Bailey Peacock-Farrell

Name: Bailey Peacock-Farrell
Born: 29 October 1996, Darlington (England)
Height: 1.92 m / 6.03½ ft
Weight:
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full, Under-21.

Club Career
Middlesbrough .............. Youth
Leeds Utd 15/16- date ...-13 Youth
York City 17/18 ..... Oct-17 .Loan 4(0)/0
Landskrona .......... Jan-18 Trial

Biography:
English-born goalkeeper who made his professional debut for Leeds in a 1-1 draw with QPR on 5th April 2016.

Eligible for Northern Ireland through his grandparents, he was invited to a training camp held by Michael O'Neill in May 2017 and was then included as a late call-up for the senior squad for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Czech Republic in September 2017.

Wikipedia

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
29-05-2018 Panama A D 0-0 FR sub
still active

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
26-03-2018 Iceland H D 0-0 ECQ
still active

Player Transfers January 2016

2014/15 - 2015/16 -2016/17

- Club Appearances - Transfers (summer 2015 - January 2016) - Cups, Ups & Downs -

Northern Ireland players on the move...

Permanent Transfers
Rory Patterson (FC United to Derry City) BBC
Jonny Steele (ex-Minnesota United to Ottawa Fury) FuryFC
Philip Lowry (Derry City to Portadown) BBC
Shane Ferguson (Newcastle United to Millwall) BBC
Michael McLellan (H&W Welders to Linfield) BBC
Chris Johns (Bangor to Coleraine) CFC
Colin Nixon (Bangor to Larne) LFC
Ryan Brobbel (Whitby to TNS) Shropshire Star 

Loan Deals
Jeff Hughes (Cambridge to Tranmere) BBC
Ivan Sproule (Linfield to Ballinamallard) BBC
Robbie McDaid (Leeds to Lincoln) IrishFA
Luke Conlan (Burnley to Morecambe) Lancashire Evening Post
Chris Hegarty (Linfield to Dungannon) LFC
Lee Hodson (MK Dons to Kilmarnock) BBC

Pre-Contracts
Michael Gault (Portadown to Crusaders) BBC

Released
Jamie Sendles-White (Hamilton Academical) AcciesFC

Robbie McDaid

Name:
Born: 23 October 1996, Omagh
Height:
Weight:
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Under-21, Under-19, Under-17, Schools.

Club Career:
Teams.... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League-
Glenavon. 12/13-13/14....... Youth 10 (-)/2
Leeds Utd ........... Mar-14 Youth .0 (0)/0
Lincoln C 15/16 ..... Jan-16 .Loan .3(13)/4 (National League)
Maldon & Tiptree .... Aug-16 .Free (Isthmian League)
York City 16/17 ..... Nov-16 (National League)
Glentoran

Biography:
To follow.

UEFA
IrishFA

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
05-09-2015 Scotland H L 1-2 ECQ sub
still active

News: Billy Gillespie

Hi folks,

I would like to draw your attention to an event taking place in the village of Kerrykeel in Co Donegal on Saturday 7th September at 4pm when the village will pay tribute to Billy Gillespie, Sheffield United and Northern Ireland legend.

William Ballintrae Gillespie was born in the Village of Kerrykeel, Co. Donegal on 6th August 1891. The son of a policeman, he became simply known as “Billy”.  Showing talent from a young age in junior football ranks Gillespie was quickly signed up by Derry Institute when he was just 17 before making the move to Yorkshire to the then called Leeds City. Sheffield United obviously liked what they saw and in December 1912 he moved to the Blades for a fee of £400. It was money well spent as Billy Gillespie became the lynchpin of the side, making nearly 500 appearances’ and scoring over 130 goals, it’s no surprise that he is still revered around the streets of Bramell Lane. His finest hour however came when he captained the Blades to the 1925 FA Cup win over Cardiff and in turn became the first Irishman to captain an FA Cup winning team. The man from Kerrykeel was outstanding on the day with his performance described as follows by the local scribes of the day; “Sheffield United played wonderfully well but special praise is due to Gillespie, the man who waves a wand and whose influence has played such a vital part in United's capture of the Cup." To date this is still Sheffield United’s last major honour.

His career in the green shirt of Ireland was equally outstanding – Gillespie made his International bow on February 15th 1913 at Windsor Park and the Sheffield United marksman scored twice as Ireland recorded an historic first victory over England. It was the start of a remarkable run of goals for Gillespie against the English side. He repeated the feat the following year as the Irish side ran riot beating England 3-0 at Ayesome Park in Middlesbrough, as Ireland won the home international championship. Gillespie would go on to score seven of his thirteen international goals against the English in an international career that would span 25 Irish caps and would be Northern Ireland’s leadings marksman for a remarkable 78 years, before his goals tally was eventually overtaken in 2004 by David Healy, himself a thorn in the English side.

When leaving Bramell Lane in 1932, Gillespie would also have an effect on the local football scene. Returning to take charge of Irish League side Derry City, he took a Sheffield United strip with him and the Derry club adopted the red and white stripes they famously wear to this day. There’s no doubt Billy Gillespie was a proud Blade. He led Derry City to two City Cup triumphs and on four successive occasions they finished runners up in the Irish League. When Gillespie left Derry City in 1941 he relocated to Bexley in Kent, where he died a month short of his ninetieth birthday in July 1981.

Sadly in the modern era of wall to wall TV coverage and million pound contracts the extraordinary achievements of Billy Gillespie were in danger of being lost in time. This hit a nerve with a number of football enthusiasts within the Kerrykeel area and thanks to the help of funding from the local authorities in Donegal, Billy Gillespie’s name and football legacy will live on to another generation of young football fans across the North of Ireland.

The events on September 7th will begin at 4pm and included in the programme will be:

• A commemorative plaque will be unveiled by Jane Bull (Billy’s Grand-daughter who is traveling from the UK) at the local football club’s clubhouse at Rab’s Park Kerrykeel.
• Distribution of a commemorative brochure for the occasion
• A Billy Gillespie wall inside the clubhouse (newspaper cuttings, pictures, information on career etc)
• Refreshments afterwards in local Bar & Restaurant

Sheffield United, The Irish FA, The Football Association of Ireland, Derry City and Institute FC are sending representatives to Kerrykeel on the day in question and it is hoped football supporters across the North West and beyond will travel to what what promises to be a special day for the area and for the Gillespie family.

Donegal Now

Alex Bruce

Name: Alex Stephen Bruce
Born: 28 September 1984, Norwich (England)
Height: 5.09 ft (1.75 m)
Weight: 11.04 st (71.66 kg)
Position: Defender

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 2 Full Caps (2013-14); Republic of Ireland: 2 Full Caps, B, Under-21.
Club Honours: (with Hull) Football League Championship Runner-Up 2012/13 (promoted); FA Cup Runner-Up 2013/14.

Club Career:
Teams..... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Manchester United ........... Youth ..0(0)/0
Blackburn Rovers ............ Youth ..0(0)/0
Oldham Ath 04/05 ..... Dec-04 .Loan ..3(3)/0 1(0)/0 ...... 1(0)/0
Birmingham 04/05-06/07 Jan-05 .Free ..3(3)/0 4(2)/0
Oldham Ath 04/05 ..... Jan-05 .Loan ..5(1)/0 1(0)/0 ...... 1(0)/0
Sheff Wed..04/05 ..... Mar-05 .Loan ..8(1)/0 
Tranmere R 05/06 ..... Aug-05 .Loan .10(1)/0 ...... 0(1)/0
Ipswich T..06/07-09/10 Aug-06 .Free 112(3)/2 5(1)/1 6(0)/0
Leicester. 09/10 ..... Feb-10 .Loan ..2(1)/0 ............. 4(0)/0
Leeds Utd. 10/11-11/12 Aug-10 ...... 29(0)/1 2(0)/0 2(0)/0 
Hudd'field.11/12 ..... Nov-11 .Loan ..3(0)/0
Hull City .12/13-16/17 Jul-12 .Free 74(11)/1 7(1)/0 6(2)/0 2(1)/0
Wigan Ath. 16/17 ..... Jan-17 .Loan ..0(2)/0 
Bury ..... 17/18 ..... Aug-17 .Free ..2(0)/1 
Wigan Ath. 17/18- date Aug-17 .Free

Biography:

(courtesy of John Floyd)

Son of former Manchester United defender, Steve, Alex Bruce currently plays for Hull City where his father is manager.

A controversial selection for the Northern Ireland squad in October 2012, Bruce had previously rejected a Northern Ireland call-up, preferring instead to represent the Republic of Ireland. Having won two friendly caps for the south he became frustrated by his lack of opportunities and agreed a switch to the north with Nigel Worthington in the summer of 2011.

Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
06-02-2013 Malta. A D 1-1 FR
05-03-2014 Cyprus A D 0-0 FR

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

Gary O'Hara

Name: Gary O’Hara
Born: 13 December 1973, Glengormley
Height:
Weight:
Position: Full-Back/Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Under-21 Cap (1994), Youth.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Leeds United	93/94	-90	Youth	0(0)/0	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		-	-	-	-	-

Biography:Gary O’Hara joined Leeds United as a sixteen year-old straight from school. A former Northern Ireland Youth international, he was promoted to Leeds’ firstteam squad for the 1993/94 season. In March 1994 he was selected in midfield for Northern Ireland’s Under-21 match against Romania, playing the full ninety minutes of a 0-0 draw. He was released by Leeds in the summer of 1994.

Please get in touch if you can add to this article.

OzWhiteLUFC (scroll down for pictures of Gary in the Leeds Junior team)

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
22-03-1994 Romania H D 0-0 FR

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

Gary Blackledge

Name: Gary Blackledge
Born: 8 April 1958, Belfast
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Under-21 Cap / 1 Goal (1978); Irish League: 2 Caps (1981-1982).
Club Honours: (with Portadown) Gold Cup Winner 1978/79; (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1980/81; Irish Cup Winner 1984/85; Ulster Cup Winner 1981/82, 1983/84; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1984/85, 1986/87; (with Glenavon) Irish League Cup Winner 1989/90; Floodlit Cup Winner 1988/89; (with Crusaders) Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1991/92.
Awards: NI FWA Player of the Year 1981; NI PFA Player of the Year 1981.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Europe	Other
Manchester City	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-
Portadown	75/76-78/79	-	Youth	-	-	-	-
Glentoran	78/79-87/88	Feb-79	£9,000	*219(32)/158	-	8(3)/2	-
Leeds United	-	Feb-82	Trial	0 (0)/  0	-	-	-
Chaumont	82/83	Aug-82	Loan	(France)	-	-	-
Glenavon	87/88-90/91	Jan-88	Free	* / 78	-	4(0)/0	-
Crusaders	91/92	Aug-91	Free	*16(10)/  4	-	-	-
Carrick Rangers	92/93	May-92	Free	*10 (1)/  2	-	-	-
H&W Welders	-	-	Free	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£9,000		/242	-	12(3)/2	-

* all domestic games

Biography:
A free-scoring forward who made his name as a teenager with Portadown, Gary "Blackie" Blackledge's talents earned him a him a host of admirers and an Under-21 cap in 1978. He had the distinction of becoming Northern Ireland's first goalscorer at Under-21 level in a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Dalymount Park but, despite later inclusion in the squad under Billy Bingham, he never added Full honours to his collection.

Blackledge's goalscoring form with the Ports brought him a Gold Cup Winner's medal (Cliftonville defeated 2-1 after extra-time in the November 1978 Final) and made him ripe picking for Ronnie McFall's first signing as Glentoran manager a few months later. It took a £9,000 fee to pry the twenty-year-old from Shamrock Park, but Blackledge's early form at the Oval was patchy and he struggled to win over the club's fans.

Still, after that difficult start, the goals began to flow for Blackledge. He finished as the Irish League's topscorer and was named Northern Ireland Football Writers', PFA and Glentoran player of the year in 1981 as the Gibson Cup returned to the Oval after a four-year absence. There were two appearances for the Irish League (in a 1-0 defeat by the League of Ireland in 1981 and in a 3-3 draw with Yugoslav side, OFK Belgrade in 1982) and plenty more goals, but still a section of Glentoran fans weren't satisfied.

in 1982 it looked as though Blacklege would leave Glentoran behind. He had a trial at Leeds, scoring for them in a reserve match and a month later he scored twice in an impressive performance for the Glens in a 5-2 friendly defeat by the Yorkshire-club. A move to Elland Road never materialised but that summer it seemed likely that he would sign for arch-rivals, Linfield. Instead he joined French side Chaumont on loan and consequently missed out on a Glens' cup treble. He returned to the Oval after his year away and normal service was quickly resumed as he added further medals to his collection. Injuries and the emergence of other goalscoring talent however limited Blackledge's appearances in his last few seasons as a Glentoran player.

Mid-way through the 1987/88 season Blackledge returned to Mid-Ulster to sign for Glenavon. It was assumed he was all-but-finished at Irish League level, but clearly the 29 year-old Blackledge didn't think so! His goals helped fire the Lurgan Blues to one of the most successful periods in their history with perhaps his sweetest strike reserved for a 6-1 replay win over Linfield in the 1989 Budweiser Cup Final.

Once again Blackledge found himself over-shadowed by the emergence of a younger striking partnership - Ferguson and McBride - and consequently he missed out on Glenavon's 1990/91 trophy treble. On leaving Mourneview he was afforded one last day in the sun, rising from the bench to score for Crusaders in their 1992 Co. Antrim Shield Final win over Glenavon.

Towards the end of a career that brought him all the major medals the local game has to offer and five player of the month awards, Blackledge had brief spells at Carrick Rangers and with 'B' Division Harland & Wolff Welders. He had scored in excess of 300 career goals.

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
08-03-1978 Rep. Ireland A D 1-1 FR 1 goal

Summary: 1/1. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

Billy Scott

Name: William Edward Scott
Born: 17 May 1882, Belfast
Died: 16 August 1936, Liverpool (England)
Height: 5.11½ ft
Weight: 12.11 st
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Ireland: 25 Full Caps (1903-1913); Irish League: 3 Caps (1903-1904).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1901/02, 1903/04; Irish Cup Winner 1901/02, 1903/04; City Cup Winner 1901/02, 1092/03/1903/04; Charity Cup Winner 1902/03, Runner-Up 1901/02; County Antrim Shield Winner 1903/04, Runner-Up 1902/03; (with Everton) FA Cup Winner 1905/06, Runner-Up 1906/07.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Suffolk	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wesley	-	-	-	-	-	-
Linfield	01/02-03/04	c/s-01	-	42/0	-	52/0
Everton	04/05-11/12	Jul-04	-	251/0	38/0	-
Leeds City	12/13-19/20	Jun-12	-	26/0	-	-
Liverpool	16/17-19/20	-	Guest	0/0	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		319/0	38/0	52/0

Biography:
Elder brother of the legendary Elisha, "Peerless" Billy Scott also stands out as one of the outstanding 'keepers in the history of Irish football. Having started his career as an amateur with Cliftonville, Scott went on to win Inter-League and International caps after moving to Linfield. After making his Blues debut in an Irish league match with Distillery on the 31 August 1931, Scott was ever-present over three seasons aside from missing a single Co. Antrim Shield tie in January 1903 through injury.

In his second international outing in March 1903 Scott was part of the Irish team that defeated Scotland for the first time. After a jittery start to the match he put in a performance which combined luck and fine judgement to keep a clean-sheet in a 2-0 win. He remained Ireland’s regular custodian for a decade in which time another win over Scotland and a first win over England were recorded. During his 25 cap international career he was also given the honour of captaining his country on a number of occasions.

Signed by Everton in the close-season of 1904, Scott had a difficult first season at Goodison, conceding seventeen goals in the first twelve games before being replaced in November by Welsh international, Leigh Roose. The pair went on to share goalkeeping responsibilities for much of the rest of the season as Everton finished as League runners-up, a single point behind Newcastle.

The following season saw Scott make the 'keeper's jersey his own, as Everton won the FA Cup Final, 1-0 against Newcastle at Crystal Palace. 1906/07 saw Scott play in the FA Cup Final again, this time Everton lost out 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday. Those proved to be Scott's only honours in English football, though Everton did finish as League runners-up on a further two occassions during his spell with the club, in 1908/09 and 1911/12. Noted for his safe hands and reliability between the posts, when Scott left Everon he proved an exceptionally difficult man to replace.

In June 1912 Scott was signed by Herbert Chapman for Leeds City who were attempting to build a team to escape the Second Division. It was a move that became shrouded in controversy as Chapman agreed to pay Scott a full years salary of £208 to April 1913, essentially two months extra wages, and well above the permitted £4 per week. Leeds were fined and the player instructed to return the excess payments. This was just the tip of the iceberg as further financial irregularities led to the club being expelled from the Football League in 1919.

1913/14 turned out to be Billy Scott's final season in the Football League, as Leeds once again failed to make it out of Division Two. They finished in fourth place, just two points behind Bradford Park Avenue, who were promoted as runners-up, but with a far superior goal difference. One of the most damaging results came on 2nd March with a match away to Clapton Orient which kicked-off at 4:30pm. In those pre-floodlit days it was inevitable that the game would finish in semi-darkness, and Scott claimed that he was unable to see the last two goals scored against him in a 3-1 defeat. Leeds City appealed to the Football League to have the game replayed, without success.

During the First World War Scott was on the books at Liverpool but  he never appeared in a competitive fixture. At the time Leeds City folded in 1919 he was at Anfield on a loan basis as reserve team 'keeper. He remained in Liverpool, working in the licensed trade, and died of pneumonia at a relatively young age and is buried at Anfield Cemetery. For all his own achievements, Billy's biggest contribution to football had to be bringing the young Elisha to Merseyside for trials with Everton and then Liverpool, and setting him on the road to "legend" status. Another goalkeeping brother was John, also briefly on the books at Anfield.

Ireland Cap Details:
14-02-1903 England. A L 0-4 BC
21-03-1903 Scotland A W 2-0 BC
28-03-1903 Wales... H W 2-0 BC
12-03-1904 England. H L 1-3 BC
21-03-1904 Wales... A W 1-0 BC
26-03-1904 Scotland H D 1-1 BC
25-02-1905 England. A D 1-1 BC
18-03-1905 Scotland A L 0-4 BC
16-02-1907 England. A L 0-1 BC
16-03-1907 Scotland A L 0-3 BC
15-02-1908 England. H L 1-3 BC
14-03-1908 Scotland H L 0-5 BC
11-04-1908 Wales... A W 1-0 BC
13-02-1909 England. A L 0-4 BC
15-03-1909 Scotland A L 0-5 BC
20-03-1909 Wales... H L 2-3 BC
12-02-1910 England. H D 1-1 BC

19-03-1910 Scotland H W 1-0 BC
28-01-1911 Wales... H L 1-2 BC
11-02-1911 England. A L 1-2 BC
18-03-1911 Scotland A L 0-2 BC
10-02-1912 England. H L 1-6 BC
18-01-1913 Wales... H L 0-1 BC
15-02-1913 England. H W 2-1 BC
15-03-1913 Scotland H L 1-2 BC

Summary: 25/0. Won 6, Drew 3, Lost 16.

Trophy and additional details by George Glass. Thanks also to Liz Hargreaves, Billy's niece, who provided family details and the Prominent Footballers card scan and to Roy Cathcart who provided the colour card scan. Burial details supplied by Paul Wharton and early club details by Martin O'Connor.

Jim Twomey

Name: James Francis Twomey*
Born: 13 April 1914, Newry
Died: 9 November 1984, Leeds (England)
Height: 5.11 ft
Weight: 12.01 st
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Ireland: 2 Full Caps (1938); Irish League: 2 Caps (1937).
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1943/44.

Club Career:

Clubs	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup	War-Time
Millvale Strollers		-	-	-	-	-
Newry T.	-	Sep-33	-	-	-	-
Leeds U.	37/38-48/49	Dec-37	-	109/0	2/0	5/0
Linfield	-	-	Guest	-	-	-
Halifax.T.	49/50	Aug-49	-	0/0	-	-
TOTALS			£-	109/0	2/0	5/0

From OzWhite

Biography:
A multi-talented sportsman as a teenager, Jim Twomey was noted as a skilled boxer and Gaelic footballer before electing to concentrate on a soccer career.

More to follow.


OzWhite
..
Ireland Cap Details:
16-03-1938 Wales... H W 1-0 BC
16-11-1938 England. A L 0-7 BC

Summary: 2/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 1.

Inter-League Details:
01-09-1937 Scottish League H L 2-3
06-10-0937 Football League A L 0-3

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

* Often listed as Twoomey.