Dual Irish international footballers

Dual Irish international footballers are a group of Irish international association footballers who, between 1908 and March 1950, played for the international teams selected by both the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland. During this era at least 39 players represented both teams at a senior level.

Between 1884 and 1924, Ireland was represented at football by a single national team, selected by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. However, in 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. The latter eventually became the Irish Free State and then Republic of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival association, the Football Association of Ireland, was founded in Dublin and from 1924 it organised their own international team – the Irish Free State national football team. In subsequent years both the IFA and the FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, between 1924 and 1950, there were in effect two Ireland national football teams chosen by the two rival associations.

Between 1928 and 1946 the IFA was not affiliated to FIFA and the two teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. The IFA XI played in the British Home Championship while the FAI XI competed in both the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Despite this, however, there were occasions when the teams fixtures clashed and this led to some players having to choose which team to play for. In April 1931 both Tom Farquharson and Peter Kavanagh chose to play for the FAI XI against Spain instead of playing for the IFA XI against Wales. In November 1937 the roles were reversed when Tommy Breen chose to play for the IFA XI in a 1938 British Home Championship game against Scotland on November 10 instead of playing for the FAI XI in a 1938 World Cup qualifier against Norway on November 7. In 1938 Bill Hayes found himself in a similar position. He was called up by the FAI XI to play against Poland on November 13. However, he had also been called up by the IFA XI to play against England on November 16. Like Breen, he chose to withdraw from the FAI selection.

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