Valentine Harris (Irish: ''Vailintín Ó hEarchaí''; 23 June 1884 in
Ringsend
Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...
, Dublin, Ireland – 9 November 1963), commonly referred to as Val Harris, was an Irish footballer who 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 ...
for the
Dublin county team and soccer for, among others
Shelbourne,
Everton and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Harris was regarded as one of the finest soccer players of his generation and in 1906 became the first Shelbourne player capped by Ireland. He still remains the club's most capped player. In 1913 he captained the first Ireland team to beat
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 ...
and in 1914 he was a member of the Ireland team that won the
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...
. Harris has been described as an extremely hard player in the mode of
Kevin Moran or
Paul McGrath and like his
Shelbourne,
Everton and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
teammate,
Bill Lacey, he was also very versatile, covering just about every outfield position during his career.
Playing career
Early years
Harris initially played soccer with junior clubs Pembroke and Emeralds and in 1898 helped Pembroke reach the final of the
Leinster Junior Cup. He was also an accomplished
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 ...
er during his teens, initially joining Terenure Sarsfields before joining, and winning honours at club level with
Ringsend
Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...
GAA team
Isles of the Sea. In 1901 he won an
All-Ireland
All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...
medal with the
Dublin county team. Harris is one of several prominent
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 ...
Gaelic footballers who successfully switched codes to soccer; others have included
Jack Kirwan,
Con Martin,
Joseph Ledwidge and
Kevin Moran.
Shelbourne
In 1903 Harris made his debut for
Shelbourne in the
Leinster Senior League. In May 1904 he had a trial with
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
but then returned to Shelbourne and made his
Irish League debut in a 3–1 defeat to
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...
on 17 September 1904 at Serpentine Avenue, Dublin. Harris stated that as well as offers from West Bromwich Albion, he has also received approaches from
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
,
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an English association football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester. It most recently played in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League, the ninth tier of the English football pyramid, following a 2023 ...
and
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
.
[Evening Herald, November 23, 1905] Harris went on to play in four consecutive
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...
finals and in the 1906 final was captain when Shelbourne beat
Belfast Celtic 2–0 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., ...
, becoming the first Dublin side to lift the trophy. His teammates during this era included, among others,
Joseph Ledwidge and
Bill Lacey.
Everton
In March 1908 Harris moved to
Everton for £350, the maximum amount allowed at the time. He made his debut for Everton against
Woolwich Arsenal and quickly established himself as the team's regular right-half. During his time at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
he was noted for his consistency and effectiveness and played in six different positions. With Harris in the team, Everton regularly challenged for top honours, twice finishing as League runners-up (
1908–09 and
1911–12) as well as reaching the semi-final stage in the 1910
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
. His teammates at Everton included fellow
Irish internationals
Billy Scott and Bill Lacey, who had followed Harris from Shelbourne in February 1909. Harris made 190
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
appearances and scored one goal; he also played a further 14 games and scored a further goal in the FA Cup.
Return to Shelbourne
After four years at Everton, Harris returned to Shelbourne in August 1914. In 1920 he won the Irish Cup for a second time after both Belfast Celtic and Glentoran were expelled. In 1921 Shelbourne became founder members of 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 ...
and in 1926 the club won the title. Harris remained a prominent member of the Shelbourne team well passed his fortieth birthday and his second spell at the club saw him play alongside Bill Lacey,
Bob Fullam,
Ed Brookes and
Louis Bookman. During his two spells with Shelbourne, Harris made 71
Irish League appearances, scoring 13 goals, 89
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 ...
appearances, scoring 6 goals, and a further 36 games and 12 goals in the
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...
.
International
Harris made his debut for
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
as a centre-forward on 17 February 1906 in a 5–0 defeat to England at the
Solitude Ground
Solitude is a Association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest football stadium in Ireland, and the home ground of Ireland's oldest football club, Cliftonville F.C., Cliftonville. The stadium holds 6,224, but ...
. His teammates that day included
Robert Milne and
Jack Kirwan. He was the first Shelbourne player to be capped by Ireland and subsequently won a further six caps while at the club. Despite suffering a number of severe injuries related to his robust style of play, Harris was remarkably consistent in his appearances for Ireland and he featured in a run of thirteen consecutive internationals between 1908 and 1912. On 15 February 1913, Harris captained the Ireland team, that also included Billy Scott and two-goal hero
Billy Gillespie, as they beat England for the first time with a 2–1 win 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 ...
. In 1914 Ireland went a stage further and won the
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...
. Harris and Gillespie were joined in the squad by the likes of
Patrick O'Connell, Louis Bookman and Bill Lacey.
Coaching career
After retiring as player in 1927, Harris became a coach with both 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 ...
and Shelbourne. In 1932 Harris took charge of the Irish team as they played 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 ...
. Although the team was chosen by selectors, Harris took charge of training and gave the team talk. Before the game Harris declared ''
Pat O'Callaghan
Patrick O'Callaghan (28 January 1906 – 1 December 1991) was an Irish hammer thrower and double Olympic gold medallist. He was the first athlete from Ireland to win an Olympic medal under the Irish flag rather than the British flag.
Early ...
put the
tricolour flying high here in the
1928 Olympics and it's up to you lads to see it is still flying high this evening''. The words proved inspiring as an Irish team that included
Alex Stevenson
Alexander Ernest Stevenson (9 August 1912 – 2 September 1985) was an Irish footballer who played for Rangers and Everton, amongst other teams. As an international, Stevenson also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...
,
Mick O'Brien,
Jimmy Kelly and
Paddy Moore won 2–0. Harris would later coach and managed Shelbourne as they won the 1939
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 ...
, their first success in that competition.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Northern Ireland's Footballing GreatsHarris with the Shelbourne Team that won the 1906 Irish CupShelbourne official siteDate of Birth at IFFHS*http://www.newsfour.ie/2014/08/valentines-days/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Val
1884 births
1963 deaths
Association footballers from County Dublin
Irish association footballers (before 1923)
Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers
NIFL Premiership players
English Football League players
League of Ireland players
Shelbourne F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Republic of Ireland association football managers
Republic of Ireland national football team managers
League of Ireland managers
Shelbourne F.C. managers
Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers
Isles of the Sea Gaelic footballers
Gaelic footballers who switched code
League of Ireland XI players
Leinster Senior League (association football) players
Irish League representative players
Men's association football wing halves