Adrian Doherty

Name: Adrian Doherty
Born: 10 June 1973, Strabane
Died: 9 June 2000, The Hague (Netherlands)
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 10.06 st
Position: Winger

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Under-16, 6 Under-15 Schoolboy Caps (1988).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Europe	Other
Moorfield Boys	-	-	Youth	-	-	-	-	-
Derry City	-	-	Youth	0(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Manchester.United	-	Nov-87	Youth	0(0)/0	-	-	-	-
Derry City	93/94	c/s-93	Free	3(0)/1	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		3(0)/1	0(0)/0	0(0)/0	0(0)/0	0(0)/0

Biography:
A contemporary of Manchester United's famous "Class of '92", Adrian Doherty was rated ahead of the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham. By the time those illustrious names had become established at Old Trafford, Doherty's career had been ended by injury.

Doherty came through youth football in the Derry area, earning schoolboy caps while a pupil at St Colman's in Strabane. He was attached to Derry City and signed for Manchester United at fourteen. He was just 16 when called into United's senior squad in March 1990. Around the same time Billy Bingham sought to include him in the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad for a match against Israel, but Alex Ferguson blocked the move, considering Doherty still too young.

Just days before what should have been his First Division debut, Doherty suffered the cruciate ligament injury that would ultimately end his career. Over the following few years he had a few abortive comeback attempts before Ferguson agreed to allow him to sign for Roy Coyle's Derry City. He made a goalscoring debut for the Candystripes against Cobh in August 1993, but after just two further matches, aged just twenty, his playing career was over.

Also a talented guitarist and song-writer, some speculate that he could have as easily been the next Bob Dylan as the next George Best, Doherty attempted to build a career in music. In reality he ended up drifting from job to job. It was shortly after moving to Amsterdam to work in a furniture factory that he tripped and fell into a canal. After spending a month in a coma, Doherty passed away, just a day short of his 27th birthday.

An incredibly tragic story of "what might have been".

Guardian Article
Matt Bradley Tribute

Northern Ireland Schoolboys, 1988

Paddy McNair

Name: Patrick James Coleman McNair
Born: 27 April 1995, Ballyclare
Height: 6.00 ft
Weight: 11.04 st
Position: Defender / Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Under-21, 5 Under-19 Caps, 1 Under-17 Cap, 7 Under-16 Schoolboy Caps.

Club Career:
Teams....... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- League. FA Cup FL Cup Europe
Ballyclare Colts .............. Youth
Manchester U 14/15-15/16 May-11 Youth 15(9)/0 2(0)/0 ...... 1(0)/0
Sunderland.. 16/17-17/18 Aug-16 £5.0m 
Middlesbro' .18/19- date Jul-18 £5.0m

Biography:
Paddy McNair joined Manchester United as a sixteen year-old midfielder in 2011. He was converted to defence when the reserve team where short of players and was promoted to the firstteam squad for the first time in August 2014 when he was an unused sub in a League Cup tie at MK Dons. Just a few weeks later he was again thrust into action due to a shortage of players, starting in the centre of defence for a Premier League match against West Ham at Old Trafford where he put in a man of the match performance in a 2-1 win. In addition, he has also featured at right-back for United's first team.

To date McNair has mostly seen action in midfield for Northern Ireland's age-group teams. He received his first senior call up in November 2014, shortly after his breakthrough at Old Trafford, and was an unused substitute against Romania. He made his senior international debut the following March at right-back in a friendly against Scotland and added a second cap as a midfield against Qatar in May. With Conor McLaughlin suspended for the key Euro 2016 qualifier against Greece, McNair played at right-back in a 3-1 win and retained his place for the following match against Finland.

Throughout the build-up to the 2016 European Championships in France Michael O'Neill employed McNair in a variety of positions, mostly in an eclectic mix midfield roles, both attacking and defensive. He started the opening match of the tournament against Poland, but was one of the victims of an unsuccessful tactical try-out that led to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat. His only other outing in France was as a late sub in the 2-0 win over Ukraine.

Back at Old Trafford there was upheaval as Louis Van Gaal made way for Jose Mourinho, a manager renowned for not giving young players a chance. McNair was allowed to leave for Sunderland in a combined deal with Donald Love valued at £5.5 million, though the majority of that was apportioned to McNair. At the Stadium of Light he teamed-up with ex-United boss David Moyes.

ManchesterUnited
IrishFA

Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
25-03-2015 Scotland..... A L 0-1 FR
31-05-2015 Qatar........ N D 0-0 FR
04-09-2015 Faroe Islands A W 3-1 ECQ sub
08-10-2015 Greece....... H W 3-1 ECQ 
11-10-2015 Finland...... A D 1-1 ECQ
24-03-2016 Wales........ A D 1-1 FR
28-03-2016 Slovenia..... H W 1-0 FR
27-05-2016 Belarus...... H W 3-0 FR
04-06-2016 Slovakia..... A D 0-0 FR
12-06-2016 Poland....... N L 0-1 ECF
16-06-2016 Ukraine...... N W 2-0 ECF sub

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
05-03-2014 Italy. H L 0-2 ECQ sub
09-09-2014 Serbia H L 1-4 ECQ
still active

Luke McCullough

Name: Luke McCullough
Born: 15 February 1994, Portadown
Height:
Weight:
Position: Central Defender

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

Club Career:
Teams ........... --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- League FACup FLCup Other
Dungannon Swifts ................... Youth
Manchester United ........... Jul-10 Youth 0(0)/0
Cheltenham Town.. 12/13 ..... Jan-13 .Loan 0(1)/0
Doncaster Rovers. 13/14- date Jul-13 .Free

Biography:
To follow.

IrishFA
Soccerbase
Wikipedia


Northern Ireland Full Cap Details:
30-05-2014 Uruguay A L 0-1 FR
still active

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
14-08-2013 Denmark H L 1-4 FR
09-09-2013 Belgium A L 0-1 ECQ
11-10-2013 Belgium H L 0-1 ECQ
15-10-2013 Serbia. A L 1-3 ECQ
14-11-2013 Italy.. A L 0-3 ECQ
19-11-2013 Serbia. H W 1-0 ECQ
05-03-2014 Italy.. H L 0-2 ECQ
still active

Northern Ireland's English Title Winning Players

The following (Northern) Ireland players have claimed top division league winners medals in England (Football League until 1992, Premier League thereafter)...

Possibly incomplete.

3
Jonny Evans (Manchester United) 2009 [16(1)/0], 2011 [11(2)/0], 2013 [21(2)/3]
Bill McCracken (Newcastle United) 1905 [13/0], 1907 [22/1], 1909 [30/1] (also won Irish League title with Distillery in 1903)
Jack Reynolds (Aston Villa) 1894 [30/7], 1896 [22/2], 1897 [30/2]

Jonny Evans
(Manchester United)

2
George Best (Manchester United) 1965 [41/10], 1967 [42/10]
Elisha Scott (Liverpool) 1922 [39/0], 1923 [42/0] (also won Irish League titles with Belfast Celtic in 1919 and 1936)
Billy Lacey (Liverpool) 1922 [39/1], 1923 [30/1]

1

Roy Carroll (Manchester United) 2003 [8(2)/0] (also won Greek League title with Olympiakos 2013 and Irish League title with Linfield 2017)

John McClelland (Leeds United) 1992 [16(2)/0]

Martin O'Neill (Nottingham Forest) 1979 [38(2)/8]

Pat Rice (Arsenal) 1971 [41/0]

Tommy Jackson (Everton) 1970 [14(1)/0] (also won Irish League titles with Glentoran in 1967 and 1968)

Billy Bingham (Everton) 1963 [23/5]

Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham Hotspur) 1961 [42/6]

Jimmy McIlroy (Burnley) 1960 [32/6]

Alex Elder (Burnley) 1960 [34/0]

Jackie Blanchflower (Manchester United) 1956 [18/3]

Liverpool: Football League Champions 1922 & 1923
Elisha Scott (back row centre) and Billy Lacey
(front row, second from left) played in both successes

Jackie Carey (Manchester United) 1952 [38/3]

Billy Cook (Everton) 1939 [40/5]

Alex Stevenson (Everton) 1939 [36/11] (also won Scottish League title with Rangers in 1934)

Peter Doherty (Manchester City) 1937 [41/30]

Jimmy Dunne (Arsenal) 1934 [21/9] (also won League of Ireland title with Shamrock Rovers in 1938 and 1939)
WK Gibson* (Sunderland) 1902 [1/0]

Since 1993, the following players can claim to have been "Football League Champions" as winners of the English second tier (Division One to 1992/93-2003/04, Championship 2004/05-date). The Football League was renamed as the English Football League (EFL) in 2016...

1

Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion) 2008 [22(12)/4]
Michael Duff (Burnley) 2016 [23(1)/0]

Jonny Evans (Sunderland) 2007 [18/1]

Jeff Whitley (Sunderland) 2005 [32(3)/0]

George McCartney (Sunderland) 2005 [35(1)/0]

Paul McVeigh (Norwich City) 2004 [36(8)/5]

Phil Mulryne (Norwich City) 2004 [14(20)/3]

Gerry Taggart (Bolton Wanderers)

Kevin Horlock (Manchester City) 2002 [33(9)/7]

Maik Taylor (Fulham) 2001 [44/0]

Gerry Taggart (Bolton Wanderers) 1997 [43/3]

Tommy Wright (Newcastle United) 1993 [14/0]

* Gibson played in Sunderland's final match of the 1901/02 season and is recorded as Ireland's first English title winner by some contemporary sources. It is unclear as to whether he received a medal.

See also:
Northern Ireland's FA Cup Finalists
Northern Ireland Player with 20+ Goals in a Football League Season

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.

Conor Devlin

Name: Conor Devlin
Born: 23 September 1991, Belfast
Height: 6.02 ft
Weight:
Position: Goalkeeper

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 11 Under-21 (2010-2012), 15 Under-19 Caps, 13 Under-17 Caps, 20 Under-16 Schoolboy Caps (2006-2007).
Club Honours: (with Cliftonville) Irish League Champion 2012/13, 2013/14; Irish Cup Runner-Up 2012/13; Irish League Cup Winner 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 2014/15; NIFL Charity Shield Winner 2014.
Awards: NIFWA Young Player of the Year 2013.

Club Career:
Teams ........ --Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FA Cup FL Cup Europe Other
St Mary's Boys Club ............. Youth
Manchester Utd ............. 2007 Youth ..0(0)/0
Aston Villa .. 08/09 ..... Dec-08 .Loan ..0(0)/0
Hartlepool Utd 10/11 ..... Sep-10 .Loan ..0(0)/0
AFC Bournemouth .......... May-11 Trial ..0(0)/0
Hull City ................ Jul-11 Trial ..0(0)/0
Brentford .... 11/12 ..... Nov-11 .Free ..0(0)/0
Shamrock Rovers .......... Feb-12 Trial ..0(0)/0
Cliftonville...12/13-15/16 May-12 .Free 110(0)/0 ............. 4(0)/0
Larne ........ 17/18- date Sep-17 .Free

Biography:
Released by Manchester United in June 2011.

Joined Brentford on a one-month contract as goalkeeping cover in November 2011. He left when the deal expired having been an unused substitute on four occasions.

Devlin joined Cliftonville for the 2012/13 season, helping them to the Irn Bru League Cup and Danske Premiership and being named Young Player of the Year.

Early in the 2013/14 season Devlin was invited to train with the senior Northern Ireland team and received his first official call-up for matches against Portugal and Luxembourg for which he took a place on the bench.

More to follow.

IrishFA Bio

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
07-09-2010 Germany...... A L 0-3 ECQ

09-02-2011 Wales........ A L 0-2 FR

31-05-2011 Faroe Islands A D 0-0 ECQ

10-08-2011 Faroe Islands H W 4-0 ECQ
02-09-2011 Serbia....... H L 0-1 ECQ
06-09-2011 Denmark...... H L 0-3 ECQ
15-11-2011 Serbia....... H L 0-2 ECQ
10-05-2012 FYR Macedonia A L 0-1 ECQ
15-08-2012 Hungary...... A L 2-3 FR
07-09-2012 FYR Macedonia H L 1-3 ECQ
13-11-2012 England...... A L 0-2 FR

Summary: 11/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 9.

Picture by Roy Cathcart.

Joe Dudgeon

Name: Joseph Patrick Dudgeon
Born: 26 November 1990, Leeds (England)
Height: 5.09 ft / 1.75 m
Weight:
Position: Defender/Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 4 Under-21 Caps (2009-2011).

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	FL Cup	Other
Manchester Utd	-	-09	Youth	0(0)/0	-	-	-
Carlisle United	10/11	Jan-11	Loan	1(1)/0	-	-	-
Hull City	11/12-14/15	May-11	£300k	26(7)/0	2(0)/0	4(0)/0	-
Barnsley	14/15	Jul-14	Loan	15(0)/0	2(0)/0	-	2(0)/0
TOTALS	-	£300k		42(8)/0	4(0)/0	4(0)/0	2(0)/0

Biography:
An experienced Under-21 international and regular for Championship side Hull City, Joe Dudgeon received his first senior Northern Ireland call-up in October 2012.

Ultimately Dudgeon's career was blighted by injuries and he was released by Hull in 2015.

In November 2015 Dudgeon joined the youth coaching staff at Manchester City. He had begun to work towards his badges while still a young professional player. In 2016 he also began working with-in the Northern Ireland youth set-up.

To follow.


Wikipedia
ManUtd.com
Soccerbase

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
13-10-2009 Iceland A L 1-2 ECQ
13-11-2009 Germany H D 1-1 ECQ 
10-08-2011 Faroe I H W 4-0 ECQ
15-11-2011 Serbia. H L 0-2 ECQ
 
Summary: 4/0. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 2.

Picture courtesy of Roy Cathcart.

Oliver Norwood

Name: Oliver James Norwood Born: 12 April 1991, Burnley (England) Height: 5.11 ft Weight: 12.00 st Position: Midfielder Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: Full (2010-date), 1 B Cap (2009), Under-21 (2009-date), Youth; England: Youth. Club Honours: (with Brighton) EFL Championship Runner-up 2016/17 (promoted); (with Fulham) EFL Championship Play-Off Winner (promoted) 2017/18.

Club Career:
Teams.........--Seasons-- Signed -Fee- -League- FA Cup FL Cup Other
Manchester U. ............. 2007 Youth .0(0)/ 0
Carlisle U... 10/11 ..... Sep-10 .Loan .4(2)/ 0 ............. 1(0)/0

Scunthorpe U. 11/12 ..... Aug-11 .Loan 14(1)/ 1 0(1)/0 1(0)/0 1(0)/0
Coventry City 11/12 ..... Jan-12 .Loan 17(1)/ 2
Huddersfield. 12/13-13/14 Jun-12 ..... 75(5)/ 8 4(2)/1 4(0)/0
Reading ..... 14/15-15/16 Aug-14 £1.2m 75(6)/ 4 8(1)/1 2(0)/0
Brighton & HA 16/17- date Aug-16 Undis 16(17)/0 1(0)/0 3(0)/0 
Fulham ...... 17/18 ..... Jul-17 .Loan 22(14)/5 1(0)/0 1(0)/0 0(3)/0
Sheffield U.. 18/19 ..... Aug-18 .Loan

Biography:
A product of the same Manchester United youth set-up that has produced the likes of the Evans brothers and Craig Cathcart in recent seasons, Ollie Norwood signed his first professional contract in July 2009.

Already capped at Youth level by England, Norwood switched allegiances to Northern Ireland. He initially played for Northern Ireland in friendlies and minor tournaments, including an Elite success in the 2009 Milk Cup, while awaiting clearance. He made his competitive début in a 1-1 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier against Germany in November 2009, scoring the equaliser with a stoppage time free kick. In May 2010 he starred for Northern Ireland in the Elite Round of the UEFA Under-19 Championship, scoring twice (including another free-kick) in a 2-2 draw with Russia and a penalty to give the Irish a 1-0 lead against Italy prior to an eventual 3-2 defeat.

Norwood received his first senior call-up for the August 2010 friendly against Montenegro. He made his debut as a 64th minute substitute for Sammy Clingan, though by then Northern Ireland were already trailing 2-0 which turned out to be the final score.

Yet to make his United début, Norwood had a loan spell at Carlisle cut short by injury early in the 2010/11 season. In August 2011 he joined Scunthorpe on loan through to the following January. It was during his time at the Iron that Norwood scored his first senior goal, a trademark "belter" in a 2-2 draw with Huddersfield. Another loan spell that season with Coventry saw him play alongside Sammy Clingan but suffer relegation from the Championship.

In the summer of 2012 Norwood announced that he would be seeking a move away from Manchester United, despite the offer of a new contract, as he sought regular firstteam football. He drew interest from several clubs before eventually signing for Huddersfield.

In 2014 he moved to Reading in a reported £1.2 million deal.

More to follow.

ManU Profile

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
11-08-2010 Montenegro.... A L 0-1 FR. sub

09-02-2011 Scotland...... N L 0-3 CNC sub

24-05-2011 Rep. Ireland.. A L 0-5 CNC sub

27-05-2011 Wales......... N L 0-2 CNC
still active

Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
06-05-2009 Scotland...... A L 0-3 FR sub

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

Northern Ireland Under-21 Cap Details:
12-08-2009 Portugal...... A L 1-2 FR. sub
13-11-2009 Germany....... H D 1-1 ECQ 1 goal
17-11-2009 Czech Republic H L 1-2 ECQ 1 goal
02-03-2010 San Marino.... A W 3-0 ECQ 2 goals
03-09-2010 San Marino.... H W 4-0 ECQ
07-09-2010 Germany....... A L 0-3 ECQ

31-05-2011 Faroe Islands. A D 0-0 ECQ

10-08-2011 Faroe Islands. H W 4-0 ECQ
still active

Pictures kindly supplied by Roy Cathcart.

Barney Donaghey

Name: Bernard Donaghey
Born: 23 December 1882, Londonderry
Died: 1 July 1916, KIA Somme (France)
Height: 5.04 ft
Weight: 10.10 st
Position: Inside-Left

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1902); Irish League: 2 Caps (1902-1905); Derry representative.
Club Honours: (with Derry Celtic) North-West Senior Cup Winner 1900/01, 1901/02; (Belfast Celtic) City Cup Runner-Up 1902/03.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Other
Derry Celtic	00/01-01/02	-	-	/ 3	/2	-
Ulster	01/02	Apr-02	-	-	-	/1
Belfast Celtic	02/03-03/04	-	-	/ 8	/1	-
Glentoran	03/04	Feb-04	-	* 2/ 0	-	-
Hibernian	04/05	-	-	15/ 8	2/0	-
Derry Celtic	05/06	-	-	-	-	-
Manchester Utd	05/06	Nov-05	-	3/ 0	-	-
Derry Celtic	06/07	Aug-06	-	-	-	-
Burnley	07/08	Jul-07	-	5/ 2	-	-
Derry Celtic	08/09-12/13	-	-	/17	/4	/3
Dumbarton Harp	-	Feb-14	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£-		/38	/7	/4

* all games

Biography:
Born at Walker's Place, Londonderry to Edward and Bridget (nee Doherty), Barney Donaghey started his playing career with Derry Celtic as an 18 year-old. Not a prolific goalscorer, he managed about 50 goals in a career that took him from Derry to Belfast and on to Edinburgh, Lancashire and back to Derry again.

Donaghey opened his goalscoring account for Derry Celtic with 2 goals in the 3-3 draw with Cliftonville in the Irish League in September 1900. In his short spell with Ulster he scored a goal in a Charity Cup match in April 1902 while on his debut for Belfast Celtic on 30/08/1902 he scored a goal in the 4-2 defeat of Linfield and followed up with another goal in the 2-0 defeat of his previous club Derry Celtic on the 4th October 1902.

Undoubtedly the most famous player at Derry Celtic he played twice for the Irish League team while in their colours. His one full International appearance possibly brought him under notice from Hibernian in Scotland as three of their players were in the Scottish team. After playing for the Irish League against the Football League at Manchester on the 14th October 1905 he was signed by the United club to the end of the season.

During the Great War Donaghey served in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, leaving behind his wife of two years, Sarah (nee Maguire). He is buried at Mill Road Cemetery, Thiepval.

MUFC Info
Diamond War Memorial
Commonwealth Graves Commission
BBC Article

Ireland Cap Details:
09-08-1902 Scotland H L 0-3 FR* (19 years, 229 days)

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

*As this match was held outside the International Championship it is often overlooked in the record books. It is however recognized as an official international by FIFA.

Additional details and photo supplied by George Glass. Club details by Martin O'Connor.