| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Desmond John "Des"•Cleary |
| Used name | Des•Cleary |
| Born | 8 July 1925 in Dublin, Dublin City (IRL) |
| Died | 7 September 2005 (aged 80 years 1 month 30 days) in Banning, California (USA) |
| Affiliations | Jacobs FC, Dublin (IRL) |
| NOC |  Ireland |
The son of a Guinness brewery worker, Des Cleary played football for Jacobs FC, the works team of the Jacobs biscuit factory in Dublin where he worked. A centre-forward, he was a member of the last Ireland team to play at the Olympics, when they were beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands in a qualifying match at Portsmouth in 1948.
During his time working at Jacobs, Cleary also played tennis and partnered his future wife, Mary. After announcing he was going to work and live in the USA in 1957 he wrote to Mary, sending her a one-way ticket with a request to join him. She did, and they married at Los Angeles in 1958. Des and Mary divorced in the 1970s but remained friends.
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 Summer Olympics | Football (Football) | IRL |
Des Cleary | |||
| Football, Men (Olympic) | Ireland | =17 |
