Shay Gibbons (19 May 1929 – 9 June 2006) was a Republic of Ireland international footballer who played for several

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 ...

clubs in the 1950s, most notably St Patrick's Athletic. He was League of Ireland Top Scorer on three occasions in 1951–52, 1952–53 and 1955–56.

Gaelic football

Gibbons was born in

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 ...

. His mother was from

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

and his father came from

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. His father and brothers had played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

at inter–county level. As a youth Gibbons was also a prominent Gaelic footballer. He captained Parnells in a

Dublin Junior Football Championship The Dublin Junior Football 1 Championship is the Junior Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football competition of Dublin. The winners of the Junior championship go on to qualify for the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship. The winners will ...

final and was in the Parnells team that lost to St Vincents in the 1950

Dublin Senior Football Championship The Dublin Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the '' Go-Ahead'' Dublin Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Dublin GAA clubs. The winners of t ...

final. At 17 he was also selected as a substitute for the Dublin county team's senior panel.

Association football

Early years

As a schoolboy and youth Gibbons played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

for Dublin City U14s, Home Farm U16s and Bohemians U19. He also had a trial with Hull City. Gibbons initially played as a centre half, however in a youth trial game against a Liverpool FA XI he switched to centre-forward. Gibbons made his

debut with Bohemians as a replacement for Mick O'Flanagan before joining Whitehall Rangers of the Athletic Union League and helping them win the Leinster Junior Cup.

St Patrick's Athletic

Gibbons joined St Patrick's Athletic in 1950 when they were still playing in the Leinster Senior League. In 1950–51 he helped St Pat's win the Leinster title and they were subsequently invited to join the

. In 1951–52 Gibbons scored 26 goals in 22 games, including four hat-tricks, and finished the season as the League of Ireland Top Scorer. His goals also helped St Pat's win their first League of Ireland title in their debut season. In 1952–53 he was again league top scorer with 22 goals in 22 games. This included five he scored in a 6–2 win against Cork Athletic. He also had a sixth goal disallowed. This remains the most goals scored by a St Pat's player in a single game. In 1954–55 Gibbons scored 28 goals as St Pat's won the league for the second time. This remains the most goals scored by a St Pat's player in a single season. In 1955–56 he topped the league scoring charts for a third time with 21 goals as St Pat's won a third League of Ireland title in their first five seasons in the league. With 108 goals he remains St Pat's all-time top league goal scorer.

Later career

After short spells with Holyhead Town and Cork Hibernians, Gibbons joined

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

for the 1958–59 season, scoring twice in his

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...

debut against Cork Hibernians in a League of Ireland Shield game. He went on to score seven goals in his first five appearances for Dundalk. Gibbons finished the season with 23 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions.

International career

Gibbons represented the

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. ...

at youth, junior, inter-league and senior levels. Between 1952 and 1955 Gibbons made four senior international appearances. He made his senior debut in a 3–0 away defeat in a friendly 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 ...

on 4 May 1952. He was the only

player in the starting eleven. He won his second cap on 28 October 1953 in a 4–0 win 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., ...

against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

in a 1954 World Cup qualifier. He won his third cap on 19 October 1955 in a 4–1 defeat at home to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. This was the match that Archbishop McQuaid tried to get banned. He won his final cap in a 2–2 draw with

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 ...

on 27 November 1955.

Honours

St Patrick's Athletic *

: 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56 * Dublin City Cup: 1953–54, 1955–56 * LFA President's Cup: 1952–53, 1953–54, 1955–56 * Leinster Senior League (6): 1950–51 Individual * League of Ireland Top Scorer: 1951–52, 1952–53, 1955–56 Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Shay 1929 births 2006 deaths Men's association football forwards Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Cork Hibernians F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Holyhead Town F.C. players Leinster Senior League (association football) players League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players Association footballers from County Dublin Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Parnells Gaelic footballers (Dublin) 20th-century Irish sportsmen