Paddy Farrell (1913-19 March 1987) 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 ...

who played for

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origi ...

and Hibernian during the 1930s. He was born in

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

, Ireland. As an international he also played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Farrell joined the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and after completing his service set up a dental practice in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Club career

Bohemians

Farrell began his career playing junior football with Home Farm before joining

where his teammates included Fred Horlacher and Billy Jordan. He was initially restricted to the reserves until coach Bill Lacey spotted a fault in his running style. Intensive coaching corrected the problem and Farrell subsequently played a prominent role in Bohs

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

run during the 1934–35 season. Farrell first scored in the 5-2 second round win against

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

. He also scored the winner in the semi-final replay against that seasons eventual

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

champions,

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

. Farrell played in the final against

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...

but had to go off injured with over 30 minutes remaining. Despite this, the remaining 10 men held on for a 4–3 win.

Hibernian

Farrell's performances in the

soon attracted the attention of Hibernian. His mother initially had doubts about the move but was impressed with the terms offered. As well as an £800 signing on fee, Farrell was also to attend the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he would study

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions ...

with Hibs paying the fees and arranging training around his lectures.

Irish international

When Farrell played international football between 1937 and 1938, there were in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. The IFA and the FAI both claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Farrell, played for both teams.

FAI XI

In 1937 Farrell made two appearances for the FAI XI. In May 1937 the FAI organised a European tour with a squad that included

Tommy Breen Tommy Breen (27 April 1912 – 1 March 1988) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, among others, Belfast Celtic, Manchester United, Linfield and Shamrock Rovers. Breen was a dual international and played for both Ireland te ...

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. J ...

and Jimmy Dunne as well as Farrell. Farrell made his debut for the FAI XI on 17 May in a 1–0 win against Switzerland. A week later, on 23 May, he also helped the FAI XI defeat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

2–0. This would prove to be his last appearance for the FAI XI.

IFA XI

On 16 March 1938 Farrell made his only appearance for the IFA XI in a 1–0 win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual re ...

Honours

Bohemians *

**''Winners'' 1935: 1

After football

At the outbreak of the

, Farrell enlisted in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. After the war was over, he used his dentistry training to set up a practice in

References

External links

Northern Ireland Footballing Greats Ireland (FAI) stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Paddy 1913 births Year of death missing Republic of Ireland association footballers League of Ireland players Home Farm F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Irish Free State international footballers Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Dual Irish international footballers People from Athlone Sportspeople from County Westmeath Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Irish Free State association footballers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Association football inside forwards