Mick O'Flanagan (29 September 1922 – 13 September 2015) was an Irish sportsman who represented his country at both soccer and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. As a soccer player, O'Flanagan played for, among others, Home Farm, Bohemians and

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was an Irish football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for political reaso ...

. His older brother,

Kevin O'Flanagan Kevin Patrick O'Flanagan (10 June 1919 – 26 May 2006) was an Irish sportsman, physician and sports administrator. An outstanding all-rounder, he represented his country at both soccer and rugby union. He was also a noted Sprint (running), spri ...

, was also a notable sportsman who also represented his country at both sports and played soccer for Bohs and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. On 30 September 1946, Mick and Kevin also played international soccer together for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. A third brother, Charlie O'Flanagan, also played for Bohs.

Bohemians

O'Flanagan played soccer as a youth with several clubs, most notably Home Farm, before joining Bohemians in 1939.''The Complete Who's Who of Irish International Football, 1945–96'' (1996):Stephen McGarrigl

/ref> He quickly established himself in the first team and was top goalscorer in the

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 ...

for the 1940–41 season, scoring 19 league goals. He also scored 31 times in 31 appearances in all competitions that season. In 1945, O'Flanagan, together with his brother

Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...

, was a member of the Bohs team coached by Jimmy Dunne that won the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup. He also scored the winning goal in the final against

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., ...

. On 30 September 1946, he was working a pub in Dublin when he received a desperate phone call at 2:30 p.m. asking him to substitute for an injured Irish player in a match against England due to start at 5:30 p.m. at Dalymount Park. He rushed out and managed to play alongside his brother in the match. In the 1946-47 Leinster Senior Cup final, Mick would score an astonishing six goals in an 11–0 win for Bohemians over

Grangegorman Grangegorman () is an inner suburb on the Northside, Dublin, northside of Dublin city, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The area is administered by Dublin City Council. It was best known for decades as the location of St. Brendan's Hospital (Gra ...

The 1946-47 season would be the last where O'Flanagan would play regularly for Bohemians, appearing only sporadically in the late 1940s and making a brief comeback in the 1951-52 season. In all competitions, O'Flanagan scored 127 goals in 188 appearances, including 52 goals in 78 League matches.

Belfast Celtic

During the summer of 1949, O'Flanagan also guested for

on their tour of North America. Other members of the touring party included Billy McMillan, Tom Aherne, Robin Lawler, Johnny Campbell and manager Elisha Scott. These were the last games Belfast Celtic played before the club disbanded. O'Flanagan scored twice during the tour. His first goal came on 12 May in a 5–0 win against Ulster United, and he scored again in a 4–0 win against Montreal All-Stars on 1 June. However, the highlight of the 10 game tour came on 29 May when Celtic beat

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

2–0 at Triborough Stadium. During the second half, fights broke out, including one between O'Flanagan and Scotland's Willie Waddell. That was the last time Scotland ever played a club side.

Irish international

Soccer

O'Flanagan made his only appearance for

on 30 September 1946 in a 1–0 defeat against

. Among his teammates that day was his brother

. Mick was only called up as a late replacement for the injured Davy Walsh and he had spent the previous night entertaining a party of English journalists at

Templeogue Templeogue is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south. Geography Location Templeogue is from Dublin city centre t ...

tennis club. The following morning, he went to work in his pub 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 ...

and did not learn of his call up until just a few hours before the game was due to kick off.

Rugby

In 1947m O'Flanagan began playing rugby union with Lansdowne FC and on 28 February 1948 he played for

against

in a 6–0 win at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

. This helped an Ireland team, featuring Karl Mullen and

Jack Kyle John Wilson Kyle (10 February 1926 – 27 November 2014), most commonly known as Jack Kyle, was a rugby union player who represented Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s. Kyle was a member of the I ...

, win the Triple Crown, Grand Slam and the

1948 Five Nations Championship The 1948 Five Nations Championship was the nineteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-fourth series of the northern hemisphere rugby ...

Personal life

Mick was a publican by trade, his sporting career, like that of his brother, being strictly amateur. He ran a pub at 88 Marlborough Street in Dublin's City Centre which is known today as the Confession Box due to its proximity to St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral. It was in this pub in 1960 that the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland was established.

Honours

Soccer

;Bohemians * Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup: 1 **''Winners'' 1945 *

Leinster Senior Cup (association football) The Leinster Senior Cup is an association football Single-elimination tournament, cup competition organized by the Leinster Football Association. It is currently contested by LFA affiliated League of Ireland clubs, Leinster Senior League Senior Di ...

: 1 **''Winners'' 1946-47 ;Individual * League of Ireland Top Scorer: ** 1940–41

Rugby

;Ireland *

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

: 1 **''Winners''

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oflanagan, Mick 1922 births 2015 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers League of Ireland players Bohemian F.C. players Home Farm F.C. players Belfast Celtic F.C. players Men's association football forwards Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Lansdowne Football Club players Association footballers from Dublin (city) Rugby union players from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish sportsmen