Denis Doyle (born 1900, date of death unknown) was an Irish football

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who played professionally in Ireland and the United States. He earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the Irish Free State national football team in 1926. He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He joined

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in 1922 and played in that year's

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

final which they lost in a replay. He then moved back to centre-half until he left the club in 1927. That year, he moved to the USA with Bob Fullam where he signed with the

Philadelphia Celtic Philadelphia Field Club is a name used by four soccer teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four versions of Philadelphia F.C. competed in the first American Soccer League, but none were in any way related to the other three teams whi ...

of the American Soccer League. The team played only ten games before failing financially. He then transferred to the Fall River He won three league titles with the 'Marksmen'. He began the 1929-1930 season with the 'Marksmen', playing three games, before transferring to the

Pawtucket Rangers J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group Coats ...

. In 1931, he moved to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He spent his last years in Niagara Falls. He won one cap for the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

on 21 March 1926. He was part of the Rovers sides that won two leagues in the 1920s going through the entire season unbeaten. He was also part of the side that played in the club's opening fixtures at

Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developer ...

in 1926. His father, Tommy Doyle, had played for the Hoops in the early years and his younger brother, also Tommy, played for Rovers after Dinny emigrated. A nephew, Jackie Mooney, won two FAI Cups with Rovers in the 1960s. Dinny's great grandson, Jason Doyle, played for Rovers during the 1991–1992 season. Dinny's brother, Christy (Kit), born 1904, had a son also named Christy who played in Toronto, New York and Chicago in the 1960s and had the honor of winning both the United States and Canadian amateur National Championships in the same year 1968. With the Chicago Kickers in July 1968 and the Toronto Royals in September 1968 before returning to Chicago in 1969 and rejoining the Kickers to win the title again in 1970. Now retired in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

Honours

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 ...

: 3 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27 *

: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1925 * League of Ireland Shield: 2 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1924-25, 1926–27 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1923 * Leinster Senior League: 1 ** Shamrock Rovers - 1921–22

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Denis Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers Men's association football wing halves Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Fall River F.C. (1922–1931) players League of Ireland players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Philadelphia Celtic players Pawtucket Rangers players New York Yankees (soccer) players 1900 births Year of death missing Irish Free State men's association footballers Leinster Senior League (association football) players