Shay Brennan left Manchester United in 1970 as a European Cup winner. He then moved to Ireland, where he continued his career as a player-manager before retiring and spending the rest of his life in Tramore, Waterford.
In June 2000, Shay Brennan passed away aged 63. He lived the life of a successful footballer, a Busby Babe nonetheless, who represented the Republic of Ireland on the international stage.
After joining Manchester United as an apprentice in 1953, Brennan signed professional terms in 1955 and made his debut just two months short of his 21st birthday in the club’s first match following the 1958 Munich Air Disaster. It was an FA Cup fifth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford, with Brennan scoring twice in a 3-0 win. He’d score again in the subsequent semi-final victory over Fulham, but wasn’t selected for the final at Wembley.
However, it wasn’t until the 1959/60 season that Brennan became a regular in Sir Matt Busby’s side. He went on to make a total of 355 appearances for United, scoring six goals, before being released in 1970. The highlights include winning the European Cup in 1968 and two First Division titles.
From Manchester United to Waterford and Clonmel Town
Brennan’s story is remarkable for multiple reasons.
Not only the first English-born footballer to play for the Republic of Ireland under the granny rule, but Brennan was also the first United player to receive a pension from the club (£20 a week).
After moving to Ireland and becoming player-manager at Waterford, Brennan led them to two league titles and an FAI Cup triumph. He also went on to play at amateur level in Ireland after deciding to pack in the professional game.
Brennan developed plenty of connections during his time at Waterford, and he was already close to Alexander Casey (also known as Alex or Al), who later became manager of Clonmel Town, a Sunday League club based in Tipperary, which isn’t far from where Brennan lived and started a courier business in Tramore.
Interesting fact: Casey scored for Waterford against United in the 1968/69 European Cup.
Casey brought Brennan to Clonmel Town, even though it was evident he wasn’t the player he was in his heyday, flying up and down the wing for United as a full-back with blistering pace. Clonmel Town had a strong connection with Waterford not just through Casey and Brennan, but also through Peter Byrne and Dave Kirby.
Sadly, Casey died as a result of a car collision near Tipperary Town while travelling back from a match in Limerick in December 1981. It was that tragic accident that led to Brennan becoming player-manager at Clonmel Town for a brief period.
As a journalist and United fan born and bred in Clonmel, also having played for Clonmel Town as a schoolboy, I wanted to find out more about Brennan as a player-manager in the Munster Senior League. That is why I reached out to one of the best footballers to come from Clonmel, PJ O’Reilly, who experienced life in the dressing room as Brennan’s teammate as well as one of his players.
“He was a real manager with the jacket and the collar. A really expensive jacket,” O’Reilly told United In Focus.
“I’d say he was doing us a favour. Dave Kirby took over from Shay when he decided he couldn’t do both running the team and his business. With the Sunday League, you were gone at 9am, and some of the games were at 12pm. They were coming from Waterford. It was a big commitment.”
PJ is proud of the fact that he can always say he played football with Brennan. He added: “It’s something I can always look back on and say I played with a European Cup winner. All the lads who played under Shay will say that as well. It was a great honour to play with him.”
Brennan spent most of his time in midfield at Clonmel, though PJ joked he’d rarely leave the centre circle. Yet rightly excused as a veteran with a second-to-none footballing IQ.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/PQATtvD