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Death of Tom Aherne, Irish Footballer & Hurler

Thomas Aherne, Irish footballer and hurler also referred to as Bud Aherne, dies on December 30, 1999. He plays football for Belfast Celtic F.C. and Luton Town F.C. and is a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and the FAI XI. In 1949 he is a member of the FAI XI that defeats England 2–0 at Goodison Park, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. As a hurler he also plays one game for Limerick.

Aherne is born in Limerick, County Limerick, on January 26, 1919. As a youth, he initially emerges as a prominent hurler with Treaty Sarsfields and also plays one game for Limerick. However he subsequently decides to concentrate on football and begins his senior career with Limerick United where his teammates include Davy Walsh. During World War II, he serves in the Irish Army and is stationed at Crosshaven. His impressive performances in the League of Ireland attract attention and in 1946 he is signed by Belfast Celtic.

While at Belfast Celtic, Aherne plays alongside Jackie Vernon, Billy McMillan, Robin Lawler and Johnny Campbell and helps them win the Irish Cup in 1947 and an Irish League title in 1948. He is also at Celtic during the infamous Boxing Day riot which breaks out during a game against local rivals Linfield F.C. In March 1949, he leaves Celtic and signs for Luton Town. However, in May 1949, he temporarily rejoins Celtic for their final tour before the club disbands. Together with McMillan, Campbell, Lawlor, guest player Mick O’Flanagan and manager Elisha Scott, he goes on the Celtic tour of North America. The highlight of the 10-game tour comes on May 29 when Celtic beats the reigning British champions, Scotland, 2–0.

Aherne signed for Luton Town for a fee of £6,000 and makes his English Football League debut on March 19 in a 2–1 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the fact he is over 30 when he joins Luton, he quickly establishes himself as a regular. He plays competitive football into his late thirties and is ever-present during the 1954–55 season when Luton wins promotion to Division One. After playing 288 games for Luton, including 267 in the league, he retires after a hairline fracture of the ankle ends his career. Even then he continues to play for a local league team, Luton Celtic, into his forties.

When Aherne begins his international career in 1946 there are in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Belfast-based Irish Football Association and the Dublin-based Football Association of Ireland, 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 Aherne play for both teams.

Between 1946 and 1953 Aherne makes 16 appearances for the FAI XI. He makes his FAI debut in June 1946 during an Iberian tour, playing in both the 3–1 defeat to Portugal on June 16 and then helping the FAI XI gain a surprise 1–0 victory against Spain on June 23. He remains a regular in the FAI XI throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s and is featured prominently in the qualifying rounds for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He is also a member of the FAI XI team that defeats England 2–0 at Goodison Park, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home.

On November 16, 1953, during a 1–1 draw with France, Aherne briefly becomes involved in controversy. Although only a friendly, the game quickly becomes heated and at one point, with Aherne chasing Raymond Kopa down the tunnel after play had been stopped for a foul. Kopa allegedly runs for his life after upsetting Aherne once too often. The FAI selectors are not impressed and Aherne is told a repeat will end his international career. As it turns out, he makes only one more appearance for the FAI XI. That comes on October 4, 1953, in 5–3 defeat against France during a qualifier for the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

Between 1946 and 1950, Aherne also makes six appearances for the IFA XI. These include two Victory Internationals played in early 1946. On February 2 at Windsor Park, he makes his debut for the IFA XI in a 3–2 defeat to Scotland. Then on May 4 he helps the IFA XI defeat Wales 1–0 at Ninian Park. On September 28, 1946, he also plays for the IFA XI in a heavy defeat to England. The highlight of his career with the IFA XI comes on October 4, 1947 when he helps them gain a 2–0 win against Scotland.

Ahern makes his last 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. Aherne, together with Con Martin, Reg Ryan and Davy Walsh, is one of four players from the Republic, included in the IFA XI that day and as a result he plays for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. This situation eventually leads to intervention by FIFA and as a result Aherne becomes one of the last four Republic-born players to play for the IFA XI.

After retiring as a player Aherne settles in Luton where he coaches the Luton Town youth team, works in the local car industry and runs a very successful licensed premises. He also continues to visit Limerick regularly and remains healthy and active until he is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the mid-1990s. He dies on December 30, 1999 at the age of 80 and is survived by his wife, Eileen, two sons, Pat and Brian, and three daughters, Maura, Trisha and Catherine.


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Ireland National Football Team Becomes First to Defeat England at Home

The Republic of Ireland national football team defeats the England national football team 2-0 in a friendly international at Goodison Park, Liverpool, the home of Everton F.C., on September 21, 1949. As a result, Ireland becomes the first foreign team to beat England at home. In 1953, the Hungarian team known as the Mighty Magyars defeats England 6–3, to become the second team to do so.

During the 1940s, there are in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations — the Northern Ireland-based Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Republic of Ireland-based Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Both organisations claim jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland, and select players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era play for both teams. The IFA XI had played England regularly since 1882, and claim their first victory, by a score of 3–0, on English soil at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough, on February 14, 1914, but this is only the second time England and the FAI XI have met. Despite this, several members of the FAI XI had played against England several times before while representing the IFA XI. Striker Davy Walsh had previously scored three times against England.

The FAI XI plays England for the first time at Dalymount Park on September 30, 1946. A team, featuring Johnny Carey, Con Martin and Billy Walsh, are narrowly defeated 1–0 when Tom Finney scores the winner in the 82nd minute. Two days earlier, on September 28, Carey and Tom Aherne had been included in the IFA XI that had been heavily defeated 7–2 by the same England side. The next time the IFA XI play England, on November 5, 1947, their team includes six players — Carey, Martin, Billy Walsh, Peter Farrell, Davy Walsh and Tommy Eglington — who had previously played for the FAI XI. Davy Walsh scores the opening goal in a 2–2 draw at Goodison Park. Carey, Martin, Farrell and Walsh also play for the IFA XI in their 6–2 defeat by England at Windsor Park on October 10, 1948. Davy Walsh also scores both goals that day.

The September 21, 1949 match is used by both teams as part of their preparations for forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Despite the absence of both Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen, England fields a strong team, including Billy Wright, Neil Franklin, Wilf Mannion and Tom Finney. Ireland’s team includes just seven First Division players, but these include Johnny Carey who is voted FWA Footballer of the Year in 1949. Another two Irish players, Tom Aherne and Tommy Moroney, like Finney, play in the English Football League Second Division. The remaining two Irish players, goalkeeper Tommy Godwin and Tommy O’Connor both play for Shamrock Rovers F.C. in the League of Ireland.

The early pattern of the game sees England launch wave after wave of attacks. However Tommy Godwin is in inspired form and Con Martin, Tom Aherne and Johnny Carey prove too difficult for England to get past. Carey is also effective in keeping Tom Finney quiet, while wing-halves Billy Walsh and Tommy Moroney gradually take the sting out of the English front line. Ireland takes the lead in the 33rd minute when Peter Desmond, after collecting a pass from Tommy O’Connor, bursts into the England penalty area and is brought down. Con Martin then converts the subsequent penalty kick. During the second half the wave of England attacks continues. Peter Harris hits the bar and Jesse Pye also goes close. However Peter Farrell, playing at his club Everton’s home ground, makes victory certain in the 85th minute. O’Connor slips the ball to Farrell and as the English goalkeeper Bert Williams advances, Farrell lofts the ball into the net.

(Pictured: The Irish team which beat England 2-0 at Goodison Park in 1949. Back Row (L to R): Con Martin, Tommy Aherne, Tommy Godwin, Tommy Moroney and Willie Walsh. Seated (L to R): Peter Corr, Tommy O’Connor, Johnny Carey, Peter Desmond, Peter Farrell and Davy Walsh.)


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Birth of Kevin Moran, Gaelic & Association Footballer

Kevin Bernard Moran, Irish footballer who excels at the top levels of Gaelic and association football, is born in Dublin on April 29, 1956. In Gaelic football, he is known for his time at senior level with the Dublin county football team, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Championships with them, and in association football for his career with Manchester United F.C. and the Republic of Ireland national football team. In 1985 he becomes the first man to be sent off in an FA Cup Final.

Moran grows up in Rialto, Dublin until his early teens, before he moves to the Long Mile Road in Walkinstown. While there, he attends James’s Street CBS and Drimnagh Castle Secondary School where Gaelic football is the dominant sport although association football proves to be the sport he plays on the streets while growing up. During the period in which he plays Gaelic football for Good Counsel GAA and association football for Rangers A.F.C., Bohemian F.C. and Pegasus A.F.C., he has divided loyalties between the two sports, as both sports are then played on Saturday.

In his native Ireland, Moran plays at senior level for the Dublin county football team. A former Dublin under-21 player, he is called up to the senior panel for the first time in 1976. He wins two All-Ireland Championship medals with Dublin in 1976 and 1977. In the 1976 final, he helps Dublin to defeat (by 3–8 to 0–10) Kerry, the winner over Dublin in the 1975 final, and again in the 1977 semi-final, aided by new tactics which manager Kevin Heffernan introduces, and which hinders Kerry’s tactic of pulling defenders forward and taking full advantage of the space behind the half-back line. The 1977 final results in a 5–12 to 3–6 victory over Armagh at Croke Park. He is awarded a GAA GPA All-Stars Award for his performance in the 1976 championship.

Moran is also part of the 1976–77 side that wins the National Football League for Dublin with a win over Derry in the final. He plays his club football for Dublin-based GAA club Good Counsel.

With Bohemian F.C. winning everything bar the FAI Cup in the 1974-75 League of Ireland season, 18-year-old Moran does not have an opportunity for much game time and only makes one League of Ireland appearance in the last game of the season on April 17, 1975. After Bohs he moves to University College Dublin A.F.C. where in December 1975 he wins the Collingwood Cup. In February 1976 he wins the Universities Championship when he scores the winner for the Irish Universities against their Scottish counterparts. He plays for Pegasus A.F.C. from 1976-78.

Moran is spotted by Billy Behan, a Manchester United F.C. scout, who reports to United manager Dave Sexton, and Moran signs for Manchester United in February 1978. He makes his senior debut on April 20, 1979 against Southampton F.C., and is a regular player in the first team by the time Ron Atkinson succeeds Sexton as manager in June 1981. Despite not being the tallest of defenders, he is known for his strong aerial ability and is a threat in the box from corners and set pieces. Playing as a centre-back, he wins FA Cup medals with the club in 1983 and 1985.

Moran is notable for being sent off in the 1985 FA Cup Final against Everton F.C., the first player ever to be sent off in an FA Cup final. TV cameras reveal that he had gone for the ball, and not for Peter Reid in the offending tackle. He is later presented with the winner’s medal that had at first been withheld.

After 10 years with United, Moran leaves Old Trafford as a 32-year-old in the summer of 1988, having played his final 18 months at the club under the management of Alex Ferguson. His first team opportunities are limited since the arrival of Steve Bruce in December 1987.

Moran transfers to Sporting Gijón, where he remains for two seasons, making 33 appearances without scoring. During his time at Sporting Gijón, he rooms with promising youngster and future Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona star Luis Enrique.

In 1990, Moran returns to England to join Second Division Blackburn Rovers F.C. He is an automatic choice in the first team, but endures a disappointing first season at Ewood Park as Rovers finishes 19th in the Second Division. The following season is a huge success, however, as playoff victory ends the club’s 26-year exile from the top division and secures their place in the new Premier League. He continues in his role as club captain as Rovers finishes fourth in 1992–93 and runners-up in 1993–94. He retires at the end of the 1993–94 season, one year before Rovers wins their first league title in 81 years. In both seasons preceding his retirement, Rovers are beaten to the title by his old club, Manchester United.

Moran makes his debut for the Republic of Ireland against Switzerland in 1980 and plays a key role in Ireland’s unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals in Spain. He plays 71 times for Ireland between 1980 and 1994, including UEFA Euro 1988 in Germany and the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, and scores 6 goals. He is also a member of the Irish squad at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, despite being 38-years-old and about to retire from playing completely, but does not play due to an injury he picks up before the tournament starts.

After retiring from football, Moran makes a career in business. In 1994, he forms a football agency, Proactive Sports Management, with Paul Stretford and Jesper Olsen. His own clients include John O’Shea and Steve Finnan. He also works as a pundit on Irish television channel TV3.

Moran’s brother Ray is a knee specialist known as “Dr. Cruciate” and as a “surgeon to the stars,” with clients including rock star Jon Bon Jovi and numerous athletes (such as Bernard Brogan, Colm Cooper, Brendan Maher, Alan Quinlan and Josh van der Flier). Moran sits on the board of his brother’s Sports Surgery Clinic (SSC) in Santry, Dublin, which opens in 2007.


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Birth of Professional Footballer Paul McGrath

Paul McGrath, former professional footballer for St. Patrick’s Athletic F.C., Manchester United F.C., Aston Villa F.C., Derby County F.C., and the Republic of Ireland national football team, is born in Greenford, Middlesex on December 4, 1959.

McGrath is born to an Irish mother and a Nigerian father. His father disappears soon after his conception. His mother, Betty McGrath, is terrified that her father will find out she had become pregnant outside marriage and in an interracial relationship. She travels in secret to London to have her child, who is considered illegitimate, and gives him up for fostering when he is four weeks old. When he is five years old, the family he had been fostered by comes to Betty saying they cannot control him. Betty places him into an orphanage.

McGrath begins as a schoolboy with Pearse Rovers and plays junior football for Dalkey United. While at the latter, he attracts the attention of Manchester United scout Billy Behan. Before becoming a full-time professional with League of Ireland club St. Patrick’s Athletic in 1981, he briefly works as an apprentice metal worker and a security guard in Dublin.

McGrath makes his debut in a League of Ireland Cup clash with the Shamrock Rovers F.C. in August at Richmond Park. He ultimately excels at St. Patrick’s, earning the nickname “The Black Pearl of Inchicore” and receiving the PFAI Players’ Player of the Year Award in his first and only season, scoring four goals in 31 total appearances.

In 1982, McGrath moves to Manchester United, then managed by Ron Atkinson. He misses out on a place in the FA Cup victory over Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. the following year. He is named man of the match for the 1985 FA Cup Final, which United wins 1–0 against Everton F.C. In his early years at Manchester United, he is frequently used as a midfielder, changing to defender while still at Old Trafford.

In 1985–86, it appears that McGrath is on course to pick up a league title medal after United wins their first 10 league games of the season, but injuries to key players including Bryan Robson soon take their toll on the side and they eventually finish fourth in the table, 12 points behind champions Liverpool F.C. Despite a dismal start to the 1986–87 season and a managerial change, McGrath remains a regular member of the first team. United finishes second behind Liverpool in the league a year later.

By the 1988–89 season, McGrath is struggling with knee injuries and is becoming a less regular member of the first team. His relationship with manager Alex Ferguson is becoming strained, as McGrath’s alcohol addiction and physical problems lead to United offering him a retirement package of £100,000. He refuses and Ferguson begins to inform clubs of his availability. Aston Villa’s offer is accepted and McGrath signs on August 3, 1989 for a fee of £400,000.

While at Aston Villa, McGrath plays some of the best football of his career, despite recurrent knee problems. Villa comes close to winning the title in his first season, finishing second to Liverpool. In the inaugural season of the Premier League (1992-93), Aston Villa again finishes as runners-up, behind Manchester United. As a sign of the regard he is now held in by his fellow professionals, McGrath wins the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award at the end of the season. He wins his first trophy with Villa, defeating Manchester United in the 1993–94 Football League Cup. In 1996 he wins a second League Cup for Villa. By the end of his Villa career he has chalked up 323 appearances for the club.

McGrath departs Aston Villa in the autumn of 1996, leaving a legacy as one of the greatest players in the club’s history. He is sold to Derby County for £200,000 and helps the newly promoted Rams finish 12th in its first Premier League season. He then drops down a division to sign for Sheffield United F.C. in the summer of 1997. He plays his final game as a professional for Sheffield United against Ipswich Town F.C. on November 9, 1997. He officially retires at the end of the season.

In McGrath’s international career he wins his first full cap against Italy in 1985, last playing 12 years later, against Wales. During that time, he is often regarded as the single most influential player Ireland has in the national team’s glory days.

In McGrath’s international career he is a major part of the breakthrough of Ireland’s national team of the late 1980s and early 1990s. During the early part of Jack Charlton‘s era, he plays as a defensive midfielder, due to the wealth of talent Ireland has in defence. In UEFA Euro 1988, as the national side first qualifies for an international tournament, he is present in the 1–0 group stage win against England.

In 1990, Ireland qualifies for its first FIFA World Cup, eventually reaching the quarter-finals, where they lose to Italy 1-0, with McGrath ever present in the lineups. He captains the team four times in 1992 after the retirement of Mick McCarthy, and ignores a painful shoulder virus to play in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

In Ireland’s opening game of the 1994 World Cup, a 1–0 win against favourites Italy, in a perfect example of his commitment to the game, McGrath puts up an astonishing defensive performance in spite of excruciating knee problems. Even after his retirement from international football in 1997, he is still regarded today as one of the greatest players ever to put on Ireland’s green shirt.

Upon retiring, McGrath settles in Monageer, County Wexford. In 2004, one year after being taken to court, charged with a breach of the peace, he returns to the football world after five years, moving to Waterford F.C. in Ireland as director of football.

In 2011, McGrath launches a singing career with a cover version of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King song “Goin’ Back.” The recording is followed by the planning of an album of covers by the footballer, with a percentage of the album’s proceeds going to the Acquired Brain Injury Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Ireland.


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Death of Professional Footballer Johnny Carey

john-joseph-careyJohn Joseph “Johnny” Carey, professional footballer, manager and one of Manchester United F.C.’s great captains, dies in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England on August 22, 1995.

Carey is born in Dublin on February 23, 1919. As a schoolboy, he plays football for Home Farm F.C. As a youth, he also plays Gaelic football and is selected to represent Dublin GAA at minor level before he signs for St. James’s Gate F.C. at the start of the 1936–1937 season.

After just two months of League of Ireland football, he is spotted by Billy Behan, a Dublin-based Manchester United scout. In November 1936 United signs him for a then League of Ireland record fee of £250. He makes his debut as an inside left for United on September 23, 1937 against Southampton F.C. During his first season with United, Carey, together with Harry Baird, Jack Rowley, Tommy Bamford, Tommy Breen and Stan Pearson, help United gain promotion to the First Division.

As a player Carey spends most of his career with Manchester United, where he is team captain from 1946 until he retires as a player in 1953. He also plays as a guest for several other clubs including Cardiff City F.C., Manchester City F.C., Everton F.C., Liverpool F.C. and Middlesbrough F.C.

Carey is also a dual internationalist, playing for and captaining both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1947 he also captains a Europe XI which plays a Great Britain XI at Hampden Park. In 1949 he is voted the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and in the same year captains the FAI XI that defeats England 2–0 at Goodison Park, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home.

Carey is also the first non-UK player and the first Irishman to captain a winning team in both an FA Cup Final and the First Division. Like his contemporary Con Martin, he is an extremely versatile footballer and plays in nine different positions throughout his career. He even plays in goal for United on one occasion.

(Pictured: Manchester United captain Johnny Carey is carried on the shoulders of his teammates, after they win the FA Cup final of 1948 against Blackpool. Date: April 24, 1948)


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Birth of Pat Jennings, Northern Ireland Footballer

pat-jenningsPatrick Anthony Jennings, Northern Irish footballer, is born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland on June 12, 1945. He plays 119 games for Northern Ireland as a goalkeeper, a figure which at the time is a world record and is still a Northern Ireland record, in an international career which lasts for over 22 years.

After playing for the Shamrock Rovers F.C. under-18 squad at the age of 11, Jennings concentrates on Gaelic football until he is sixteen years old, when he makes his soccer comeback with his hometown Newry City F.C.. After impressing with the team he moves to English Third Division Watford F.C. in May 1963. He again impresses in his first season in England, playing every league game for his club, and making two international appearances that season. He is signed by Tottenham Hotspur F.C. for £27,000 in June 1964.

Jennings spends thirteen years at White Hart Lane, where he plays in 472 league games for the Spurs, and 591 in all competitions. He wins the FA Cup in 1967, the League Cup in 1971 and 1973, and the UEFA Cup in 1972. In 1973 the Football Writers’ Association name him as its footballer of the year. Three years later he wins the Professional Footballers’ Association‘s (PFA) version of the award, the first goalkeeper to receive this accolade.

In August 1977, Jennings is transferred to Tottenham’s arch-rivals, Arsenal F.C., with Tottenham thinking he is nearing the end of his career. However, Jennings plays for Arsenal for another eight years where he helps Arsenal to the FA Cup final in 1978, 1979, and 1980, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final that year. However, Arsenal only manages to win the second of these finals, a 3–2 victory against Manchester United F.C.. In total, Jennings makes 327 appearances for Arsenal between 1977 and his eventual retirement from first-team club football in 1985. On February 26, 1983, he becomes the first player in English football to make 1,000 senior appearances, celebrating this milestone with a clean sheet in a goalless league draw for Arsenal at West Bromwich Albion F.C.

After his retirement, Jennings returns to Tottenham Hotspur, playing mostly in their reserve side to maintain his match sharpness for Northern Ireland’s 1986 FIFA World Cup campaign. His final appearance for Tottenham is in the Football League Super Cup against Liverpool F.C. in January 1986. He also plays briefly for Everton F.C., having been signed as goalkeeping cover for the 1986 FA Cup Final against Liverpool.

Despite retiring from club football in 1985, Jennings plays his final international game at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, on his 41st birthday, making him at the time the World Cup’s oldest ever participant. The match is Northern Ireland’s final group game, a 3–0 defeat against Brazil. In total, he participates in the qualifying stages of six World Cups between 1966 and 1986.

Following his retirement Jennings works as a goalkeeping coach. In 2003 he is inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of the skills he demonstrated in the English league. His son, also named Pat, is also a goalkeeper. He has played for League of Ireland clubs University College Dublin A.F.C., Derry City F.C., Shamrock Rovers and NIFL Premiership club Glenavon F.C.

Jennings and his family have lived for many years in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, where his son attended The Broxbourne School along with the sons of fellow Spurs players Chris Hughton, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ray Clemence. He is still associated with the Spurs and hosts Corporate Hospitality fans in the Pat Jennings Lounges at White Hart Lane and Windsor Park, Belfast.


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Birth of Nicky Byrne, Singer & Songwriter

nicky-byrneNicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne, Jr., singer, songwriter, radio presenter, dancer, television presenter and former semi-professional footballer, best known for being a member of Irish music band Westlife, is born in Dublin on October 9, 1978.

Before his music career, Byrne plays professional football, representing Republic of Ireland at several junior levels. He plays for Home Farm F.C. and St. Kevins Boys in North Dublin before becoming a professional player. He joins Leeds United F.C. as a goalkeeper in 1995, and is a squad member of the FA Youth Cup winning team of 1997. He plays for Leeds for two years, leaving when his contract expires in June 1997. He plays in a reserve game for Scarborough F.C. and in a trial game with Cambridge United F.C. before returning to join Dublin club Shelbourne F.C.. He then signs for Cobh Ramblers F.C. playing 15 games, then St. Francis F.C., all in Ireland’s League of Ireland.

On May 14, 2009, Byrne is a substitute for a Liverpool F.C. Legends XI that plays against an All Star XI in a Hillsborough Memorial match to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. He represented the Republic of Ireland at U15, U16 and U18 levels.

In June 1998, Byrne attends an audition for new Irish boyband, where Boyzone manager Louis Walsh approaches him to join his new venture, Westlife. He joins Westlife along with Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden. With Westlife, he has had 25 top ten UK singles, fourteen of which are number one, seven number one albums and has sold in excess of over 45 million records worldwide. He also has a number one single in Ireland in 2002, alongside the Republic of Ireland national football team and Dustin the Turkey, with the Irish 2002 FIFA World Cup anthem, “Here Come The Good Times (Ireland).” He also co-writes many of Westlife’s songs.

On September 7, 2012, it is announced that Byrne will be a contestant for the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He is the ninth contestant to be eliminated. He is ranked number two on Ireland’s Sexiest Man of 2014.

In early January 2016, it is rumored that RTÉ had internally chosen Byrne to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. On January 13, he is confirmed to be the Irish singer for the 2016 contest in Stockholm with the song, “Sunlight.” He performs it in the second semi-final but fails to advance to the final.

Byrne’s wife Georgina is the daughter of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and they have twin sons, Rocco Bertie Byrne and Jay Nicky Byrne, and a daughter, Gia.


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Birth of Footballer Ronnie Whelan

ronnie-whelanRonald Andrew Whelan, former Irish association football midfielder and occasional defender, is born in Dublin on September 25, 1961.

Whelan is born into a family of footballers. His father, Ronnie Whelan, Sr., is an Irish international and a key member of the successful St. Patrick’s Athletic F.C. of the late 1950s and early 1960s. His brother, Paul Whelan, plays for Bohemian F.C. and Shamrock Rovers F.C..

Whelan is a skillful and industrious midfield player who, after an unsuccessful trial period for Manchester United F.C., makes his League of Ireland debut for Home Farm F.C. on his 16th birthday at Tolka Park.

Whelan is signed for Liverpool F.C. by Bob Paisley for a bargain £35,000 on September 19, 1979, a few days before his 18th birthday, and makes his debut eighteen months later, on April 3, 1981. He goes on to become an integral part of the dominant Liverpool team of the 1980s. He remains with the club until 1994. In 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a poll of 110,000 Liverpool fans conducted by the official Liverpool F.C. website, Whelan is in 30th position.

Whelan plays for the Republic of Ireland national football team at one UEFA European Championship (1988) and two FIFA World Cups (1990 and 1994), turning out a total of 53 times for the national side between 1981 and 1995.

Whelan finishes his career at Southend United F.C., where he is also player-manager through the 1996-1997 season. He later manages in Greece and Cyprus, with Panionios G.S.S., Olympiakos Nicosia and Apollon Limassol.

Since retirement Whelan has begun a media career and is a regular contributor to RTÉ Sport in Ireland. He is also Patron of the Myasthenia Gravis Association in Ireland where he is an active fundraiser and works to raise awareness for this rare autoimmune disease.


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Birth of Irish Footballer Jimmy Dunne

James “Jimmy” Dunne, Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers F.C., Sheffield United F.C., Arsenal F.C. and Southampton F.C., is born on September 3, 1905, in Ringsend, Dublin. Dunne is also a dual internationalist and plays for both Ireland teams: the FAI XI and the IFA XI. Dunne holds the all-time record of consecutive goals scored at the elite level of English football.

Dunne is the first Irishman to figure prominently in the English Football League scoring records. In the 1930–1931 season he scores 41 league goals for Sheffield United. This becomes a club record and remains the most league goals scored by an Irishman during a single English League season.

In the 1931–1932 season, he scores in twelve consecutive matches. This is the all-time record of consecutive goals scored at the elite level of English football. Dunne also scores 30 or more First Division goals in three consecutive seasons between 1930 and 1933. He excels at either centre forward or inside forward and is outstanding with his head. On September 27, 1930 he scores a hat-trick of headers against Portsmouth F.C.. He is a fringe member of the great Arsenal F.C. side of the 1930s before finishing his career at Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Dunne dies suddenly from a heart attack in Dublin, at the age of 44, on November 14, 1949. His two sons, Tommy and Jimmy, also play in the League of Ireland for St. Patrick’s Athletic F.C. Tommy also plays for Shamrock Rovers F.C. His nephew, another Tommy Dunne, also plays for Rovers and another nephew Christy Doyle, plays for Shelbourne F.C. and the Republic of Ireland.