Henry James Cannon was born on July 11, 1897, in Dungloe, the son of Thomas and Mary (nee Duffy) Cannon.

Thomas Cannon was a carpenter by trade and the family moved to Dublin shortly after the birth of Henry James, universally known as Harry.

Little is know about the family the Cannons left behind in Donegal.

However, it is known that Harry was a first cousin of Hugh Patrick O’Donnell, an Ardara man who died while a prisoner of war at in the hands of the Japanese in 1943. His brother, Harry O’Donnell, was also a wellknown Ardara and Donegal intercounty footballer.

In 1901, the Cannon family resided in Irishtown in Dublin. By 1911, they resided at the middle-class Herbert Place, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Prior to joining the army of the Irish Free State on 26 August 1922, Harry Cannon worked as a solicitor’s assistant. He enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers and after two months at the rank of private, he was promoted to the rank of temporary 2nd Lieutenant on 23 October 1922 and was awarded the rank permanently in April 1923. In April 1924, he attained the rank of Lieutenant and became a Captain in October 1929.

He died in service on 18 March 1944.

Almost from the beginning, sport played a central role in the newly formed Irish Free State army and this was given formal recognition on 31 March 1923 with the formation of the Army Athletic Association (AAA). However, the agenda-driven organisation of army sport went far beyond the development of physical fitness and a sporting spirit. The army scheme was designed so that the soldiers could ‘secure plenty of variety in their athletic training without having recourse to (sports) other than Gaelic games.’ The variety of sports approved by the AAA was claimed to include almost anything that did not extend to soccer, rugby, cricket or hockey, the sports designated as ‘foreign’ by the GAA and which members of the organisation were forbidden to play or promote.

GAELIC AND HURLING

Harry Cannon was a prominent and active hurling and Gaelic football player when he joined the army in 1922.

In 1925, he ended his GAA career and began a lifelong association with Bohemians, the leading amateur soccer club in Dublin. When his playing career ended, he served the Bohemians club as honorary treasurer, vicepresident and committee member.

In the Leinster Cup final of 1926, Cannon was ‘a brilliant goalkeeper’ whose ‘sure fielding and a stylish manner of completing his clearances made his work good to watch.’ A few weeks later, he was again a brilliant performer in Bohemians 2-1 friendly victory over St Mirren, who fielded the team that had beaten Celtic FC in the Scottish cup final.

Opting to pursue a new career with Bohemians in the association code was a decision that required the greatest of moral courage. Soccer was a designated ‘foreign game’ by the apostles of the Irish-Ireland movement and officially excluded from the acceptable sporting pursuits appropriate for a soldier or officer of the Irish army.

Playing soccer with Bohemians considerably expanded Cannon’s sporting horizons. A year after joining the club, he was displaying his talents to a London audience as a member of the Bohemians team that played in friendly matches against London Caledonians and Tottenham Hotspurs. He captained Bohemians in the 1927/28 season, the finest in the club’s history, which ended in May 1928 when the club beat St James Gate 2-1 to win the FAIFS Shield competition and complete the grand slam of available senior titles for the only time in the club’s history.

THE IRISH FREE STATE AND INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

Harry Cannon’s good form for Bohemians earned him selection for the first international match played by the FAIFS. This match was organised by the FAIFS, which was established on 2 September 1921. Prior to this, football in Ireland was organised, promoted and managed by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association (IFA) established in 1880.

The break with the IFA took place prior to the partition of the country and was a product of political, organisational and cultural differences in how football was organised. In September 1923, the new football association achieved FIFA recognition and this entitled it to participate in international competition.

As one of the countries that supported the Irish application for FIFA membership, it was appropriate that Italy provided the opposition for the first international played in Turin on 21 March 1926. The selection was confined to the domestic league on this occasion. Cannon and the three other amateurs involved received inscribed gold medals to the value of three guineas to mark the occasion.

The match attracted an attendance of 12,000 and Harry Cannon and Frank Brady excelled as the Irish Free State were beaten 3-0. The players stopped off on the return journey in Paris where they played a friendly match against Cercle Athlequike de Paris under the name of the Irish Nomads on 24 March 1926. Harry Cannon made his second international appearance when he was a member of the Irish team that beat Belgium 42 in Liege on 12 February 1928. An attendance of 25,000 witnessed the Irish Free State’s first international victory. A Cannon penalty save was the first by an Irish goalkeeper in an international match.

HARRY CANNON: THE SPORTS ADMINISTRATOR

Cannon was introduced to the world of sports administration through the AAA and through this, he became involved in the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) which in turn introduced him to the Olympic movement in Ireland.

Cannon’s association with the Irish Olympic Council began in 1931.

He was one of the three high-powered officials of the IABA who combined with officials of the Irish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA) and the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI) and forced JJ Keane to re-engage with the Olympic Movement in Ireland.

On 26 August 1931, officials from the IABA, the NACAI and the IASA held a meeting, at which a general discussion on Olympic matters took place. It was decided to arrange a conference for the following week ‘for the purpose of carrying through arrangements for the Olympic Games of 1932.’

Those present went ahead and elected Eoin O’Duffy (President), Harry Cannon (Secretary) and H. F. Brennan (Treasurer) as the officers of the new committee.

THE GAMES OF THE XTH OLYMPIAD, LOS ANGELES, 1932

As honorary secretary, Harry Cannon was responsible for the day-today administration of the Irish Olympic Council and was a member of its standing committee established in November 1931.

Cannon was present at all eight council meetings held during the Los Angeles cycle and his chief responsibilities were co-ordinating fund-raising, finalising transport arrangements, entering competitors and communicating with the Los Angeles Organising Committee. At a council meeting on 28 June, he was given an additional responsibility when he was appointed Chef de Mission of the Irish team. As such, he was effectively the team manager in Los Angeles and brought the experience of a stillactive competitive sportsman to the

post for the only occasion in Irish Olympic history.

The Irish Olympic Council’s time of preparation for the Los Angeles Games was short. On 3 July, the fourman athletics team sailed from Cobh aboard the White Star liner, the Adriatic, accompanied by Tommy Maloney, who worked with the athletes maintaining their fitness levels on the trans-Atlantic journey. The four boxers and Olympic officials including Harry Cannon departed from

Cobh on 10 July. As a result of the early departure, the Irish athletic team had acclimatised for eight days in Los Angeles before the Great Britain team arrived. The result was unimagined success for the small eight-man team with Bob Tisdall and Dr Pat O’Callaghan winning Olympic titles, Eamonn Fitzgerald finished in fourth place in the triple jump and boxer James Murphy also finished in fourth place after injury prevented him from competing in the bronze medal box-off.

There were also successes on the diplomatic front. The world governing bodies of the various Olympic sports hold their assemblies in association with the Games and Cannon was elected to the executive board of the Federation Internationale de Boxe Amateur (FIBA), the world governing body of amateur boxing.

As honorary secretary of the Irish Olympic Council and Chef de Mission in Los Angeles, it was Harry Cannon’s duty to present a report on the Irish involvement in the Games. The report was simple, factual and infused with a sense of national pride at the achievements of the small Irish team.

At the Parade of Nations segment of the Opening Ceremony, ‘Ireland made an imposing display, and received a tremendous reception from the 105,000 people present.’ He was briefly associated with the Council’s campaign that began in 1935 to have the island of Ireland recognised as the representative unit for Olympic competition. Ireland, as a 32-county entity, competed at the Olympic Games of 1924,1928 and 1932.

Despite his duties as an administrator of sport, Harry Cannon continued to play soccer at the highest level in the Irish domestic league and he did not retire from Bohemians until the end of the 1936 season. His last game for Bohemians was an unusual one; he emerged from his soccer exile in April 1937 and played with a club selection of retired and contemporary players who defeated a team from the German Battleship Schleswig-Holstein (2-1) in a friendly match staged in Dalymount Park.

The occasion is of some significance as it was the first occasion Olympic handball was played in Ireland.

The night started with some fitting pomp and ceremony as the players were introduced to Bohs’ Honorary Life President Tony O’Connell, and the Finglas Brass Band provided music. With the confusion of Brexit perhaps still swirling, the playing of Amhrann na Bfhiann caused some puzzled faces in the Derry lineup. However, the men in green turned to face the flag eventually. The game itself began with a familiar home-away pattern. Bohs looked to get the ball forward to Corcoran and Doyle as often as possible, while Derry looked to hit on the counter attack.

It was from one of these counter attacks that the opening goal came on 14 minutes. Barry McNamee clipped the ball through to Rory Patterson on the right side of the box, and Bohs keeper Shane Supple raced out to meet him. Patterson touched the ball past Supple – on the way out of play, and the former Dublin keeper somewhat rashly took the striker out. The lack of real protestation from the Bohs players told the story as Paul McLaughlin pointed to the spot. Aaron McEneff dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner, despite Supple diving the right way.

Bohs came into the game in the middle period of the first half. The first real chance fell to the wrong man – Dan Byrne went on a rampaging run and played a one-two with Corcoran. However, he scuffed his shot when bearing down on Ger Doherty’s goal. Jamie Doyle was lively for the home side, stinging the palms of Doherty with a couple of low shots from outside the area. Doyle never stopped running and displayed the kind of attitude that goes down well in Dublin 7.

It looked like half-time would come with a relatively workable 0-1 scoreline, but an injury time moment of calamity gave Derry a huge cushion. Derek Pender had a routine backpass to Supple, but the ball was struck way too hard – and towards the open goal. Supple scrambled to hook the ball off the line, although it looked to many in the Jodi that it had already crossed. However, he could only direct it straight to Nathan Boyle who had the simple task of finishing it off.

The second half was only four minutes old when Derry got the killer goal. After a Bohs corner had been scrambled wide, Doherty launched a quick kick to Boyle on the right wing. Boyle, who had only replaced Paterson early in the first half, out-muscled Oscar Brennan, and after running almost 40 yards with the ball, smashed it through Supple’s legs. With the mood in the Jodi low, Bohs got a lifeline on 55 minutes. Georgie Poynton scooped a ball through towards Corcoran, and a deflection off a Derry midfielder meant the ball bounced kindly for Dinny, who finished clinically past Doherty.

A goal to make it 3-2 would have set the cat amongst the pigeons, and Bohs thought they had it on the hour mark. Pender’s cross was spilled by Doherty under pressure from Doyle, and Keith Ward tapped in – but referee McLaughlin (harshly) adjudged that Doyle had fouled Doherty while jumping. However, the burgeoning Bohs comeback was snuffed out on 65 minutes. Jamie Doyle’s square ball across the pitch was cut out by McNamee who played Boyle through. The Derry man was denied a hat-trick by a smart save from Supple, but another Derry sub – Lukas Schubert – was on hand to tap the ball into the empty net.

The last 20 minutes or so were played out at a slower pace – both teams knew the game was over. Long took the opportunity to give debuts to Kaleem Simon and Philly Gannon from the bench, but neither had the chance to make an impact. Minds turn to next week’s meeting with Shamrock Rovers. If there’s ever a game to erase the memory of a defeat, it’s a trip to that particular part of the world.

Bohemian FC: Shane Supple, Derek Pender, Dan Byrne, Oscar Brennan, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Paddy Kavanagh, Ian Morris, Georgie Poynton, Keith Ward (Kaleem Simon, 61), Jamie Doyle (Philly Gannon, 78), Dinny Corcoran. Subs not used: Greg Murray, Stephen Best, Rob Cornwall, Eoghan Morgan, Dean Casey.

Derry City: Ger Doherty, Conor McDermott, Ben Doherty (Scott Whiteside, 68), Ryan McBride, Dean Jarvis, Nicky Low, Joshua Daniels (Lucas Schubert, 63), Aaron McEniff, Barry McNamee, Ronan Curtis, Rory Patterson (Nathan Boyle, 28). Subs not used: Eric Grimes, Rory Holden, Mark Timlin, Alon Netzer.

BohemianFC.com Man of the Match: Jamie Doyle

“It’s potentially the club’s last year in Dalymount, so we hope people will come and support us.”

Having lost some experienced players over the closed season, Long has had his work cut out rebuilding his squad.

But he has succeeded in attracting previous fans’ favourites such as Keith Ward and Dinny Corcoran back to the club from Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic respectively, while defender Rob Cornwall joined from rivals Shamrock Rovers.

That experience has been complemented by the additions of exciting young talent such as Oscar Brennan (Cabinteely), Jamie Doyle (Shelbourne), Philip Gannon (Longford), Georgie Poynton (Dundalk – loan), Kaleem Simon (Longford) and Fuad Sule (St Patrick’s Atheletic).

Bedding in so many new players will be a challenge, but Long is placing high demands on his new recruits.

He said: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

“We’ve a lot of new faces and it’s important they try and get off to a good start.

“We want the supporters on our side from day one so we have to give them something to shout about and put in a good performance.”

Long has been impressed by his players’ dedication during pre-season.

He said: “They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve bought into what we’re trying to do and their application has been first class.

“But pre-season is over. The serious business starts now. It’s about going out and delivering on the pitch.”

For all the positives of pre-season, there have been some negatives too. Midfielder Eoin Wearen suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear which is set to rule him out for the majority of the season.

Long said: “It was an impact injury in training and he will be out for six to nine months.

“It’s a big blow but it’s up to others in the group to see it as their opportunity to step up. One door closes, another one opens.”

In 2015, Bohs succeeded in beating Derry City three times out of three.

But it was a different story last year as it was the Candystripes’ turn to complete the clean sweep in the league, while Kenny Shiels’ side also knocked Bohs out of the FAI Cup.

Bohs were left frustrated on each occasion and felt they should have got something out of each of the four meetings.

Long added: “We lost too many games by the odd goal last year and against Derry that was no different.

“There were defeats we could have turned into draws and draws we could have turned into victories.

“We will have to rectify that this year. With the way the league is being restructured, every point is massive. Everyone will be scrapping.”