Goalkeeper Packie Bonner had his best years in football playing for Celtic and Republic of Ireland.
He began his soccer career in the late 1970s with his local youth side, Keadue Rovers. When he was 16 he had several trials with Leicester, and kept goal for them in the FA Youth Cup.
His Leicester adventure eventually ended with that youth involvement, and n August 1977, Bonner had agreed a deal to sign for League of Ireland side Finn Harps. He had agreed on a 6-month contract after impressing in a guest appearance in a friendly against English team Stoke City.
An agreement was put in place, with the intention that if a bigger club came in, Bonner would be allowed to leave. He was spotted by Celtic scouts, and invited to Glasgow for a trial. Bonner signed for Celtic on 14 May 1978.
Bonner made 483 league appearances for Celtic, the most by any goalkeeper in the club’s history, with a total of 646 overall. He won four League Championships, three Scottish Cups, and one League Cup with the team. His last match for Celtic was the 1995 Scottish Cup final. Following the victory over Airdrie, Bonner became a player-coach and left the club in 1998.
Bonner made his full debut for Ireland on his 21st birthday in a friendly against Poland on 24 May 1981. He had to wait patentially to become first choice, but from the day Jack Charlton was made Ireland coach in March 1986, he was more or less the first choice goalkeeper. Bonner played in all of Ireland’s games at Euro 88, including the 1–0 victory over England in Stuttgart. In the second half, Bonner produced a number of outstanding saves to keep Ireland in the lead, most notably from Gary Lineker, and was named Man of the Match. It was Bonner’s eighth consecutive clean sheet for Ireland. In the second game, Ireland drew 1–1 with the Soviet Union. Ireland narrowly missed out on a semi-final appearance, conceding a goal in the dying minutes of their final group match against eventual champions, the Netherlands.
World Cup memories: ‘I remember the ear-splitting cheer when Packie Bonner went completely horizontal’ https://t.co/Ks54p7PkdO
— Irish Independent Sport (@IndoSport) June 12, 2026
Bonner played exceptionally well in the qualification games for the 1990 World Cup. With him as goalkeeper, Ireland secured a spot in the finals with a 2–0 victory against Malta. This was the first time Ireland qualified for the World Cup, and Bonner made his mark with two unforgettable moments. In Ireland’s first match against England, with the team down 1–0, Bonner made a strong clearance that led to Kevin Sheedy’s equalizer. During the penalty shootout in the second round against Romania, Bonner saved a weak penalty, allowing David O’Leary to score the winning kick. Unfortunately, Ireland lost 1–0 in the quarter-final against Italy, despite Bonner’s save from Roberto Donadoni, as Salvatore Schillaci scored the decisive goal. Bonner returned to Dublin the next day to a hero’s welcome.
Bonner’s penalty save has been remembered by FIFA as one of the great moments of that World Cup. In an article entitled “Bonner’s Moment in Time”, Bonner states, “It really wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that that one save changed my life forever, certainly in terms of recognition.”
Bonner played for Ireland in all 12 matches to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. After seven wins and three draws in their first ten games, Ireland was close to qualifying. They needed one of Spain or Denmark to win their simultaneous match if they drew. Ireland qualified ahead of Denmark because they scored more goals. In the Finals, Ireland won 1–0 against Italy but lost 2–1 to Mexico and drew 0–0 with Norway, which helped them advance to the next round due to the win over Italy. However, Ireland’s tournament ended with a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands, where Bonner made a crucial mistake, allowing a long shot to slip into the net, leading to their elimination.
Packie Bonner’s last game for the Republic of Ireland was in 1996 against Bolivia. He got his 80th and final international cap as a substitute, replacing Shay Given. He held this record until the same man, surpassed it in 2007, Given eventually reaching 120 caps by the end of 2011.
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