Michael Collins

Michael Collins was one of the five non-travelling reserves for Ireland in the Olympic qualifying game against Netherlands at Portsmouth in 1948. A wing-half, Collins started his football with Harland and Wolff when he worked at the famous shipbuilders but made his name with Dublin side St. Patrick’s Athletic. He was captain of Transport FC when they beat Cork Athletic in an epic three-match Irish Cup Final in 1950. Through 2026 it remains the only time Transport won the Cup.

Collins also played for Sligo Rovers and Longford Town, and after finishing playing took up refereeing until the early 1980s, when he returned to St. Patrick’s as a director and later chairman. Three of Collins’ sons played football, with Eamonn having a long career in English football. In 1980, at the age of 14 years 323 days, he became the youngest person to play in a senior game in the UK. That record stood until 2022.