Thomas "Tom" Scannell was an Irish professional football player.

He left his native Youghal

Youghal

Youghal is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Sitting on the estuary of the River Blackwater, in the past it was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout...

 for England at a young age and played out his whole Football League career with one club, Southend United. He made a total of 102 appearances for Southend between 1950 and 1955, having signed from Tilbury

Tilbury

Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...

 in December 1949. He moved to Folkestone after leaving Southend United in June 1955.

A goalkeeper, he made just a solitary senior appearance for the Republic of Ireland national football team

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

, when aged 29, in an experimental line-up that defeated Luxembourg by 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 1954 http://www.soccerscene.ie/sssenior/matchdetails.php?id=61.

The father of actor Tony Scannell

Tony Scannell

Tony Scannell is an actor whose best-known role is probably DS Ted Roach in ITV’s The Bill. His debut in the show was on 23 October 1984, in an episode called A Friend in Need....

, who became familiar to many through his role as DS Ted Roach in the television series, The Bill

The Bill

The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

.