Thomas "Steve" Mulholland

Name: Thomas Mulholland
Born: 13 April 1888, Belfast
Died: 
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 11.00 st
Position: Inside-Right

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps (1906).
Club Honours: (with Belfast Celtic) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1905/06.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Western	-	-	-	-	-	-
Belfast Celtic	05/06-07/08	Aug-05	-	-	-	-
Distillery	08/09	Jul-08	-	-	-	-
Leeds City	09/10-11/12	May-09	-	78/21	3/0	-
Wolverhampton Wanderers	12/13	Nov-12	-	6/ 1	-	-
Scunthorpe & Lindsay Utd	13/14	Jun-13	-	-	(Midland League)
West Stanley	-	Jun-14	-	-	-	-
Halifax Town	-	Feb-15	-	-	(Midland League)
Glentoran	-	Aug-15	-	0/ 0	-	-
Belfast United	-	c/s-18	-	-	-	-
Belfast Celtic	19/20	c/s-19	-	-	-	-
Hartlepools United	20/21-21/22	Oct-20	-	5/ 1	6/2	*/13
TOTALS	-	£-		89/22	9/2	-

*North-Eastern League Goals 
May also have played for Distillery early in the 1912/13 season before joining Wolves.

Biography:
Tommy ‘Steve’ Mulholland’s career got off to a blistering start. In 1906 he became just one of a handful of players awarded international recognition by the Irish FA prior to their eighteenth birthday, and earned rave reviews from those watching, despite a 5-0 defeat. A month later he won a second cap that, amazingly given his long career, was to be his last. 1906 also brought an Irish Cup Final appearance, with Celtic defeated 2-0 by Shelbourne in Dublin.

In 1907 Mulholland aided Belfast Celtic to a City Cup success, his driven goal in what was essentially the decider against Distillery helping the Stripes to a 4-0 win. Mulholland moved across to Belfast to sign for Distillery prior to the 1908/09 season. It was a to be a barren season for the Whites, one of the few highlights coming with a 2-0 victory over eventual League champions Linfield, Mulholland claiming both goals.

After a year with Distillery, Mulholland, accompanied by teammate Willie Halligan, moved to Leeds City. At the time, Leeds were struggling both on and off the pitch, and cut-price moves for Irish League talent were common place. Both Mulholland and Halligan made their debuts in the opening day of the season 5-0 defeat of Lincoln City. It was to be a rare highlight, Mulholland scoring just once all season, in a 5-3 reverse against Oldham, as he largely played second fiddle to Halligan, and Leeds finishing just above the re-election spots at the bottom of Division Two.

The following campaign, 1910/11, was slightly more positive. Halligan was Leeds’ second-top goalscorer with nine strikes, as mid-table respectability was attained. 1911/12 brought Mulholland his best run in the first eleven, he played 35 games in all, but Leeds struggled badly, finishing in 19th spot, forcing the club to apply for re-election to the Football League. At the end of the 1911/12 season Mulholland was part of Herbert Chapman’s clear-out at Elland Road.

Mulholland had brief spells with Wolves, then played non-League football with Scunthorpe and Halifax before returning to Belfast. He was back in England, playing for Hartlepools United, in 1920. Thirteen goals in the North-Eastern League was enough to take the club to seventh place, and earn them a place in the newly formed Division Three (North) for the 1921/22 season. Mulholland scored ’Pool’s first ever Football League goal, in a 2-0 opening day victory over Wrexham, but his League return lasted just five games.

Ireland Cap Details:
17-02-1906 England. H L 0-5 BC
17-03-1906 Scotland H L 0-1 BC

Summary: 2/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 2.

With thanks to Martin O'Connor, George Glass and Cris Freddi for their contributions.

Initially Mulholland played with Belfast Blues (a short-lived team formed around Linfield Swifts and affiliated to the New Irish FA), before signing with Distillery for the 1912/13 campaign.