Paddy Duncan (1894 – 9 April 1949) 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 ...

. At the

1924 Olympic Games 1924 Olympics may refer to: *The 1924 Winter Olympics, which were held in Chamonix, France *The 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de ...

he scored the Ireland (FAI)'s first ever goal in a senior international.

Club career

During his career Duncan was known by the nickname ''Dirty Duncan''. Together with

Charlie Dowdall Charles Dowdall (7 April 1898 – 7 November 1987) was an Irish footballer. He played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League and was also capped at international level by Ireland. He was born in Dublin. Club care ...

, Thomas Murphy,

Ernest McKay Ernest MacKay (7 October 1896 – November 1995) was an Irish footballer who played in an international tournament representing Ireland in 1924. Personal life MacKay was born in Tipperary as the second son and fifth child of John and Mary Eliza ...

and Michael Farrell, Duncan was one of five players from St James's Gate, included in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

squad for the

Irish international

In 1924 Duncan made 4 appearances and scored 2 goals for the

. The first two of these games were played at the

. Other members of Olympic squad included

Tommy Muldoon Thomas A. Muldoon (27 July 1897 – 12 October 1989) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Athlone Town and Aston Villa. As an international he also played for the Irish Free State and represented them at the 1924 Olympic Games. ...

, Joe Kendrick, Jack McCarthy,

Johnny Murray Johnny Murray (25 February 1898 – 12 November 1954) was an Irish soccer player during the 1920s. Murray was a skilful winger who played for Ormeau, Blue Crusaders, Bohemians and Drumcondra F.C. He joined Bohs in 1921 and stayed at Dalymo ...

and

Dinny Hannon Denis J. Hannon, also known as Dinny Hannon or Dinney Hannon (31 January 1888 – 23 August 1971), was an Irish footballer who played as an inside-right for both Bohemians and Athlone Town. Born in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, Hannon was ...

. Duncan made his debut for the Free State in their first ever senior international on 28 May. He also scored the only goal in a 1–0 win at the

Stade Olympique Olympic Stadium (french: Stade olympique) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is n ...

against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. As a result of this win the Irish Free State qualified for the quarter-finals. On 2 June Duncan also played in this game against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

but the Irish Free State lost 2-1 after extra-time. The following day, before returning home, the team played

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

in a friendly at the Stade Olympique and Duncan scored the opening goal in a 3–1 win. On 14 June 1924 he also played against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in another 3–1 win 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 ...

. In March 1926 he travelled as a reserve with the Irish squad to play

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, but did not play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Paddy 1894 births 1949 deaths League of Ireland players Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Irish association footballers (before 1923) Olympic footballers of Ireland Republic of Ireland association footballers St James's Gate F.C. players Association football forwards