Early years Kirwan initially played
Gaelic football for the
Dublin county team and won an
All-Ireland SFC medal with Dublin in
1894 when they defeated
Cork by 1–2 to 0–5 after a
replay. Although both the final and the replay finished level, Dublin were awarded the cup. He then played soccer joined Southport Central of the
Lancashire League where he attracted the attentions of both
Everton and
Blackburn Rovers. He opted to sign for Everton in July 1898 and was subsequently used to replace
John Cameron who had been sold to
Tottenham Hotspur. He made his league debut for Everton against
Preston N.E. in September 1898. During his one season at the club he made 24 league appearances and scored 5 goals. He also played a further 2 games in the
FA Cup. While at Everton his teammates included among others
Samuel Wolstenholme.
Tottenham Hotspur After just one season at
Everton, Kirwan followed
John Cameron to
Tottenham Hotspur where the latter was now manager. During his six seasons at Tottenham, he played alongside
John Brearley and
Vivian Woodward. Kirwan scored 97 goals in 347 games for the club. This included 23 in games in the
FA Cup. He also helped the club win the
Southern League in 1900 and the
FA Cup in 1901. This saw Tottenham become the only club outside the
English League to win the competition. Kirwan kept the ball used in the final until he died in 1959. In 1900, Kirwan also became the first Spurs player capped by
Ireland.
Chelsea, and later years On 3 May 1905, Kirwan left
Southern League Tottenham Hotspur and joined the newly-formed
Chelsea. Kirwan, already established as
Ireland captain by this point, was a virtual ever-present in his first season with the West London side, playing 36 games and scoring 8 goals as the team narrowly missed out on promotion to the First Division after a dramatic late-season collapse. He made 75 appearances in total for Chelsea, scoring 16 goals. In
1907, he helped Chelsea finish runners up in the
Second Division and thus gain promotion. Kirwan also played three games for Chelsea in the
FA Cup, scoring one goal. After leaving Chelsea, he played for
Clyde and
Leyton F.C., before retiring as a player.
Irish international Between 1900 and 1909, Kirwan played 17 times for
Ireland. He made his international debut on 24 February 1900 in a 2–0 away defeat to
Wales. Kirwan, together with
Archie Goodall,
Billy Scott,
Billy McCracken and
Robert Milne, was a member of the Ireland team that clinched a share in the
1903 British Home Championship. Until then the competition had been monopolised by
England and
Scotland. However, in 1903, before
goal difference was applied, Ireland forced a three way share. Despite losing their opening game 4–0 to England, the Irish then beat Scotland for the first time on 21 March 1903. Kirwan scored his first goal for Ireland in the 2–0 win at
Celtic Park. He then helped Ireland beat Wales 2–0 in the final game of the tournament. He scored his second goal for Ireland in a 3–1 defeat to
England on 12 March 1904. Kirwan captained the side during its 1905 and 1906 Home Championship campaigns. His final game for Ireland was a 5–0 defeat to Scotland on 15 March 1909. ==Coaching career==