Mickey Lennon

Mickey Lennon
Mickey Lennon
AppsGoals
League 5114
FAI Cup 50
Shield 50
City Cup 20
Leinster Cup 11
Totals 6415
1934-35 85
1935-36 21
1936-37 157
1939-40 200
1940-41 122
1941-42 20
1943-44 40
1944-45 10
Totals 6415
Total Appearances: 64
Total Goals: 15
Position: IF
Nationality: IRE
Debut: 16-Sep-34, Shield, (H) v. Sligo Rovers

Bio:

The imposition of an entertainment tax in the 1930s added further pressure on club finances and payrolls were restricted—creating the perfect opportunity for experimenting with more locals. The 1934-35 season saw a veritable explosion in the number of locals togging out at the Athletic Grounds and before the year was over upwards of a dozen had got their first starts. Mickey Lennon’s opportunity came in the fifth match of the season (a home Shield fixture against Sligo Rovers) and aged 17 and a half, he duly scored on his debut, lining out at inside left.

His first extended run started in December 1936, in Oriel Park’s debut season. On December 27th 1936, in a 7-2 win over Cork, he became the second Dundalk player to hit an Oriel Park League hat-trick, two weeks after Billy O’Neill had found the net three times against Drumcondra. For this game Mickey had replaced O’Neill at centre-forward, injured in the previous day’s Leinster Cup final when Dundalk had lost to James’s Gate. In that first Oriel Park season he earned two runner-up mementoes, in the League and the Dublin City Cup. In the League the deficit against the winners Sligo Rovers was ten points and in the May City Cup final Sligo again emerged victorious.

There was a two-year gap when Mick played Gaelic football with St Brides and the Geraldines, winning a Junior Championship medal with the Geraldines in 1939, playing at midfield when they defeated St Brides in the final. He returned to Oriel Park for the 1939-40 year, and his last few seasons were spent mainly with the reserves.

Honours:

2 Runners Up: League and City Cup 1936-37.