Chelsea Football Club was busy on Monday celebrating their 120th birthday, but what do we know about the Irishmen that lined out for the famous Premier League side?
Damien Duff might be the first name to pop into your head, but the Stamford Bridge side’s connection with Ireland goes right back to the club’s founding in 1905.
The first Irishman to play for Chelsea was an All-Ireland winner, who later went on to manage Ajax Amsterdam (as their first professional manager) and Bohemians.
Others included a pair of European Cup Winners’ Cup winners, the first Ireland player to receive a red card in an international game, and two goalkeepers who managed just two first-team appearances between them during legendary shot-stopper Dmitri Kharine’s spell at the club.
Damien Duff (2003-2006)
The current Shelbourne boss won two Premier League titles and a League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge, before his move to Newcastle. He made a total of 125 appearances and scored 19 goals.
Nick Colgan (1992-1998)
Now goalkeeping coach at Stockport County, Colgan spent six years at Chelsea, but for most of that time he was on-loan elsewhere. That included spells at Millwall, Brentford and Reading. Dmitri Kharine was the regular number one during Colgan’s time at Stamford Bridge and the Drogheda native made one Premier League appearance for the club, against West Ham in 1997 under Ruud Gullit.
Terry Phelan (1995-1997)
Craig Hignett of Middlesbrough and Terry Phelan of Chelsea (Image: Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
One of the heroes of Ireland’s 1994 World Cup campaign, Phelan moved to Chelsea in November 1995. He played just 15 Premier League games for the side before moving to Everton.
Tony Cascarino (1992-1994)
Chelsea signed Cascarino from Celtic, with Tom Boyd going the other way, and he made an instant impact, scoring on his debut against Crystal Palace. Injuries meant he made only 40 league appearances, scoring eight goals, before his move to Marseille.
Andy Townsend (1990-1993)
Andy Townsend of Chelsea (Image: Professional Sport/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Chelsea signed Townsend from Norwich for a whopping (at the time) fee of €1.5m, and they got value for money as the Ireland midfielder made 138 appearances and scored 12 goals. He moved to Aston Villa in 1993 for €2.5m.
Gerry Peyton (1993)
Capped 33 times for Ireland, Peyton made one appearance for Chelsea during his loan spell at Stamford Bridge from Everton.
Jerry Murphy (1985-1988)
Chelsea player Jerry Murphy argues with Liverpool's Ronnie Whelan (Image: Hugh Hastings/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Capped three times for Ireland between 1979 and 1980, Murphy’s international days were over by the time he moved from Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge. In his three years at Chelsea, he made 34 league appearances. His next club was non-league Fisher Athletic.
John Coady (1986-1988)
John Coady of Chelsea in action against Manchester United at Old Trafford (Image: David Cannon/Allsport)
Coady took a career break from his job as a postman when he moved from Shamrock Rovers to Chelsea. He made a goalscoring league debut in a 1-1 draw with QPR, netting past a young David Seaman, five months after his arrival. Coady made nine league appearances, and 16 in all competitions, before moving back to the League of Ireland with Derry City.
John Dempsey (1969-1978)
Tribute in memory of former Chelsea player John Dempsey (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Born in England, Dempsey played 19 times for Ireland and was a club-mate of Paddy Mulligan’s at Chelsea. He scored in the Cup Winners’ Cup final win against Real Madrid and also won an FA Cup with the Stamford Bridge side. He holds an unenviable claim to fame of being the first Ireland international to be sent off, when he was red carded in a World Cup qualifier against Hungary. The game ended in a 4-0 defeat in November 1969 and was the last in a miserable campaign that saw the Boys in Green pick up just one point from six games. Dempsey left Chelsea for Philadelphia Fury in 1978. Dempsey passed away last November at the age of 78.
Paddy Mulligan (1969-1972)
Paddy Mulligan posing at Chelsea's training ground (Image: Rolls Press/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Chelsea paid Shamrock Rovers quite a large fee at the time of €20,000 to sign the full-back - and Mulligan went on to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971 against Real Madrid. He remained at Chelsea until a year later, when he moved to Crystal Palace.
Dick Whittaker (1952-1960)
Whittaker played 48 times for Chelsea and won his one and only senior Ireland cap in a 4-0 defeat to Czechoslovakia in 1959, in a European Nations’ Cup qualifier.
Jack Kirwin (1905-1908)
Ireland footballer Jack Kirwan, circa 1900. (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Born in Wicklow and capped 17 times for Ireland, Kirwin was an All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer with Dublin (1894) before turning to the 11-a-side game.
He played with Everton and Tottenham before moving to Chelsea in 1905. He played 76 times and scored 16 goals, and helped the club win promotion to the First Division in 1907. Kirwin is also famous for his five-year spell in charge of Ajax Amsterdam, their first professional manager, between 1910 and 1915. Kirwin also managed Bohemians in the 1920s.
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