Gerry Mackey (10 June 193321 April 2021) 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 ...

. After playing for junior side Johnville, 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 1951 and made his senior debut on 13 December 1952 at

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., ...

in a 4-1 win over Bohemians. He played in the club's first two games in European competition and also won three senior caps for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

making his debut on 3 October 1956 in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying win over Denmark at

. His other caps came in a 3-0 friendly win over West Germany the following month and at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

against England the following May. He represented the League of Ireland 10 times while 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 ...

between 1955 and 1958 and also won a B cap in 1958 in a 3-2 win in Iceland. He has the unique distinction of captaining his country at schoolboy, youth and senior level. In May 1959, Gerry shared a testimonial with

Paddy Ambrose Patrick Ambrose (17 October 1928 – 22 February 2002) was an Irish professional football player and coach. Ambrose was from Dublin, Ireland. Signed by Jimmy Dunne from junior side Clontarf, he was associated with Shamrock Rovers from 1948 to ...

. After four years in London he signed for

Limerick F.C. Limerick Football Club was an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland who played in the League of Ireland and currently have teams competing in the underage National League of Ireland. The first Limerick Football Club was founded ...

in November 1963. For four years in the 1970s, he was assistant manager to the Ireland Youths team. He helped to form KRAM's (Keep Rovers at Milltown) first committee in 1987. His son Dave played for Rovers reserves in the 1980s and won League titles with Dundalk F.C. in the 1990s.

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 **1953/54, 1956/57, 1958/59 *

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 ...

: 2 **1955, 1956 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began and was seen as the third most imp ...

: 4 **1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 * Leinster Senior Cup: 4 **1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

: 4 **1954/55, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1959/1960 *

Top Four Cup The Top Four Cup was an association football super cup featuring the top four clubs in the League of Ireland. It was first held in 1955–56 and last played for in 1973–74. It was played at the end of the season. Shamrock Rovers were the in ...

: 2 **1955/56, 1957/58 * LFA President's Cup: 3 **1956/57, 1957/58, 1959/1960

Sources

* * ''The Complete Who's Who of Irish International Football, 1945-96'' (1996):Stephen McGarrigle {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackey, Gerry 1933 births 2021 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Limerick F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Men's association football defenders 20th-century Irish sportsmen