H | Player Pics | A-Z of Players
Personal
Fullname: Joseph Haverty
aka: Joe Haverty
Born: 17 February 1936
Died: 9 February 2009
Birthplace:Dublin
Signed: 27 September 1964 (month trial)
Left: 31 October 1964
Position: Outside-Left
Debut: Celtic 4-1 St Mirren, League, 17 Oct 1964
Internationals: Republic of Ireland
International Caps: 32 (1 with Celtic)
International Goals: 0
Biog
Former Arsenal and Blackburn favourite Joe Haverty was brought to Parkhead on 27th September 1964 on a month long trial from Millwall.
The speedy little Dubliner had been a real crowd pleaser at Highbury and his nippy and direct play saw him become a regular with the Republic of Ireland international side. His footwork met with the approval of the Celtic support during his only outing in the Hoops played on 17th October 1964, when Joe Haverty played outside-left as Celtic defeated St Mirren 4-1 in a league match at Parkhead. One match reported on Joe Haverty’s debut as follows:
“There was nothing spectacular about his play and he made no attempt to copy [Celtic’s John Yogi] Hughes’ methods. Instead he concentrated on keeping play open with neat passes to his forward colleagues and in general created a favourable impression“.
However, despite that impressive debut performance, Joe Haverty surprisingly returned to Millwall at the end of the month. It’s not exactly clear what happened. Did Millwall order him back or did Celtic knock-back the transfer due to the £3000 transfer fee? Whatever the case, after just one match his registration was cancelled by Celtic on 31st October 1964.
Taking in how poor Celtic were at the time, then possibly he was worth a gamble. Then again, with the arrival of Jock Stein as manager only a few months later to turn things around it can be very well argued that it was to be more Joe Haverty’s loss than Celtic’s.
Whilst at Celtic, Joe Haverty even managed to get a game for Ireland (v Poland) on 25 October 1964, and so counts as being a Celtic man at that time of this cap.
He would eventually return to his home city where he had spells with Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers before ending his playing days in America’s NASL where he appeared for Chicago and Kansas City. In later years, Joe Haverty was a scout for his former club Arsenal.
In 2000, Joe Haverty was inducted into the Rep of Ireland/FAI’s Hall of Fame.
He passed away in February 2009 aged 72.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1964 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Goals: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Links
Articles
Joe Haverty
Popular Ireland and Arsenal winger
Brian Glanville
The Guardian, Tuesday 24 February 2009
Joe Haverty, who has died aged 72, was an effective, popular leftwinger for Arsenal and the Republic of Ireland during the 1950s – a period when Arsenal’s pedestrian team badly needed a touch of colour. For his fans, you might say, as one bleak season at Highbury followed another, he was a kind of consolation.
Born in Dublin, he was an Eire youth international and a member of the St Patrick’s Athletic team that reached the final of the 1954 Eire Cup, after which he joined Arsenal in July 1954.
The 1954-55 season had just begun when he was given his debut in the First Division at Goodison Park, a midweek evening match against Everton, in which his partner was another small, lively figure, Derek Tapscott. But he did not win a regular first-team place in his first two seasons at Highbury, playing just half a dozen games in the first and eight in the second.
They were, however, eight matches of some consequence, since he helped the Gunners to a strong late run, in which they gained 15 points out of the last possible 18. Already an Ireland youth international, he won his first full cap at the end of that season for his country against Holland. In all he would play 32 times for Ireland.
The fact that he was a mere 5ft 3in was no disadvantage to him. He became a regular choice in the Arsenal team of 1956-57, making 28 appearances, in which he scored eight goals. He was especially effective that October in the demolition of Manchester City, against whom the Gunners scored seven goals.
In the following month, he played his finest game for Ireland, in Dublin, a coruscating performance against Germany, crowned by the scoring of Ireland’s decisive second goal. He went on to play for his country in the World Cup qualifying competition in season 1956-57, against Denmark in October 1956 and twice against England the following May. But trouble with his back eventually affected his game. In the 1961-62 season he went north to Blackburn Rovers and there followed a long peregrination; to Millwall, Celtic, Bristol Rovers, back to Dublin at Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers, finally playing for the Chicago Spurs and the Kansas City Spurs in the North American Soccer League. On retirement, he would, in time, become a scout for Arsenal, much valued by his compatriot Liam Brady, by then a coach with the Gunners.
Of Haverty, Brady said: “I used to watch him in the League of Ireland and the Irish team, when I was about 10, to when I went to Arsenal, at 15. Other fans always tell me what a crowd-pleasing player Joe was at Highbury. He was an old-fashioned winger, small in stature but very quick. He really enjoyed his time at Arsenal and constantly talked about it. He was an excellent scout for us.”
In 2000, Haverty was inducted into the Football Association of Ireland’s Hall of Fame. For the Gunners, he played 114 League games, in which he scored 25 goals. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. •
Joseph Haverty, footballer, born 17 February 1936; died 7 February 2009