1953–54 season. He formed a close goal-scoring partnership with Donie Leahy and, after spending much of the 1958-59 season on the sideline with a troublesome right ankle injury, was the league's overall top scorer with 27 goals the following season. Noonan was honoured by the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the Airtricity League XI for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of Ireland. For much of its history, the League ...

selectors on a couple of occasions, while his other honours include Top Four Cup,

Shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

, Dublin City Cup and Munster Senior Cup winners' medals. Noonan transferred to local rivals

in 1966 before taking over as manager. He has the distinction of being the club's manager in 1970 when their Shield victory qualified them to play in a European competition for the first time.

Death

Noonan died on 7 November 2022, at the age of 89.

Honours

Cork Celtic * League of Ireland Shield: 1960–61 * Dublin City Cup: 1961–62 * Top Four Cup: 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60 * Munster Senior League: 1955–56 * Munster Senior Cup: 1959–60, 1961–62, 1963–64

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noonan, Austin 1933 births 2022 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from Cork (city) Men's association football midfielders League of Ireland players Cork Celtic F.C. players Cork Hibernians F.C. players League of Ireland XI players League of Ireland managers 20th-century Irish sportsmen