Joe Wickham (1890 in

Phibsboro Phibsborough (; ), also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. The Bradogue River crosses the area in a culvert, and the Royal Canal passes through its northern reaches, no ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

– 3 November 1968 in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most populo ...

, Poland) was the General Secretary of the Football Association of Ireland from the 1930s until his death in 1968 at the age of 78. He took over from Jack Ryder in 1936, having previously worked as a supervisor in the coach-building workshop in the Broadstone depot of the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irela ...

. At the time, he had been the longest-serving secretary of any of the world's national soccer organisations.''Irish Times'', 1 November 1968

Life and career

Wickham was educated at the local St Peter's National School, and the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Irela ...

' O'Connell Schools. He started his working life as an apprentice with the

Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...

, before taking a job in the railway carriage and wagon works at the Broadstone, until taking over from Jack Ryder in the FAI. He had been a founder member of Midland Athletic, and had figured in the losing side of the 1920 Leinster Senior Cup Final against

St. James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrimage from Dublin to Santiag ...

. He later became the club secretary before holding the post of honorary treasurer and secretary of Bohemians.''Irish Times'', 15 May 1964 He received much attention for his decision not to cancel the soccer match between the Irish team and Yugoslavia in October 1955, under pressure from the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin,

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive govern ...

, on the premise that Ireland had to play its role in resisting Communism. Both ''

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

'' and the Army Band made themselves unavailable, but this did not deter a crowd of 21,400 supporters arriving at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park ( Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

and passing the picket of Legion of Mary members who carried anti-Communist placards. Ireland eventually lost the match 4–1, and Wickham was denounced from the pulpit in his parish church in Larkhill (for insisting the match be played, not for the result). He presided over the formation of the Wexford and District League in April 1960 as well as the expansion of the

Limerick Desmond League The Limerick Desmond League is an association football league featuring amateur, junior, youth and under-17 teams from the part of County Limerick west of the N20. Its top division, the Premier Division, is a seventh level division in the Repub ...

in October 1966.History of Limerick Desmond League In 1964, he won the Irish Soccer Writers' Association award for their Personality of the Yea

It had been the first time in four years the award had been given to a legislator. It had been given on the back of a highly successful year for the Irish team, which reached the last 8 of a European Nations' Cup Tournament as well as a successful continental tour. He suffered a heart attack and died on 30 October 1968 at half time (around 6pm local time) of an international match between Ireland and Poland in

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

Notes

External links

Wexford Football League HistoryLimerick Desmond League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Joe 1890 births 1968 deaths Football Association of Ireland officials Irish association footballers (before 1923) Association footballers from Dublin (city) Bohemian F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position