Patrick Moore (4 August 1909 – 24 July 1951) was an Irish professional

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 ...

who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Moore was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In February 1934 Moore scored four goals for the FAI XI in a World Cup qualifier against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. As a result, he became the first player ever to score four goals in a World Cup game. However injury and alcoholism combined to blight both his career and life and he was only 41 when he died. In September 2006 Moore was posthumously honoured by Shamrock Rovers at their Legends Ball. In October 2015 the Shamrock Rovers Heritage Trust unveiled a new gravestone for Moore and his family at

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

Club career

As a youth Moore played for several teams including Richmond Rovers before joining Shamrock Rovers for the first of three spells. In 1929 at the age of 19 he signed for Cardiff City, but made only one appearance. After brief spells with both Merthyr Town and Tranmere Rovers he then returned to Shamrock Rovers. During the 1931–32 season he helped Rovers win both 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 ...

championship and the League of Ireland Shield. He also helped Rovers win the

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 ...

in both 1931 and 1932, scoring in both finals. After an impressive performance for the FAI XI against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in May 1932, Moore, together with Joe O'Reilly and Jimmy Daly, was one of three Irish players from that team who were then signed by

. The trio were signed for a combined fee of less than £1,000. Moore made an impressive start for Aberdeen, scoring 27 goals in 29 Scottish League matches during the 1932–33 season.Paddy Moore
AFC Heritage Trust However, in subsequent seasons his problems with alcoholism began to emerge. In February 1934 the Aberdeen manager Paddy Travers accompanied Moore while on international duty against

to help keep him away from alcohol. Travers was aware that Moore had developed a drink problem that would end his career prematurely. In May 1935 Moore was selected to play for the FAI XI in an away game against

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but he was declared unfit to play after drinking too heavily while travelling to the game. Other similar incidents resulted in Moore being released by Aberdeen. Moore then returned to Shamrock Rovers and in 1936 helped them win a third

by scoring in his third final.

Irish international

When Moore began his international career in 1931 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland-based IFA and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

-based FAI 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 Moore, played for both teams.

FAI XI

Between 1931 and 1936 Moore made 9 appearances and scored 7 goals for the FAI XI. He made his international debut for the FAI XI on 26 April 1931 against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Together with Tom Farquharson, Peter Kavanagh, Jeremiah Robinson and Charlie Dowdall, Moore was part of an FAI XI that gained a respectable 1–1 draw at the Montjuic Stadium in Barcelona. Moore marked his debut by scoring the FAI XI's goal. He gave the visitors the lead in the 35th minute when he received a pass from

John Joe Flood John Joe Flood (2 August 1899 – 3 July 1982), also referred to as Jonjo Flood or John Flood, was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Leeds United and Crystal Palace. As an international, he also pl ...

and then found himself in a one against one situation with the legendary Spanish goalkeeper,

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 21 January 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for Spain. As a man ...

. Moore coolly lobbed the ball over the advancing Zamora and into the back of the goal. The goalkeeper subsequently tore off his shirt in disgust and threw it into the back of the net, suffering the derision of his own fans. Moore missed the return game against Spain due to injury, but then won his second FAI XI cap against the

on 5 May 1932. He scored the FAI XI's second goal in a 2–0 victory. Moore shot from twenty yards and bought the 30,000 crowd to their feet. However the highlight of Moore's international career came on 25 February 1934 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., ...

when the FAI XI made their

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 ...

debut in a qualifier against

. He scored all four goals for the FAI XI as they came from 2–0, 3–1 and then 4–3 down to draw 4–4. As a result, Moore became the first player ever to score four goals in a World Cup game. Two months later in another qualifier on 8 April 1934, Moore scored his seventh and last goal for the FAI XI in a 5–2 defeat against the

. The other major highlight of Moore's international career came on 17 October 1936 when he masterminded the FAI XI in a 5–2 win against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, again at Dalymount Park. Despite not scoring himself, he helped set up four of the goals. He made his last appearance for the FAI XI on 6 December 1936 in 3–2 home defeat against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

IFA XI

On 17 October 1932, while playing for

, Moore made his one and only appearance for the IFA XI, in a game against

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. Together with Jimmy Dunne, Jimmy Kelly and Harry Duggan, Moore was one of four players born in what is now the Republic of Ireland to feature in the IFA XI forward line. Although England won 1–0, the IFA selectors retained the same team for the game against

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

on 7 December. However injury prevented Moore from winning a second IFA XI cap and the 1932 game England remains the only time that Moore and Dunne played together at international level.

Coaching career

During the 1940s Moore coached Stella Maris where he nurtured the talents of future

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. ...

international Ronnie Whelan, Sr. Legend has it, Whelan was initially spotted by Moore's wife, who then brought him to the attention of her husband.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Honours

Shamrock Rovers *

: 1931–32 *

: 1931, 1932, 1936 * League of Ireland Shield: 1931–32 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1930, 1933

Sources

* * *

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats Paddy Moore bio and statsThe Ballad of Paddy Moore Shamrock Rovers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Paddy 1909 births 1951 deaths Dual Irish men's international footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers Irish Free State men's association footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players League of Ireland players Association footballers from County Dublin League of Ireland XI players Scottish Football League players Stella Maris F.C. Men's association football forwards Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in Wales