Eoin Hand

Eoin Hand

Eoin Hand in 1981
Personal information
Full name	Eoin Kevin Joseph Colin Hand
Date of birth	(1946-03-30) 30 March 1946 (age 71)
Place of birth	Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Playing position	Utility
Youth career
	Stella Maris
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1963–1964	Drumcondra	1	(0)
1964–1965	Swindon Town	0	(0)
1965–1966	Dundalk	2	(0)
1966	Shelbourne	0	(0)
1966–1968	Drumcondra	43	(13)
1968–1976	Portsmouth	260	(13)
1973	→ Port Elizabeth City (loan)	?	(?)
1975	→ Lusitano (loan)	?	(?)
1976	Arcadia Shepherds	?	(?)
1977	Lusitano	?	(?)
1977	Shamrock Rovers	9	(0)
1977–1979	Portsmouth	17	(2)
1979–1983	Limerick United	76	(24)
National team
1969–1975	Republic of Ireland	20	(2)
1979	League of Ireland XI	1	(0)
Teams managed
1979–1983	Limerick United F.C.
1984–1985	St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
1980–1985	Republic of Ireland
1987–1988	Al-Taawon FC
1988–1992	Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
1993–1994	Shelbourne F.C.
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Eoin Kevin Joseph Colin Hand (born 30 March 1946) is an Irish former footballer and football manager. As a player, his normal position was centre-half. He works as a television and radio football commentator for RTÉ in Ireland.

Hand played schoolboy football with Stella Maris. As a 17-year-old, Hand was signed by Swindon Town but the move did not work out and he returned quickly to Ireland. He started his League of Ireland career with short spells for Dundalk F.C. and Shelbourne F.C. but it was with Drumcondra F.C. that he found most success.

After a series of outstanding displays, he was signed by Portsmouth F.C. for a transfer fee of £8,000 in October 1968. Hand impressed enough at Portsmouth to earn a call up to the Republic of Ireland national football team and went on to earn 19 caps for his country. He stayed with Portsmouth until being released at the end of the 1975–76 season. After a brief spell in South Africa, Hand was persuaded back into football by Shamrock Rovers making his debut on 9 October 1977 at Glenmalure Park. However, after only nine games he returned to Portsmouth F.C. He left again in 1979, after playing a total of 277 times in the league for them.

In 1979, Hand was appointed player-manager of Limerick United. He immediately sparked a revival in Limerick's fortunes and they won the 1979–80 League of Ireland in Hand's first season. They landed a European Cup tie with Real Madrid and Hand was rewarded with the Irish national team manager's job. He was the 1980 Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland Personality of the Year. He also won the FAI Cup in 1982. For a short time, he tried to combine both jobs but with business commitments in Dublin, he left Limerick and concentrated on the Ireland job.