Fred Kiernan

Frederick William Kiernan (7 July 1919 – December 1981) was an Irish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the 1940s and 1950s.

Fred Kiernan
Personal information
Full name Frederick William Kiernan
Date of birth (1919-07-07)7 July 1919
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Date of death December 1981 (Age 62)
Place of death Southampton, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Drumcondra
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1942–1945 Shelbourne
1945–1948 Dundalk
1948–1949 Sligo Rovers
1949–1951 Shamrock Rovers
1951–1956 Southampton 132 (0)
1956–1958 Yeovil Town
National team
1951–1952 Ireland 5 (0)
1951 League of Ireland XI 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

He was born in Dublin and his first senior club was Shelbourne, though he initially played as a youth with Drumcondra.

With Shelbourne, he came close to a clean sweep of honours in the 1943–44 season, winning the League and Shield and losing out to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final.

In the summer of 1945, he transferred to play for Dundalk. After three seasons with Dundalk, he moved to Sligo Rovers where he played just one season (1948–49).

He was then signed by Shamrock Rovers coach Paddy Coad.

At 5 ft 8in he was unusually small for a goalkeeper but, according to Holley & Chalk's "In That Number", "he had tremendous agility, which went a long way in compensating".[1] Ireland recognised his talents, and in May 1951 he made his international debut against Argentina) and before May was out he had added a second cap (v. Norway).

Later that year at the age of 32, he joined Southampton for a then record League of Ireland fee for a goalkeeper of £4,500.

By October 1951 he had made his Southampton debut in the Football League Division Two against Hull City. Over the next 5 seasons he made 136 League and Cup appearances with the Saints and added another three Irish caps to his collection. During his time at The Dell, he contested John Christie for the goalkeeper's jersey.

In January 1954 he unsuccessfully applied for the manager's post at Peterborough United. He was almost 37 years of age when he played his last game for the Saints against Norwich City in April 1956 and the following July he moved to Yeovil Town.

He retired from active playing in 1958, before returning to Southampton, where he spent a brief period coaching with A.C. Delco.

Honours

Shelbourne

Shamrock Rovers

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References
  1. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 537. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
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