Cornelius Joseph Martin (20 March 1923 – 24 February 2013) was an Irish footballer. Martin initially played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

for the Dublin county team before switching codes and embarking on a successful soccer career, playing for, among others, Drumcondra, Glentoran,

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

. Martin was also a dual international and played and captained both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1949 he was a member of the FAI XI that defeated

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

2–0 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpo ...

, a feat that is often cited as the first non-UK team to beat England at home, although the team that day contained several players that were also capped by Northern Ireland due to the selection policy followed by both teams at the time. Martin, nicknamed ''Mr. Versatility'', played in nearly every position during his soccer career. Although he played mainly as a

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, the ball-handling skills he developed playing

also made him a very useful

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He actually made his international debut with the FAI XI as a goalkeeper and despite turning down the chance to sign for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

as a goalkeeper, he later played nearly a whole season in goal for

Gaelic footballer

Martin played

in his youth for St Maurs GAA club in Rush, County Dublin, and was called into the senior Dublin county panel aged just 18. On 9 November 1941, he helped Dublin win the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

title, partnering Joe Fitzgerald of Geraldines in midfield in the final against

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

. However at the same time as playing for Dublin, he was also playing soccer for Drumcondra. When this was discovered, the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

, which maintained a ban on ''foreign sports'', expelled Martin and withheld his winners medal. He eventually received the medal in 1971, after the ban was lifted. ''The Boys In Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan
/ref> www.fai.ie
/ref> Martin is one of several notable Dublin footballers to have successfully switched codes. Others include Jack Kirwan, Val Harris and Kevin Moran.

Club career

Early years

Martin was introduced to soccer while serving in the

Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...

and subsequently signed for Drumcondra. It was at Drums that early signs of his versatility emerged. While helping the club win the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

, he covered most of the defensive positions and centre-half role. After playing for a

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 the Republic of Ireland. For much of it ...

against an

Irish League XI The Irish League representative team was the representative side of the Irish Football League, the national league for football in Northern Ireland from 1922 and, prior to that the league for Ireland. The Irish League was suspended from 1941–42 ...

in March 1946 he was signed by Glentoran who then bought him out of the Air Corps. He subsequently made 22 appearances and scored 1 goal for the Glens. It was while playing for the Glens that he made his debut for both FAI XI as a goalkeeper and as a defender for the IFA XI.

Leeds United

In 1946 when

were searching for a goalkeeper, fellow Irish international,

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953 ...

recommended Martin to

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of a ...

. However, he turned down Busby in favour of joining

as an outfield player. He joined Leeds in December 1946 for a fee of £8,000 and under manager

Major Frank Buckley Franklin Charles Buckley (more commonly known as Major Frank Buckley) (3 October 1882 – 21 December 1964) was an English football player and, later, manager. He was the brother of Chris Buckley, who played for Aston Villa. Early life Buckley ...

he made 47

English League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Englan ...

appearances. He also played a further 2 games in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

. At Leeds, Martin played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, left-half and

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the rol ...

. He scored his only goal for the club on 6 December 1947 at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the ...

in a league game against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

Aston Villa

In September 1948 Martin was signed by

for a fee of £10,000. He was immediately installed in the

position but during his first season played a few games at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He missed only two games during the 1949–50 season and was a permanent fixture in defence for two-thirds of the 1950–51 season before injury sidelined him for two months. Martin started the 1951–52 season as a

, but after goalkeeper Joe Rutherford was injured and the club was caught without cover he took over duties between the posts. He made 26 league appearances and 1

appearance as a goalkeeper for Villa before reverting to the

position. Between 1948 and 1956 Martin made 213 appearances for Villa, 194 in the league and 19 in cup games. Martin scored just once for Villa – a penalty in a 4–1 league win at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

in April 1950.

League of Ireland

In July 1956 Martin left Villa to sign for

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

br>
In December 1959 he accepted the position of player-manager at Dundalk F.C., Dundalkbr>

Irish international

When Martin began his international career in 1946 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based Irish Football Association, IFA and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

– 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 Martin, played for both teams.

FAI XI

Between 1946 and 1956 Martin made 30 appearances and scored 6 goals for the FAI XI. He made his debut during a tour of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a la ...

in June 1946. After half an hour of the first game on 16 June against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, with the Irish already trailing 3–0, goalkeeper Ned Courtney was injured and the selectors put Martin in goal. He kept a clean sheet, the Irish eventually losing 3–1. As a result, Martin retained his place for the game against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on 23 June. Labelled the ''Yellow Canary'' by the Spanish media because of the colour of his jersey, Martin put in an outstanding display and against a Spanish team that included

César Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Pla ...

Agustín Gaínza Agustín Gaínza Vicandi (28 May 1922 – 6 January 1995) was a Spanish football forward and manager. Club career Nicknamed ''Piru'', Gaínza's entire career was spent with Athletic Bilbao. Born in Basauri, Biscay, he made his official debu ...

, Panizo, Gonzalvo III and Zarra, he kept another clean sheet. At the other end of the field, a goal by

Paddy Sloan Joshua Walter Sloan (30 April 1920 – January 1993), commonly known as Paddy Sloan, was an Irish footballer and manager. Sloan played with English clubs such as Manchester United, Millwall, Fulham and Arsenal. He also featured for Italian sides ...

gave the Irish a surprise 1–0 victory. He won his third cap on 30 September 1946 when he was a member of the first ever FAI XI to play against

. Despite a credible performance, the FAI XI lost 1–0. His best year in international football came 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 2022. * January 2 – ...

, when he scored five of his six goals for the FAI XI, including four in three successive internationals. On 12 June he scored a penalty in a 4–1 home defeat to

. Then on 8 September in a qualifier for the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, playing a centre-forward, he scored twice. The first was another penalty and second was headed in from a corner. On 21 September, together with

and Peter Farrell, he was a member of the FAI XI that defeated

2–0 at

, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. Martin scored the opener, once again from the penalty spot, after

Peter Desmond Peter Desmond (23 November 1926 in Cork, Ireland – July 1990) was an Irish footballer. Desmond played for several clubs in the League of Ireland and the English League. As an international, Desmond also played for Ireland. Desmond made all fo ...

was brought down in the box. He scored his fifth goal, yet another penalty, in a 3–1 defeat to Sweden in another World Cup qualifier. On 10 May 1950 he captained the FAI XI in a 5–1 defeat to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. He scored his last goal for the FAI XI in a 2–1 win against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in a friendly on 7 November 1954.

IFA XI

Martin also made 6 appearances for the IFA XI between 1946 and 1950. On 27 November 1946 he made his debut for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Together with

, Peter Farrell,

Bill Gorman William Charles Gorman (13 July 1911 – December 1978) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Bury and Brentford. Gorman was a dual internationalist who also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In Sep ...

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

Alex Stevenson Alexander Ernest Stevenson (9 August 1912 – 2 September 1985) was an Irish footballer who played for Rangers and Everton, amongst other teams. As an international, Stevenson also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...

and

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016), commonly referred to as Davy Walsh or Dave Walsh, was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dua ...

, he was one of seven players born in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

to play for the IFA XI that day. The draw helped the team finish as runners-up in the

1947 British Home Championship It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the countr ...

. Martin helped the IFA XI gain some more respectable results, including a 2–0 win against

on 4 October 1947 and a 2–2 draw with

on 5 November 1947. Martin made his last appearance for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 8 March 1950. As well as being part of the

1950 British Home Championship Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, the game also doubled up as a qualifier for the

. Martin, together with

Reg Ryan Reginald Alphonso Ryan (30 October 1925 – 13 February 1997), also referred to as Paddy Ryan, was an Irish footballer who played for West Bromwich Albion, Derby County and Coventry City. Ryan was also a dual international, playing for both I ...

and

Tom Aherne Thomas Aherne (26 January 1919 – 30 December 1999), also referred to as Bud Aherne, was an Irish footballer and hurler. He played football for Belfast Celtic and Luton Town and was a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams ...

, was one of four players Free State-born players, included in the IFA XI that day and as a result he played for two different associations in the same

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

tournament. This situation eventually led to intervention by FIFA and as a result Martin became one of the last four Free State -born players to play for IFA XI.

Family

Martin was the founding member of a notable Irish footballing family. During the 1970s his son

Mick Martin Michael Paul Martin (born 9 July 1951) is an Irish former professional footballer, best known for his time at Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United. He also represented the Republic of Ireland national football team more ...

played for, among others,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

and the

. Another son, Con Martin Jr. played for several clubs in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

. His daughter Mary married

Gerry Garvan Gerry Garvan is a former Irish footballer and coach who played as a midfielder for several clubs, during the 1960s and 1970s, in the League of Ireland, including Drumcondra, Shelbourne and Athlone Town. Club career On 19 November 1967, whil ...

who also played in the League of Ireland. Martin Sr. later worked as an insurance broker and formed a company, Martin & Garvan Insurances Ltd., with his son-in-law. The Garvans' son and Martin's grandson,

Owen Garvan Owen William Garvan (born 29 January 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Garvan began his career in his native Ireland where he played for Home Farm as a schoolboy. He earned a move to England with Ipsw ...

, formerly played for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and has played with the Republic of Ireland U21s. as well as the Republic of Ireland B team in a game against Nottingham Forest

Honours

''Gaelic footballer'' Dublin * Leinster Champions: 1 **1941 ''Soccer player'' Drumcondra *

: 1 **1946 Ireland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

**''Runners Up'' 1946–47: 1

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Con 1923 births 2013 deaths Association football goalkeepers Businesspeople from County Dublin Association footballers from County Dublin Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Republic of Ireland association footballers Ireland (FAI) international footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Dual Irish international footballers Republic of Ireland football managers League of Ireland managers Drumcondra F.C. players League of Ireland players Glentoran F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Leeds United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Dundalk F.C. managers Shelbourne F.C. managers League of Ireland XI players Irish Air Corps personnel Naomh Maur Gaelic footballers