Ernest MacKay (7 October 1896 – November 1995) 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 played in an international tournament representing Ireland in 1924.

Personal life

MacKay was born in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

as the second son and fifth child of John and Mary Elizabeth MacKay. As a child, he lived at the

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp () is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding military heritage Th ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

in Ireland before moving to Oxmantown Road 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 ...

. When the 1916 Easter Uprising broke out, MacKay remained in Ireland where he was employed as a telegram boy for the General Post Office in Dublin. He began playing football and joined the St James's Gate FC, where he was part of the team that won the League of Ireland in 1921 and 1922. MacKay was also a member of the Irish Free State football team that competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

in Paris, France. They beat Bulgaria 1–0 in Round 2 but lost out to the Netherlands in extra time in the Quarterfinals. The team finished fifth out of twelve teams. MacKay left Ireland with his wife Bea to live in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

near to their daughter Elizabeth in the 1960s after he had retired as a superintendent with the General Post Office. He died there in September 1996 aged 99.

References

1896 births 1995 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Olympic association footballers for Ireland League of Ireland XI players Association footballers from County Tipperary Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics St James's Gate F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub