1950 British Home Championship - Last All-Ireland Team

Last All-Ireland Team

Until 1950 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Belfast-based IFA and the Dublin-based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result several notable Irish players from this era played for both teams.

The game between the IFA XI and Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham on 8 March 1950 marked the end of an era in Irish football history. The result was irrelevant, as both teams had lost their previous games and had nothing to play for but pride. However, the 0–0 draw saw the IFA XI field an all-Ireland team for the last time. The team included four players - Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh and the captain, Con Martin - who were born in what is now the Republic of Ireland. Since this game was also a qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the situation led to controversy. All four players had previously played for the FAI XI in their qualifiers. Both Martin and Walsh had even scored for the FAI XI. As a result the four players actually played for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament.

FIFA intervened, after complaints from the FAI, and subsequently restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland. The IFA objected and in 1954 were permitted to continue using the name Ireland in the British Home Championship. This practice was discontinued in the late 1970s.