When Moore began his international career in 1931 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland-based
IFA and the
Irish Free State-based
FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Moore, played for both teams.
FAI XI Between 1931 and 1936 Moore made 9 appearances and scored 7 goals for the
FAI XI. He made his international debut for the FAI XI on 26 April 1931 against
Spain. Together with
Tom Farquharson,
Peter Kavanagh,
Jeremiah Robinson and
Charlie Dowdall, Moore was part of an FAI XI that gained a respectable 1–1 draw at the
Montjuic Stadium in Barcelona. Moore marked his debut by scoring the FAI XI's goal. He gave the visitors the lead in the 35th minute when he received a pass from
John Joe Flood and then found himself in a one against one situation with the legendary Spanish goalkeeper,
Ricardo Zamora. Moore coolly lobbed the ball over the advancing Zamora and into the back of the goal. The goalkeeper subsequently tore off his shirt in disgust and threw it into the back of the net, suffering the derision of his own fans. Moore missed the return game against Spain due to injury, but then won his second FAI XI cap against the
Netherlands on 5 May 1932. He scored the FAI XI's second goal in a 2–0 victory. Moore shot from twenty yards and bought the 30,000 crowd to their feet. However the highlight of Moore's international career came on 25 February 1934 at
Dalymount Park when the FAI XI made their
World Cup debut in a
qualifier against
Belgium. He scored all four goals for the FAI XI as they came from 2–0, 3–1 and then 4–3 down to draw 4–4. As a result, Moore became the first player ever to score four goals in a World Cup game. Two months later in another qualifier on 8 April 1934, Moore scored his seventh and last goal for the FAI XI in a 5–2 defeat against the
Netherlands. The other major highlight of Moore's international career came on 17 October 1936 when he masterminded the FAI XI in a 5–2 win against
Germany, again at Dalymount Park. Despite not scoring himself, he helped set up four of the goals. He made his last appearance for the FAI XI on 6 December 1936 in 3–2 home defeat against
Hungary.
IFA XI On 17 October 1932, while playing for
Aberdeen, Moore made his one and only appearance for the
IFA XI, in a game against
England in
Blackpool. Together with
Jimmy Dunne,
Jimmy Kelly and
Harry Duggan, Moore was one of four players born in what is now the Republic of Ireland to feature in the IFA XI forward line. Although England won 1–0, the IFA selectors retained the same team for the game against
Wales on 7 December. However injury prevented Moore from winning a second IFA XI cap and the 1932 game England remains the only time that Moore and Dunne played together at international level. == Coaching career ==