Ronnie Whelan (footballer, born 1936)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 17 November 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 16 July 1993 (aged 56) | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 19xx–19xx | Stella Maris | ||
| 19xx–1956 | Home Farm | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1956–1966 | St Patrick's Athletic | 177 | (89) |
| 1965 | → Shamrock Rovers (guest) | ||
| 1966–1974 | Drogheda | 138 | (20) |
| 1974–197x | Córas Iompair Éireann | ||
| 197x–197x | Aer Lingus | ||
| National team | |||
| 1963–1964 | Republic of Ireland | 2 | (0) |
| 1961–1963 | League of Ireland XI | 2 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ronnie Whelan, Sr. (17 November 1936 – 16 July 1993) was a Republic of Ireland international footballer, who played for several clubs, most notably St. Patricks Athletic. He is the father of Ronnie Whelan, Jr.. Another son, Paul and a grandson, Gavin, were also League of Ireland players. Whelan died in July 1993 at the age of 56 from stomach cancer.
Two fellow Ireland internationals played a role in the development of Whelan's early career. Legend has it, Whelan was initially "discovered" by the wife of Paddy Moore, who then recommended him to her husband who was coaching Stella Maris at the time. Later Whelan was invited by his neighbour, Liam Whelan, to join him at Home Farm. After an unsuccessful trial with Chelsea, Whelan signed for St. Patricks Athletic. Between 1957 and 1964 he was a prominent member of the St. Pat's forward line and was the clubs leading goalscorer in five out of twelve seasons, scoring a total of 89 goals. During this time he helped St. Pat's win the 1958–59 and 1960–61 FAI Cup finals and the 1959–60 League of Ireland Shield. Whelan was awarded a benefit game in May 1963 and in May 1965 he guested for Shamrock Rovers in another benefit game . A run of injuries, effectively ended his St. Pat's career but he subsequently joined Drogheda for a further six seasons, helping them reach the 1970–71 FAI Cup final. While with Drogheda, Whelan also scored a further 20 league goals. He later played for Córas Iompair Éireann in the League of Ireland B Division and then Aer Lingus of the Leinster Senior League. Whelan also worked for Aer Lingus.
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