The Northern Ireland and Canada Football Connection

Could Alistair Johnston ensure a son of Newtownards is at the 2022 World Cup? At international level, Northern Ireland and Canada have an interesting history and connection. There are Canadian-born Northern Ireland internationals and Northern Irish-born Canada internationals. Not only that, the countries were both at the 1986 World Cup and have played each other a few times down the years, in Canada and in Northern Ireland. Aside from that, there was immigration from Northern Ireland to Canada through the years, a Toronto Northern Ireland Supporters Club and plenty of Northern Irishmen found themselves at Canadian clubs. And vice-versa.

Canadian-born Northern Ireland internationals

These guys were all born in Canada yet have represented Northern Ireland internationally.

1.George Forbes

Born – BC, Canada, 29th November 1868.
Clubs – Limavady United, St Columb’s Court, Distillery and Glentoran.
Position – Full back.
Northern Ireland caps – 4 (1888 – 1891).
Claim to fame – He played against Canada for Ireland!
Further Reading – George Forbes Wikipedia, George Forbes NIFG.

The legendary George Forbes was the first Canadian-born footballer to play for Northern Ireland. At the time before partition, it was the Ireland team of course, based in Belfast and run by the IFA. George had an interesting career – he moved to Londonderry from Canada and won the Irish League while at Distillery. He scored his only competitive goal in a 7-0 win for Distillery over Old Park and he scored an own goal while at Glentoran in a cup final. George officially won 4 caps for Ireland, one of them was against his native Canada but it is not actually recognised as a “full” international by FIFA or the IFA. Arconada…Armstrong recognises it of course, as it really happened. ;-). He also represented County Antrim, and the Irish League. Quite a man!

2.Caolan Lavery

Born – Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, 22nd October 1992
Clubs – Red Deer Renegades, Goodyear, South West United, Team Alberta, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Southend United, Plymouth Argyle, Chesterfield, Portsmouth, Sheffield United, Rotherham United, Bury, Walsall, Bradford City.
Trials – Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City.
Position – Forward.
Canada caps – 1 (under 17 level)
Northern Ireland caps –
5 (under 19 level)
7 (under 21 level)
0 full level – called up for Qatar & Romania 2015
Claims to fame –
1.Caolan is the only player on this list to have represented both Canada (under 17) and Northern Ireland (under 19, under 21).
2.Caolan has played and scored for both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday in English league football.
3.Caolan Lavery has a sticker in the Northern Ireland 2016 Panini Sticker album despite having never won a full cap!
Further Reading – Caolan Lavery Wikipedia, Caolan Lavery Twitter, Caolan Lavery Instagram, Caolan Lavery NIFG, Caolan Lavery IFA.

Caolan has no full international caps for Northern Ireland yet was called up a few times by Michael O’Neill, including for the Qatar friendly in 2015. Caolan played once for Canada’s under 17 team before he moved to England to work for Ipswich Town. His English league career has been fairly diverse – he has been at over 10 clubs there. He scored twice for Sheffield Wednesday in a 6-0 win over Leeds United and twice again in a 4-1 win over Birmingham City. Despite such an interesting club career, he has no full Northern Ireland caps, which is still a curious mystery. He pulled out of a squad once for his brother’s wedding. After that, neither Michael O’Neill nor Ian Baraclough called him up again. Still, he has his Panini sticker for the memory…

3.Jimmy Nicholl

Born – 28th December 1956, Hamilton, Canada
Clubs – Manchester United, Sunderland, Toronto Blizzard, Glasgow Rangers, West Bromwich Albion, Dunfermline Athletic, Raith Rovers, Bath City.
Position – Defender.
Northern Ireland caps – 73 caps, 1 goal.
Claims to fame –
1.Jimmy has Zico’s shirt from the Brazil match in 1986.
2.Jimmy has an FA Cup winners medal and an FA Cup runners-up medal.
Further Reading – Jimmy Nicholl Wikipedia, Jimmy Nicholl NIFG.

This legend requires no introduction! Jimmy Nicholl is a Northern Ireland hero from the glory days 1980 – 1986. He played all 5 matches at the 1982 World Cup and all 3 matches at the 1986 World Cup. He also scored a screamager from 25 yards in our impressive 3-0 win over Sweden to qualify for Espana 82. Jimmy played in two FA Cup finals for Manchester United – winning in 1977 and being runner-up in 1979. Jimmy is also well remembered at Glasgow Rangers where he won a load of cups and leagues in the 1980s. Jimmy also had spells with clubs like Bath City and Dunfermline as well as in his native Canada with Toronto Blizzard. However, he’s a Belfast boy through and through – he grew up in Rathcoole.

4.Alan Mannus

Born – 19th May 1982, Toronto, Canada.
Clubs – Shamrock Rovers, Falkirk, Bradford City, Linfield, Larne, Carrick Rangers, St. Johnstone.
Northern Ireland caps –
3 (under 21 level).
1 (under 23 level).
9 (full level).
Position – Goalkeeper.
Claim to fame – Alan Mannus has scored a goal – he did that for Linfield against Omagh Town, joining a list of Northern Irish goalscoring goalkeepers.
Further Reading – Alan Mannus Wikipedia, Alan Mannus NIFG.

Born in Canada but raised in Carryduff, Alan Mannus has won every honour available in Irish League football. He played over 400 games and scored for Linfield against Omagh Town from his own goalmouth in October 2003.

His first cap was during the 2004 Caribbean Tour – he was a last-minute replacement in the squad for the injured Michael Ingham. Yet his first start wasn’t until 2013, against Malta! Alan can proudly say that he is one of only 10 goalkeepers ever included in a Northern Ireland men’s major tournament squad. He was number 23 at Euro 2016, but neither Alan nor Roy Carroll played a minute of the tournament.

Northern Irish Canadian international footballers

In this category, there are less Northern-Irish born/ancestral players who have played for Canada than for Republic of Ireland, USA, New Zealand and Australia. Early records may not be 100% accurate and there could be a few more missing.

Alistair Johnston

Born – Vancouver, Canada (mother from Newtownards, Northern Ireland).
Clubs – Lakeshore SC, Aurora Youth SC, Richmond Hill SC, ANB Futbol, Vaughan SC, St. John’s Red Storm, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Vaughan Azzurri, Nashville, CF Montreal.
Northern Ireland caps – 0.
Canada caps – 24, 1 goal.
Claim to fame – Alistair declared for Canada in 2021 – he was never approached by Northern Ireland bosses Ian Baraclough or Michael O’Neill.
Further Reading – Alistair Johnston Wikipedia , Alistair on Canada at World Cup 2022.

Alistair Johnston currently plays for Canada. His Mum is from Newtownards. With Canada having qualified for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups, Alistair is likely to make the squad, which would make him the first player with a paternal Northern Irish link to play at a World Cup since 1986.

Ryan McCurdy

Born – 23rd May 1991, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – Linfield, Algonquin Thunder, VIU Mariners, Kingston FC, Kingston Clippers, Victoria Highlanders, CCB LFC United, Pacific FC.
Northern Ireland caps – 0.
Canada caps – 0.
Claim to fame – McCurdy is eligible to represent both Northern Ireland and Canada but as yet hasn’t played for either.
Further Reading – Ryan McCurdy Wikipedia, Ryan McCurdy on Twitter.

Norman Patterson

Born – 27th October 1945, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Died – 21st August 2012, Toronto, Canada.
Clubs – Concordia University, St. Paul Rovers, Celtic Verdun.
Northern Ireland caps – 0.
Canada caps – 3.
Claim to fame – Norman Patterson appears to be the first Northern-Irish born footballer to appear in a tournament for Canada.
Further Reading – Norman Patterson Wikipedia, Norman Patterson on Canada Soccer.

Norman Patterson played and scored for Canada as well as representing his new country in the 1967 Pan American Games. He also played for Canada in their Olympic qualifying campaign.

Other Northern Ireland – Canada links

1.Daryl Fordyce

Born – 2nd January 1987, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – AFC Bournemouth, Glentoran, Portsmouth, Linfield, FC Edmonton, FC Cincinnati, Sligo Rovers, Valour FC.
Position – Midfielder/Forward.
Northern Ireland caps –
3,  6 goals (under 19 level)
12, 2 goals (under 21 level)
Claim to fame – He once scored 5 goals in a match for Glentoran in a 6-1 win over Distillery.
Further Reading – Daryl Fordyce Wikipedia.

I’ve the dubious honour of having watched Daryl Fordyce play live for three of my favourite teams – Glentoran, AFC Bournemouth and Northern Ireland under 21s. He played in midfield for the Cherries and didn’t make much impact so ended up back in the Irish League. He’s now been at clubs in five countries – England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, USA and Canada. He was involved in some kind of funny YouTube sex tape around 2008-2009.

2.Jimmy Kelly

Born – Date and City unknown, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – Bangor, Saint Johnstone, Toronto Ulster, Fall River Marksmen.
Position – Inside Forward.
Northern Ireland caps – 0.
Canada caps – 0.
Claim to fame – He won the 1927 Challenge Cup in Canada (whatever that is)
Further Reading – Jimmy Kelly Wikipedia.

Jimmy Kelly was born in Northern Ireland and he played for Bangor FC. Then he moved to Scotland to play for Saint Johnstone. After that he was Canada Loyal for the rest of his career. It is unclear whether he won any caps for any Ireland, Northern Ireland or Canada team at any level, but it’s possible that he did.

3.Terry Moore

Born – June 2nd 1958, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. 
Clubs – Glentoran, Larne, San Diego Sockers, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks.
Position – Centre-half.
Canada caps – 11 caps.
Claims to fame –
1.Got the word “Glentoran” into a Panini World Cup sticker book for the first time
2. Was in Canada’s first ever World Cup squad.
3.Scored a screamager against Rinat Dasaev.
4.Reached the Olympic Quarter Finals in 1984.
Further Reading – Terry Moore Wikipedia, Terry on Glentoran FC, Terry on Canada Soccer.

Terry Moore is a Glentoran legend, captaining the club for many seasons and winnibg almost every trophy available in Irish League football. Terry also scored a famous header past Soviet Union goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev to put Glentoran 1-0 up against the mighty Spartak Moscow at the Oval in 1989. Terry made 333 appearances for the Glens, scoring 12 goals in two spells spanning a hat-trick of decades, 1979 – 1980 and again 1984 – 1992.

Terry helped Canada qualify for their first ever World Cup back in 1986. All of Terry’s caps were between 1983 and 1986, Canada’s golden age, during which time he also helped his native country reach the Olympic Semi-Finals of 1984. Terry made the World Cup squad and of course the Panini sticker book, but wasn’t used in the tournament as Canada crashed out with 3 defeats and no goals scored. Terry should have been on the pitch!

4.Eric Ross

Born – 19th September 1944, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – Boyland, Glentoran, Detroit Cougars, Newcastle United, Northampton Town, Hartlepool United, North Shields.
Northern Ireland caps –
4 (schoolboys)
1 (under 23 level)
1 (full level).
Canada caps – 0.
Claim to fame – Eric Ross played against my father, Joe Blair.
Further Reading – Eric Ross Wikipedia, Eric Ross NIFG.

Although not capped by Canada, Eric Ross is an interesting character. My father told me about him from back in the 1960s when he played against hom a few times. He used to play wearing glasses! In the 1970s, Eric moved to Canada where he has lived ever since. He was one of the famous Detroit Cougars, a name used by Glentoran on a North American tour in the 1960s. Ross was also member of the famous Northern Ireland Youth squad that reached the final of the “Mini World Cup” in 1963

5.Pat Sullivan

Born – 20th March 1971, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – Nova Scotia Clippers, North York Rockets, Toronto Rockets, Oshawa Flames, Glen Shields Sun Devils, Durham Flames.
Position – Defender.
Northern Ireland caps – uncapped.
Canada caps – uncapped.
Claim to fame – I have no idea what he looks like so the below photo may not even be Pat!
Further Reading – Pat Sullivan Wikipedia.

6.Albert Watson

Born – 8th September 1985, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Clubs – Ballymena United, Linfield, FC Edmonton, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, Larne.
Northern Ireland caps –
1 (under-23 level)
Claim to fame – Albert played 129 league matches for FC Edmonton, scoring 5 goals.
Further Reading – Albert Watson Wikipedia, Belfast Live feature.

Albert Watson, along with teammate Daryl Fordyce both left Linfield to seek new playing opportunities in Canada in 2013, both joining FC Edmonton. Watson was named FC Edmonton captain prior to the 2013 NASL season. Albert also played in Iceland before joining Ballymena United, then Larne in 2019. At Larne he won 2 County Antrim Shields and played in the Europa Conference League. He has under caps for Northern Ireland.

Toronto Northern Ireland Supporters Club

Northern Ireland v. Canada matches

I’ve only included full-level men’s international matches here. We have played Canada four times, winning one, drawing one and losing 2. Northern Ireland v. Canada (this link doesn’t include Ireland fixtures before 1921). One win for Northern Ireland/Ireland (1891) and two wins for Canada (1995, 2005) and a draw (1999). As a geek fact – Keith Gillespie played in all of those last three matches.

12th September 1891.
Friendly International – American-Canadians tour of Europe.
Ballynafeigh, Belfast, (Northern) Ireland.
(Northern) Ireland 5-2 Canada (half-time 4-0).
Attendance – 5,500.

Very little proof or record of this fixture exists online and it is not officially recognised by FIFA, who rarely recognise any international matches outside the British Championships before 1930. But it happened.
(Northern) Ireland (2-3-5): Thomas Gordon (Linfield), William Gordon (Linfield), George Forbes (Cliftonville), Alex Crawford (Cliftonville), Samuel Spencer (Distillery), William Cunningham (Ulster), William Dalton (Linfield), George Gaffikin (Linfield), Olphert Stanfield (Distillery), Robert Torrans (Linfield), John Peden (Linfield).
Canadians (2-3-5): Dennis Shea, E.J. Gregory, Joseph V. Buckley, Dr John Clark Warbrick, Henry Waring, Franz H. Thibodo, James Whittaker, Alex Jeffrey, Walter Wells Bowman Ernie C. Senkler, Neil Munro.
Goals: Stanfield 3, Peden, Torrans. Jeffrey 2 (1 penalty).

22nd May 1995.
Canada Cup.
Edmonton, Canada.
Canada 2-0 Northern Ireland (half-time 2-0).
Attendance: 12,112.

The Canada Cup of 1995 marked our second North American tour of the 1990s. A year earlier in the USA we lost 3-0 to Mexico and 2-0 to Colombia. Here in 1995, we also lost both matches. Firstly Stoke City striker Paul Peschisolido scored a quick first half brace and that was enough to bate us. Our goalkeeper Alan Fettis had a nightmare – both goals were calamitous! We finished bottom of the Canada Cup after losing 2-1 to Chile in the second match, the goal coming from the legendary Iain “Iain Dowie” Dowie.

Canada: Paul Dolan, Frank Yallop, Nick Dasovic (Kevin Holmes), Randy Samuel, Mark Watson, Lyndon Hooper, Carlo Corazzin, Paul Peschisolido, Geoff Aunger (Marco Rizzi), Iain Fraser, Colin Miller. Unused subs – .
Northern Ireland: Alan Fettis, Alan McDonald, Darren Patterson, Keith Rowland, Pat McGibbon, Gerry Taggart, Kevin Horlock (Nigel Worthington), Keith Gillespie (Gerry McMahon), Iain Dowie (George O’Boyle), Jim Magilton, Michael Hughes, Phil Gray.
Unused subs –  .
Goals: Paul Peschisolido 2.

27th April 1999
International Friendly
Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland 1-1 Canada (half-time 0-0)
(Paul McVeigh/Brad Parker own goal) (Marc Bircham)
Attendance: 7,663.

I was at this match back in 1999, at the time we were managed by Lawrie McMenemy in our worst era ever. Of note, two Irish league players made their debuts that night – Rory Hamill and Glenn Ferguson. Rory didn’t win any further caps. Our goal was scored by Paul McVeigh – his only international goal though some sources cited it as a Parker own goal. We were dire and could easily have lost – our equaliser was in the last minute.

Northern Ireland: Maik Taylor (Tommy Wright), Aaron Hughes, Barry Hunter, Keith Rowland, Mark Williams, Kevin Horlock, Steve Lomas, Jon McCarthy (Rory Hamill), Phil Mulryne (Danny Sonner), Adrian Coote (Paul McVeigh), Iain Dowie (Glenn Ferguson).
Canada: Craig Forrest, Jim Brennan, Jeff Clarke, Nick Dasovic, Jason De Vos, Mark Watson, Paul Stalteri (Gareth Kusch), Jason Bent, Davide Xausa (Marc Bircham), Paul Peschisolido, Brad Parker.

9th February 2005.
International Friendly.
Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland 0-1 Canada (half-time 0-1).

This will be remembered by Northern Ireland fans only as the night Steven Davis made his international debut. The Aston Villa player finally won his first cap. He could easily have been capped before that. However, it was a disappointing 1-0 defeat and at the time, Northern Ireland’s last home win before this match was way back in September 2001 – a 3-0 win over Iceland. By the end of 2005 however, Northern Ireland would have beaten England and Azerbaijan here and drawn with Portugal. Sure it was only a friendly, wasn’t it?

Striker Olivier Occean nabbed the winner, peeling away from his marker to head in on 32 minutes, Gabriel Gervais had been sent off 10 minutes earlier for yellow card fouls on Keith Gillespie and David Healy. Healy will look back on a great chance to draw level in the 38th minute. The Leeds striker somehow managed to head wide in front of the posts following a good cross from Tony Capaldi and just after that he hit the post. Subs Philip Mulryne, Steve Jones and Andy Kirk all came off the bench but none could find an equaliser though Jones struck the post despite playing against 10 men.

Northern Ireland: Taylor, Baird, Aaron Hughes, Murdock, McCartney, Gillespie, Whitley, Doherty, Davis, Capaldi, Healy. Subs: Carroll, Smith, Kirk, Mulryne, Jones, Williams, Craigan, Clyde.
Canada: Sutton, Gervais, McKenna, Serioux, Imhof, Occean, Bernier, Brennan, Reda, De Rosario, Simpson. Subs: Hutchinson, Hirschfeld, Peters, Klukowski, Hume, Watson.
Goal: Occean, 32.