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10 June 2000 Shay
Brennan (Waterford United) This story appeared at Soccer - Sports Extra -
ireland.com
Sudden death of Shay Brennan
By Emmet Malone
10/6/00: Shay Brennan,
the former Republic of Ireland skipper and member of
Manchester United's famous Busby Babes, died suddenly.
Capped 19 times by Ireland, Brennan captained the
national side on five occasions, having made his debut
against Spain in Dublin in the summer of 1965.
Born in Manchester on
May 6th, 1937, the full back was the first English-born
player to play for Ireland, taking advantage of a change
by FIFA to the eligibility rules.
At club level he was
thrown into the first team at Old Trafford after the
tragedy at Munich in which eight first team members were
killed.
He made an immediate
impact, scoring twice and being named man of the match in
the first game after the incident, an FA Cup game against
Sheffield Wednesday.
In that game he had
been chosen to play at outside left. But, after a spell
at wing-half, it was as a skilful, attacking right full
back that Brennan made his name. His ability to carry the
ball forward quickly and beat opponents helped to
establish him as a major asset to both his club and
country.
He was a member of the
United team which won league titles in 1965 and 1967, and
after this second success he went on to help the club to
the European Cup final defeat of Benfica at Wembley.
In the early 1970s he
moved to Ireland where he played with the impressive
Waterford United side that won back-to-back League of
Ireland titles in 1972 and 1973.
See also BBC News FOOTBALL Busby Babe
Brennan dies
For other June 2000
news see ...
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