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Birth of Irish Hurler Brendan Maher

Brendan Maher, an Irish hurler who plays for club side Borris–Ileigh and previously at inter-county level with the Tipperary senior hurling team, is born on January 5, 1989, at Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary. Regarded as one of the great talents of his generation, Maher enjoys a 13-season career with the Tipperary senior hurling team, wins three All-Stars and is a Hurler of the Year nominee in 2010. He wins eight major trophies in his inter-county career, comprising three All-Ireland Championships, captaining the team in 2016, and five Munster Championships. A versatile player who switches between attacking and defensive positions, he makes a combined 124 league and championship appearances.

Maher first comes to prominence as a hurler with St. Joseph’s College in Borrisoleigh. He plays in every grade before eventually joining the senior hurling team and lines out in several Harty Cup campaigns.

Maher studies at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick between 2006 and 2009 and joins the senior hurling team in his second year. On March 7, 2009, he is named man of the match when Mary Immaculate College defeats the University of Ulster by 1–12 to 1–05 to win the Ryan Cup.

Maher joins the Borris–Ileigh club at a young age and plays at all grades in juvenile and underage levels. He joins the club’s senior team as a 16-year-old during the 2005 North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship. During his time with Borris-Ileigh, the team wins the North Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship in 2005, 2007 and 2017, the All-Ireland Mini 7s Championship in 2015, and the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship and Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship in 2019.

Maher first plays for Tipperary as a member of the minor team during the 2005 Munster Minor Hurling Championship. He and the team go on to win the Munster Minor Hurling Championship in 2007, the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship in 2006 and 2007, the Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship in 2008 and 2010, and the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship in 2010.

Maher joins the Tipperary senior team in advance of the 2009 National Hurling League. During his ten years with the senior team, they win the Munster Senior Hurling Championship in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016, and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 2010, 2016 and 2019. On August 21, 2021, he announces his retirement from inter-county hurling after 13 years with the team.

Maher is added to the Munster team in advance of the 2012 Inter-Provincial Hurling Championship. He makes his first appearance for the team on February 19, 2012, when he lines out at left wing-forward in a 3–14 to 1–16 defeat by Leinster. On March 3, 2013, he lines out at midfield when Munster qualifies to play Connacht in the 2013 Inter-Provincial Hurling Championship final. He ends the game with a Railway Cup medal following the 1–22 to 0–15 victory. On December 15, 2016, he wins a second Railway Cup medal after captaining the team from midfield in a 2–20 to 2–16 defeat of Leinster in the final.

On October 19, 2011, Maher is named on the Ireland squad for the Shinty-Hurling International Series. On October 29, 2011, he lines out at centre-forward when Ireland defeats Scotland on an aggregate scoreline of 3–25 to 3–19 following a two-game series. He is selected for the Ireland team for the second time in his career on October 22, 2013. He claims a second winners’ medal from right wing-forward following Ireland’s 5–27 to 2–26 aggregate defeat of Scotland on November 2, 2013.

In October 2022, Maher is announced as Offaly senior hurling team performance coach under the management of Johnny Kelly.


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Birth of Irish Broadcaster George Hamilton

Irish broadcaster George Hamilton is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on January 2, 1950. He is best known as the chief football commentator for RTÉ, for which he also commentates on other sporting events, such as the Olympic Games. He presents a classical music programme on RTÉ lyric fm on Saturdays and Sundays called The Hamilton Scores.

Hamilton is christened in the same Presbyterian church as George Best. His father Jimmy plays for Cliftonville F.C., but he is a Glentoran F.C. “superfan.”

While a student at Methodist College Belfast, Hamilton is, for a time, principal cellist with the school orchestra. He then studies German and French at Queen’s University Belfast.

Hamilton begins his commentary career with BBC Sport, before joining RTÉ eight years later in 1984. He had previously worked for RTÉ during the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Since 2003, he works for RTÉ lyric fm, Ireland’s classical radio station, on Saturday mornings. For many years, he fronts a popular weekly quiz show on RTÉ, Know Your Sport, alongside fellow commentator Jimmy Magee.

Hamilton is chief commentator for RTÉ Sport‘s coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the ninth one in which he has been involved. He is RTÉ’s chief commentator at UEFA Euro 2012 and commentates on all of Ireland’s matches in the competition. He is involved in the coverage of the Olympic Games since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Hamilton is known for his use of colourful phrases and memorable quotes when commentating on games, his phrase describing David O’Leary‘s penalty against Romania in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, “The nation holds its breath,” is used for a book of Irish football quotations, compiled by Eoghan Corry, for which Hamilton writes the foreword.

The sports humour website, DangerHere.com, takes its title from another quote by Hamilton: “And Bonner has gone 165 minutes of these championships without conceding a goal. Oh, danger here…”

On August 16, 2011, Hamilton feels unwell and has a suspected heart attack. He later has several hours of emergency bypass surgery at the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin after being transferred from St. Vincent’s University Hospital. He recovers and resumes both his commentating and radio show.


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Death of Professional Golfer Harry “The Brad” Bradshaw

Harry Bradshaw, a leading Irish professional golfer of the 1940s and 1950s, dies on December 22, 1990, in St. Vincent’s hospital, County Dublin.

Bradshaw is born on October 9, 1913, in Killincarrig, County Wicklow, eldest among four sons and two daughters of Edward ‘Ned’ Bradshaw, golf caddie and later golf professional, and Elizabeth Bradshaw (née Walsh) of Killincarrig. He is educated locally. A golf prodigy, he has a hole-in-one at the age of ten on an 80-yard par three at Delgany Golf Club, County Wicklow. He joins Delgany Golf Club, where he progresses from caddie to assisting his father, who is the club’s professional. As a teenager, he tends to hook the ball wildly, before he develops a grip that allows him to hit with great accuracy. Thereafter, he concentrates on honing his peerless approach play from within 100 yards of the hole. Another feature of his game is what is called his “hit and hark” approach to putting: he never lifts his head to follow the ball until he hears it drop.

Bradshaw plays in his first tournament as a professional in 1932, the same year he shoots a course record 68 at Delgany. In 1938, he wins his first professional tournament, the Bromford-Adgey Cup at Skerries Golf Club, County Dublin. In 1941, he is appointed golf professional at Kilcroney, County Wicklow, and in 1950 he begins his long association with Portmarnock Golf Club, County Dublin, when he is appointed golf professional there. By then he has already made his mark on domestic Irish golf, having won the Irish Open in 1947 and 1949. In Ireland he wins the Irish Dunlop Trophy three times, the Willie Nolan Trophy eleven times, the Moran Cup twelve times and the Irish Professional Championship ten times, the last a record later equaled by Christy O’Connor Snr.

Bradshaw is not well known outside of Ireland prior to the famous “bottle” incident at the 1949 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England. Having headed the qualifiers and shooting an opening 68, he continues his good form into the second round when his drive at the par four fifth hole just misses the fairway and lands in a beer bottle that is standing upright with the neck and shoulder broken off. The rules are unclear on whether the bottle constitutes a hazard, and he elects to play the ball where it lay, judging (correctly) that he is not entitled to a free drop. Closing his eyes and turning his head away, he swings, shattering the bottle and advancing the ball about twenty-five yards. He is shaken and records a lacklustre round of 77. Back to his best in the next two rounds, he would win the title had his putt on the last not stopped just short. Instead, he ties with the South African Bobby Locke who defeats him by twelve strokes in the thirty-six-hole play-off with superlative rounds of 67 and 68. As a result of his experience with the broken bottle, the rules are changed to cater for the possibility of such an incident recurring. It is the closest a golfer from the Republic of Ireland comes to winning the Open Championship until Pádraig Harrington’s victory in 2007.

Bradshaw subsequently revenges himself on Locke by narrowly beating him to the Irish Open title the following month. He is then one of four British and Irish golfers to participate in a sixteen-week tour of South Africa from December 1950 to March 1951 during which he engages in further jousts with Locke, deepening their new-found friendship.

Establishing himself on the international golf circuit, Bradshaw goes on to win the Dunlop British Masters on two occasions (1953, 1955), and in 1958 he becomes the first Irishman to win the PGA Close Championship. He had also won the Dunbar Open Tournament in Scotland in 1953 and the Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament pro-am with Joe Carr in 1955. The highlight of his career comes in Mexico City in 1958, when, in partnership with Christy O’Connor Snr, he wins the Canada Cup, later known as the World Cup, for Ireland, also losing a play-off for the individual title. His performance is particularly impressive, given that he is forty-five and carrying weight while competing at altitude in oppressive heat. He and O’Connor are fêted upon their return home, and their victory is considered to play the determining role in popularising golf in Ireland. He caps a memorable year by receiving the Association of Golf Writers’ Trophy for 1958.

Bradshaw appears on three Ryder Cup teams. At the Wentworth Club in 1953, he wins his foursomes match partnering Fred Daly and his singles match against Fred Haas, but in 1955 he loses both his foursomes and singles matches at the Thunderbird Country Club in California. In 1957, he is a member of the side that defeats the American team 7–4 at Lindrick Golf Club in South Yorkshire, only the third victory by the Britain and Ireland side in the twelve matches played up to that time. He holes a five-footer to tie his match with U.S. Open champion Dick Mayer after a classic encounter. In 1963, he takes on Billy Casper, one of America’s top golfers, in a match at Portmarnock televised as part of the prestigious Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf series. Bradshaw’s three-stroke victory earns him $3,000, which is then considered a bonanza in golfing terms.

Bradshaw remains the golf professional at Portmarnock until 1983, latterly spending most of his day in the club shop. Even after his formal retirement, he remains on the payroll at Portmarnock as an informal ambassador for the club. Nicknamed “the Brad,” he is extremely popular with amateur and professional alike, is a great raconteur and tremendous company, and is noted for his lack of rancor towards, or criticism of, other players.

Bradshaw dies on December 22, 1990, at St. Vincent’s hospital, County Dublin, and is buried in St. Fintan’s Cemetery, Sutton, Dublin.

Bradshaw marries Elizabeth Foley from Carlow in 1944 and they have four children. His three brothers, Eddie, Hughie and Jimmy, are all professional golfers.

(From: “Bradshaw, Harry” by Jim Shanahan, Dictionary of Irish Biography, http://www.dib.ie, November 2022)


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Death of Michael G. O’Brien, Catholic Priest & Hurling Manager

Michael G. O’Brien, Irish Roman Catholic priest and also noted hurling coach and manager, dies at Dromahane, County Cork, on November 14, 2014, following a long illness.

O’Brien is born in the parish of Innishannon/Knockavilla, County Cork. He enters St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and is ordained for the Diocese of Cork and Ross in the seminary chapel on June 22, 1958. He then ministers in the Irish-emigrant areas of London until 1961, when he returns to his home diocese and a curacy in the parish of Blackrock, Cork, where he helps to rebuild St. Michael’s Church which had burned to the ground.

For twelve years, from 1964 to 1976, O’Brien teaches at St. Finbarr’s Seminary, Farranferris, where he is also the hurling trainer for the school team. He is “at the helm as Farranferris wins Dr. Harty Cups in 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974, adding All-Irelands in 1972 and 1974.”

A twelve-year stint as chaplain at the Naval Base of Haulbowline follows before O’Brien returns to parish ministry, again in Blackrock. In 1985, he starts a lengthy stay in Carrigaline where he serves as curate, administrator and finally parish priest of Carrigaline, before retiring from active ministry in 2003.

O’Brien serves as the coach of the Cork GAA senior hurling team on several occasions, guiding the team to All-Ireland titles in 1984 and 1990. At colleges’ level he also manages UCC GAA (associated with University College Cork) to Fitzgibbon Cup titles, and later manages Blackrock GAA. He also helps coaching Coláiste Chríost Rí.

O’Brien is later a resident in Nazareth House in Dromahane, County Cork. He dies there on November 14, 2014, following a long illness.

O’Brien is not to be confused with Canon Michael O’Brien of the neighbouring Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne.


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Birth of Reg Ryan, Irish Footballer

Reginald Alphonso Ryan, Irish footballer also referred to as Paddy Ryan, is born in Dublin, County Dublin, on October 30, 1925. He plays for West Bromwich Albion F.C., Derby County F.C. and Coventry City F.C. He is also a dual international, playing for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. He is the last player to represent both teams. He is considered more of a goal creator then a goalscorer.

Ryan initially plays Gaelic football for the Marino School in Dublin while growing up, but then switches to soccer after moving to Blackpool, Lancashire, England, during the early years of World War II. He then plays with Claremount School, Blackpool Boys, various factory teams and has trials with both Sheffield United F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. before joining Nuneaton Borough F.C.

Ryan has two spells with Coventry City. In April 1943, he signs for the club as an amateur and during the 1942–43 season he plays two games in wartime regional leagues. He then turns professional in August 1944 and makes a further four appearances for the club during the 1944–45 wartime season. After playing for West Bromwich Albion and Derby County, he returns to City in September 1958. He then helps the club win promotion from the newly formed Football League Fourth Division, after they finish as runners-up in 1959. During his second spell with City he plays 70 times in all competitions.

In April 1945, Ryan signs for West Bromwich Albion and, during the 1945–46 season, makes 17 appearances in the Football League South. He makes his debut for the club against Millwall F.C. in November 1945. Together with Davy Walsh and Jackie Vernon, he helps West Brom gain promotion to the Football League First Division in 1949. In 1954, together with Ronnie Allen and Frank Griffin, he is also a member of the West Brom team that finishes as First Division runners-up and FA Cup winners. He also helps West Brom gain a share of the FA Charity Shield when he scores in a 4–4 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Ryan signs for Derby County in June 1955 for a fee of £3,000. He is appointed team captain by manager Harry Storer, Jr., and during his three seasons with the club misses only three matches – two because of injury and one because of international duty. He is a member of the side promoted as champions of the Third Division North to the Football League Second Division in 1956–57. In 1955 he also plays for an English Division Three North XI against an English Division Three South XI. He plays 133 league games for County, scoring 30 goals. He also plays a further six games for the club in the FA Cup, scoring a further goal.

When Ryan begins his international career in 1949 there are, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland–based Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Republic of Ireland–based Football Association of Ireland (FAI) claim jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and select players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Ryan, play for both teams.

Between 1949 and 1955 Ryan makes 16 appearances and scores 3 goals for the FAI XI. He makes his debut in a 3–1 defeat to Sweden on November 13, 1949, in a qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He scores his first two goals for the FAI XI in October 1953 during the qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, one against France in a 5–3 defeat and the second, a penalty, against Luxembourg in 4–0 win. On November 7, 1954, in a friendly against Norway, he scores his third goal, again from the penalty spot, and earns the FAI XI a 2–1 victory. He makes his last appearance for the FAI XI on November 27, 1955, in a 2–2 draw with Spain.

Ryan makes his one and only appearance for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with Wales on March 8, 1950. As well as being part of the 1950 British Home Championship, the game also doubles up as a qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Ryan, together with Con Martin, Davy Walsh and Tom Aherne, is one of four players born in the Irish Free State, included in the IFA XI that day. He earlier plays for the FAI XI in the same competition, and as a result, plays for two different teams in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. This situation eventually leads to intervention by FIFA and, as a result, Ryan becomes one of the last four Irish Free State–born players to play for the IFA XI.

After retiring as a player in November 1960, Ryan works as a pools supervisor for both Coventry City (1960–1961) and West Bromwich Albion (1961–1962). Between September 1962 and October 1976, he is chief scout for West Brom. He later works as a scout for various clubs including Aston Villa F.C., Derby County F.C., Hereford United F.C. and Leeds United F.C. before retiring in 1994.

Ryan dies at the age of 71 on February 13, 1997, at Sheldon, West Midlands, England.


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Death of Irish Hurler Bobby Rackard

Robert “Bobby” Rackard, Irish hurler who plays as a right corner-back for the Wexford senior team, dies in Killane, County Wexford, on October 19, 1996.

Rackard is born in Killane on January 6, 1927. He makes his first regular appearance for the Wexford senior team during the 1947 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and is a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement before the 1957 All-Ireland championship. During that time he wins two All-Ireland medals, four Leinster medals and one National Hurling League medal. He is an All-Ireland runner-up on two occasions. His brothers, Nicky and Billy, also experience All-Ireland success with Wexford.

Rackard plays his club hurling with Rathnure and enjoys much success and is a four-time county club championship medalist in his lengthy career.

In 1948, Rackard is a key member of the defence as Rathnure reaches only their second championship decider ever. A 3–5 to 0–2 trouncing of reigning champions Ferns St. Aidan’s gives him his first championship medal. After failing to retain their title the following year, Rathnure is back in the county decider once again in 1950. Another convincing 5–10 to 2–6 defeat of old rivals Ferns St. Aidan’s gives him his second championship medal.

It is 1955 before Rathnure qualifies for another championship decider and four-in-a-row hopefuls Ferns St. Aidan’s provides the opposition once again. A close game develops, however, a 2–9 to 2–5 victory gives Rackard a third championship medal.

After a number of years out of the limelight, Rathnure reaches the county final once again in 1961. A fourth defeat of Ferns St. Aidan’s gives Rackard, who scores two goals from his full-forward berth, a fourth and final championship medal.

Rackard first comes to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Wexford minor hurling team in the early 1940s. He enjoys little success in this grade but is called up to the senior team in 1947.

After losing the provincial final in 1950, Rackard is at centre-back the following year as Wexford faces Laois in the eastern decider. A 3–12 to 4–3 victory gives him his first Leinster medal as Wexford claims the provincial crown for the first time since 1918. The subsequent All-Ireland decider sees three-in-a-row hopefuls Tipperary providing the opposition. Nicky Rackard’s goal-scoring ability is quelled by Tipperary goalkeeper Tony Reddin, while Séamus Bannon, Tim Ryan and Paddy Kenny score key goals which power Tipperary to a 7–7 to 3–9 victory.

After back-to-back Leinster defeats over the next two years, Wexford faces Dublin in the 1954 decider. A huge 8-5 to 1–4 victory gives Rackard his second Leinster medal. A record crowd of 84,856 attend the subsequent All-Ireland decider with Cork providing the opposition. Wexford has a four-point lead with seventeen minutes left to play, however, history is against Wexford when Johnny Clifford scores the winning goal for Cork with just four minutes left. A 1–9 to 1–6 victory secures a third successive All-Ireland for Cork.

In 1955, Wexford continues their provincial dominance with Rackard collecting a third Leinster medal following a 5–6 to 3–9 defeat of Kilkenny in a replay of the Leinster final. Galway, who gets a bye into the final without picking up a hurley, provides the opposition and takes a halftime lead. A Tim Flood goal nine minutes from the end clinches a 3–13 to 2–8 victory and a first All-Ireland medal for Rackard. It is Wexford’s first All-Ireland triumph in forty-five years.

Rackard adds a National Hurling League medal to his collection in 1956 as Tipperary is bested by 5–9 to 2–14. The subsequent championship campaign sees Wexford reach the provincial final once again. A narrow 4–8 to 3–10 defeat of Kilkenny gives Rackard his fourth and final Leinster medal. Galway falls heavily in the All-Ireland semi-final, allowing Wexford to advance to an All-Ireland final meeting with Cork. The game goes down in history as one of the all-time classics as Christy Ring is bidding for a record ninth All-Ireland medal. The game turns on one important incident as the Wexford goalkeeper, Art Foley, makes a miraculous save from a Ring shot and clears the sliotar up the field to set up another attack. Nicky Rackard scores a crucial goal with two minutes to go giving Wexford a 2–14 to 2–8 victory. In spite of Cork’s loss, Wexford’s Nick O’Donnell and Rackard, in an unparalleled display of sportsmanship in any game, raise Christy Ring onto their shoulders and carry him off the field. Wexford wins the game and Rackard collects his second All-Ireland medal but there is no doubt in their minds that the real hero is Ring.

A farm accident in 1957 brings an end to Rackard’s inter-county career.

Rackard also has the honour of being selected for Leinster in the inter-provincial series of games and enjoys some success. In 1956 he lines out in his only inter-provincial decider. A 5–11 to 1–7 trouncing of Munster gives Rackard a Railway Cup medal.

In retirement, Rackard, along with his brothers, come to be regarded as one of the greatest hurling families of all-time. In 1984, the centenary year of the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association, he is named to the Hurling Team of the Century. In 1992, both Billy and Bobby Rackard’s brilliance is recognised when they are presented with the All-Time All Star Award for hurling. Rackard is also posthumously named on the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 1999.

(Pictured: The Rackard brothers from left Bobby, Nicky and Billy)


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Graeme McDowell Seals European Victory at the 2010 Ryder Cup

On Monday, October 4, 2010, Northern Ireland golfer Graeme McDowell delivers the match-winning point for the European team on the 17th green of the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. His is the last match of the twelve player singles matches against the defending champion United States team, with his opponent being Hunter Mahan. Europe wins the tournament 14.5 to 13.5, and it was his 5-foot putt that is conceded to give victory to Europe. For the first time in its history, the Ryder Cup stretches into a fourth day due to torrential rain on the first day.

Only the brilliance of the Northern Irishman, who holes a stunning birdie putt on the 16th green to extend his lead in the match, and the nervousness of Mahan, who duffs a chip shot on the par-three 17th that seals his defeat, finally turns back a United States team that threatened to deny Colin Montgomerie a captain’s victory to add to the many he has won as a player in this event.

“I didn’t hit a shot out there so it’s not much of an achievement,” Montgomerie says afterwards, dedicating the victory to Seve Ballesteros who is suffering from brain cancer and ultimately dies in 2011. “But it is a proud, proud personal moment for me and for all of us in European golf. My players all played magnificently, all 12 of them.”

McDowell, who had won the U.S. Open earlier in the year, is magnificent when his captain and his teammates need him to be. Through the years the Irish have developed a habit of holing the winning putt in this event and if the latest member of a club that includes Eamonn Darcy, Philip Walton and Paul McGinley is disappointed in being denied the chance to actually watch his ball roll into the hole, he hides it well.

“I didn’t need to hole a putt, thank God,” he says. “I was so nervous out there. I just can’t describe the feeling of this golf tournament – trying to win it for eleven other teammates, the caddies, the fans and Monty. It’s just a special feeling. There is nothing quite like it.”

Europe goes into the singles round holding a three-point lead and at one stage during the afternoon are ahead in eight of the twelve matches. An easy victory beckons, or at least it does until the United States wins a series of matches, some decisively (Tiger Woods over Francesco Molinari 4 & 3, Dustin Johnson over Martin Kaymer 6 & 4) and one by a narrow margin (Steve Stricker beats Lee Westwood on the 17th green). Even Phil Mickelson, one of the weakest players on the United States team over the previous three days, manages a victory, beating Peter Hanson 4 & 2.

The European team responds, with points coming from Luke Donald, who beats Jim Furyk one-up, and Ian Poulter, a victor over Matt Kuchar. However, as the day progresses a victory that had seemed inevitable begins to look uncertain.

In the end, it comes down to McDowell and Mahan on the 17th hole, watched by their teammates and captains, a good portion of the 35,000 mud-splattered souls at Celtic Manor, and a television audience around the world running into many millions. Major championships come with their own particular pressure but, as McDowell says, the Ryder Cup exerts pressure of an altogether different order. In the end the pressure proves too much for the American. His attempted chip from 15 yards short of the green does not even reach the green, far less the flag.


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Shamrock Rovers Become 1st Irish Team to Play in European Competition

League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers become the first Irish team to play in European soccer competition on September 25, 1957, when they welcome Manchester United “Busby Babes” to Dublin for the first of two legs in the preliminary round. It is an interesting debut as they are hammered by the pre-Munich Manchester squad.

The Munich Air Disaster, which rips the heart out of Manchester United’s star-studded team, is still five months away and Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne, David Pegg and Tommy Taylor all line out for the English champions.

The home side features future Republic of Ireland national football team manager Liam Tuohy in their ranks while 45,000 fans show up at Dalymount Park for the match.

In his programme notes, Rovers chairman Joseph Cunningham pays tribute to their opponents. “This evening it is my privilege and pleasure on the behalf of my Co-Directors, to extend Manchester United a sincere and hearty welcome to Dublin.”

“To the men who have substantially helped to put this team on the field — Directors, Manager, Coach, Trainer, Scouts, etc. — we owe a debt.”

“In this connection I sincerely suggest that when the Manchester United team make their appearance on the field of play tonight, we would like them to know that the welcome is not only a salute to a great team, but also salute to the “Backroom Boys” who have moulded the team to its present greatness.”

The game itself sees Manchester United win out comfortably, slamming six goals past the Rovers without reply. Two weeks later, however, the Hoops manage to save some face by going down by a single goal 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Less than five months later, most of the Manchester United team is wiped out in a British European Airways (BEA) plane crash in Munich, Germany, including Dubliner Liam Whelan, who did not play against the Rovers. Of the United greats featured in the Dublin game, only Bobby Charlton survives the Munich plane crash.

(From: “#OTD in 1957 – Shamrock Rovers are the First Irish Team to Play in European Soccer Competition,” Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland, https://stairnaheireann.net)


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The 36th Ryder Cup Matches Come to Ireland

The 36th Ryder Cup Matches officially open on September 22, 2006, at the Palmer North Course of the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, west of Dublin. It is the first time golf’s premier team tournament has come to Ireland and to date it is the biggest sporting event ever staged in the country.

Europe wins by 18-1⁄2 to 9-1⁄2 points, equalling their record winning margin of two years earlier for their third consecutive win, a first for Europe. Swedish rookie Henrik Stenson makes the winning putt, just moments after Luke Donald sinks a putt to ensure Europe retains the trophy.

The K Club has two Arnold Palmer-designed championship courses and the 36th Ryder Cup is held on the Palmer North Course (also known as the Old Course). The course is a parkland course located on the banks of the River Liffey, threaded through mature woodlands on the Straffan country estate.

Domestically, Sky Sports provides live coverage of all sessions. In the United States, coverage of the first day is recorded live, but presented on tape-delay by USA Network. Bill Macatee hosts from the 18th tower. On Saturday, NBC Sports presents coverage on tape, but recorded live. NBC then airs the singles live on Sunday morning. Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller host from the 18th tower, Gary Koch and Bob Murphy call holes, while on-course reporters are Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper. To provide a European perspective, NBC uses former European team player Nick Faldo as a guest analyst on the Saturday afternoon session. Faldo had worked in the same role for NBC at the 2002 Ryder Cup, and at the time of the 2006 edition is in between jobs, having worked as an analyst for ABC Sports from 2004 to 2006, but having signed with CBS Sports for 2007 and beyond.

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used in 2004 and 2006 is as follows:

  • Day 1 (Friday) – 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session
  • Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 fourball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
  • Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles matches

With a total of 28 points, 14-1⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.


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Birth of Mal Donaghy, Former Northern Ireland Footballer

Malachy Martin Donaghy, former Northern Ireland international footballer who also plays for Luton Town F.C. and Manchester United F.C., is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on September 13, 1957. He is the manager of the Northern Ireland national under-19 football team from 2000-2008.

Originally from west Belfast, Donaghy begins his football career as a goalkeeper with little-known Down and Connor League side team St. Agnes before moving on to play as an outfield player for works team Post Office Social Club. After barely six months, he is on the move again, this time joining Amateur League side Cromac Albion, where his blossoming talent is spotted by then Larne F.C. boss Brian Halliday.

Donaghy’s rapid rise in the game continues when, after just 20 matches with the Inver Park club, he is transferred to Luton Town F.C. in June 1978 for a fee of £20,000.

Donaghy spends ten years at Luton Town F.C., overseeing the most successful era of their history to date. He collects a Second Division title winner’s medal in 1982, enabling him to experience First Division football for the first time. He helps Luton Town F.C. retain their First Division status and is a key part of the team that finishes a club record high of seventh in the 1986–87 season. In 1987–88, he helps Luton Town F.C. win their first major trophy as they achieve a shocking 3–2 win over Arsenal F.C. in the 1988 Football League Cup Final.

In October 1988, Donaghy departs from Kenilworth Road in a £650,000 move to his boyhood heroes Manchester United F.C. It is at the time a big risk for Alex Ferguson to pay out a large sum of money for a 31-year-old, but Donaghy repays the United manager’s faith in him with some consistent performances in not only his favoured central defensive position but also as a full-back.

Immediately after joining United, Donaghy is the club’s first choice left-back for the 1988–89 season, missing only the League Cup game for which he is cup-tied. However, his opportunities are limited in the 1989–90 season, and he is unable to make even the substitutes bench for the 1990 FA Cup final triumph over Crystal Palace F.C. However, he does make the substitutes bench for the 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup final triumph.

United are First Division runners-up in 1991–92 and win their first-ever League Cup, but Donaghy’s first-team chances continue to be restricted, and he is also left out of the side that beats Nottingham Forest F.C. in the League Cup final.

Donaghy’s next move is in August 1992 when, just a month short of his 35th birthday, Chelsea F.C. manager Ian Porterfield pays £100,000 for his services. He helps Chelsea finish 11th in the inaugural Premier League season and helps them reach the 1994 FA Cup final, although he does not make the squad for the team that loses 4–0 to double-winners Manchester United F.C. At the end of the season, he announces his retirement from club football.

Donaghy makes his final appearance for Northern Ireland against the Mexico national football team in Miami in June 1994, three months before his 37th birthday.

Shortly after his playing career ends, Donaghy returns to the province with his family and after a brief spell as manager at Newry City F.C., he has stints as a coach with Cliftonville F.C. and as a Youth Development Officer back on his home pitch with Donegal Celtic F.C. In 2000, he is appointed manager for the Northern Ireland national under-19 team. He serves in this capacity until 2008.

The first of Donaghy’s 91 international caps comes in May 1980 at Windsor Park in the 1–0 British Home Championship victory over Scotland. He further enhances his reputation during the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals. In the former tournament, he plays in four of Northern Ireland’s five games. He is sent off after 60 minutes of the famous 1–0 win over Spain in Valencia, for the offence of shoving Spain’s José Antonio Camacho, but returns for Northern Ireland’s final match, a 4–1 defeat by France in Madrid.