Peter Kavanagh (05 June 1908 – 15 February 1993) 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 lea ...

who played for, among others, Bohemians and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. Kavanagh was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. After leaving Celtic, Kavanagh had spells with several clubs before finishing his career with a works team prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He eventually settled in

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where he died on 15 February 1993.

Club career

Bohemians

Kavanagh played junior football in the Drumcondra area of

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 ...

before signing for Bohemians in 1927. Bohs manager, an ex- Rangers player, Bobby Parker, put the teenage Kavanagh straight into the first team. Together with Jack McCarthy, Harry Cannon,

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won ten ranking events. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his swift and attacking style of play, White has reached six World Snooker Championship finals ...

, Jimmy Bermingham, Jeremiah Robinson and Christy Robinson, he was a prominent member of the successful amateur Bohs team during the late 1920s. During the 1927–28 season they won a quartet of trophies including 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 ...

title, 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 ...

, the League of Ireland Shield and Leinster Senior Cup.Bohemian FC match programme, Vol. 53, no. 17 In April 1928 he also played in a prestige friendly for Bohs against

. While at Bohs, Kavanagh also played twice for the League of Ireland XI. In October 1928 he scored twice as they defeated a Welsh League XI, 4–3 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., ...

. Then in October 1929 he played against an Irish League XI, losing 2–1.

Celtic

In April 1929 Kavanagh signed for

and made his Scottish League debut in 2–1 win over Hearts on 10 August 1929. He then scored his first goal for the club two weeks later against

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 ...

. Despite an initial bright start at Celtic, following a serious knee injury Kavanagh subsequently lost his first team place and was released by the club in May 1932.

International career

When Kavanagh played international football between 1929 and 1930, 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 Kavanagh played for both teams.

IFA XI

On 19 October 1929 at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

, Kavanagh made his one and only appearance for the IFA XI in a 3–0 defeat to

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 ...

. His teammates on the day included Elisha Scott and Joe Bambrick. In 1931 he turned down the offer of a second cap from IFA to play for the FAI XI 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 ...

FAI XI

In 1931 Kavanagh he also played twice for the FAI XI against

. On 26 April 1931 he helped an FAI XI that also included Tom Farquharson, Paddy Moore, Jeremiah Robinson, Harry Chatton and Charlie Dowdall gain a respectable 1–1 draw at the Montjuic Stadium in Barcelona. In the dying seconds of the game, Kavanagh almost won the game for the FAI XI. Just after Farquharson had saved a penalty, he kicked the ball out to Kavanagh, who then made a break down the wing. However, as the Spanish goalkeeper, Ricardo Zamora advanced, his shot hit the post and went wide. He made his second and last appearance for the FAI XI in the return game against Spain on 13 December 1931 at Dalymount Park. This time however, Spain easily won 5–0.

References

External links

Northern Ireland Footballing Greats Irish Free State statsPeter Kavanagh
www.ihibs.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Peter 1908 births 1993 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Irish Free State men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Bohemian F.C. players League of Ireland players Celtic F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Drumcondra F.C. players Scottish Football League players League of Ireland XI players Irish Free State men's association footballers Men's association football outside forwards