Ronald Christopher Nolan (22 October 1933 – 21 June 2023) 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 as a

wing-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. At international level, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team, making ten appearances and scoring twice.

Career

After earning one schoolboy cap in 1949 and captaining the international youths twice he made his

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

debut on 1 September 1952 in a

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 ...

game against Drumcondra. He went on to become part of the teams of the 1950s and was the scorer of a last-minute winning goal in the 1956

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 ...

final against

Cork Athletic Cork Athletic Football Club was a former Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1948 and 1957. They were the successor club of Cork United. When United quit the league in October 1948, Cork Athletic wa ...

. The side, popularly known as Coad's Colts, enjoyed many memorable days during the 1950s, but that day was surely that side's most dramatic. He played in the club's first 18 games in European competition. Nolan shared a benefit game with

Shay Keogh Seamus "Shay" Keogh (6 September 1934 – 13 April 2020) was an Irish footballer who played as a centre half. He was part of the great Shamrock Rovers teams of the 1950s in a side, popularly known as Coad's Colts, that enjoyed many memorable day ...

in May 1961. The great service of Nolan to Rovers was marked by the presentation of a gold medal by the directors. This was a medal which was presented to any Rovers player who had 15 consecutive years of service to the club. Nolan also had a spell as player and assistant manager at

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 ...

during which time he picked up another FAI Cup winners medal in 1970. In all he played in 13 FAI Cup Finals. A strong, uncompromising defender, Noland won ten caps for the Republic of Ireland national team. His first cap came on 3 October 1956 in a 2–1 win over Denmark 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 a World Cup qualifying game. He also won two Republic of Ireland B caps, scoring on his debut in Iceland in 1958 and won a record 33

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of it ...

caps. Nolan also coached Bank of Ireland in the Leinster Senior League Senior Division and coached the team to an All Ireland IBOA cup winning performance. Nolan worked in the Irish Glass Bottle Co Ltd in Ringsend Dublin while he continued his football career. He worked in the mould repair shop and became Mould Shop manager until his eventual retirement. Nolan was also a member of Newlands Golf Club and an enthusiastic and capable golfer and all round great sportsman and also a gentleman. The FAI unveiled a commemorative alcove in his honour in August 2009.

Death

Nolan died on 21 June 2023, at the age of 89.

Honours

Shamrock Rovers *

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 ...

: 1953–54, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1963–64 *

: 1955, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season bega ...

: 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66 * Leinster Senior Cup: 1963–64 *

: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58 1959–60, 1963–64, 1966–67 *

Top Four Cup The Top Four Cup was an association football super cup featuring the top four clubs in the League of Ireland. It was first held in 1955–56 and last played for in 1973–74. It was played at the end of the season. Shamrock Rovers were the in ...

: 1955–56, 1957–58, 1965–66 * Hall of Fame: 1993 Bohemians * FAI Cup: 1970

References

Sources

* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins () * ''The Complete Who's Who of Irish International Football, 1945-96'' (1996):Stephen McGarrigle {{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Ronnie 1933 births 2023 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players United Soccer Association players Boston Shamrock Rovers players Republic of Ireland association football managers Dublin University A.F.C. managers Association football coaches