Shay Brennan

Irish footballer (1937–2000)

Shay Brennan
Personal information
Full name Seamus Anthony Brennan
Date of birth (1937-05-06)6 May 1937
Place of birth Manchester, England
Date of death 9 June 2000(2000-06-09) (aged 63)
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
1953–1957 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1970 Manchester United 355 (6)
1970–1974 Waterford 40 (0)
Total 395 (6)
International career
1965–1970 Republic of Ireland 19 (0)
1970 League of Ireland XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Manchester United F.C. in 1960 – from the left, standing: Maurice Setters, Bill Foulkes, Ronnie Cope, Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, Bobby Charlton. Front row: Unknown, Albert Quixall, Dennis Viollet, "Shay" Brennan, Joe Carolan.

Seamus Anthony "Shay" Brennan (6 May 1937 – 9 June 2000) was an Irish footballer who played as a full-back for Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Career

His first game for the club came in an FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday on 19 February 1958; this was United's first game after the Munich air disaster and Brennan scored twice on an emotionally charged night. He was playing as an outside-left in this game, the position left vacant following the death of David Pegg and the injuries to Albert Scanlon in the crash.

He helped United to the 1965 and 1967 First Division championships, as well as the European Cup in 1968. Born in Manchester, England, he played internationally for the Republic of Ireland, qualifying through his parentage—the first Irish international to qualify in this way.[1] He retired from Manchester United in 1970 after playing 359 games and scoring six goals.

Brennan moved to Ireland where he became player-manager with Waterford United, winning two titles and three further international caps. He left at the end of the 1973–74 season.

Brennan had his testimonial on 14 August 1986 when Shamrock Rovers defeated Manchester United 2–0 at Glenmalure Park.

He died, aged 63, after suffering a heart attack while playing golf at Courtown golf club, on 9 June 2000 and was buried at his adopted town of Tramore.[2] He was the first member of the 1968 European Cup winning side to die, the second being George Best in November 2005.

Honours

Player

Manchester United

Manager

Waterford United

See also

References

  1. ^ Malone, Emmet (17 July 2020). "Game Changers: Shay Brennan the first foreign-born player to answer Ireland's call". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. ^ Malone, Emmet (20 June 2000). "Sudden death of Shay Brennan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2020.

External links

  • Shay Brennan at WorldFootball.net
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Waterford F.C.managers
  • Alex Stevenson (1958–60)
  • Paddy Coad (1960–63)
  • John Phelan (1963–64)
  • Paddy Coad (1964–67)
  • Martin Ferguson (1967–68)
  • Vinny Maguire (1968–69)
  • Alfie Hale (1969–70)
  • Shay Brennan (1970–74)
  • Jim Craig (1974)
  • Paul O'Donovan (1974–75)
  • John McSeveney (1975–77)
  • Colin Harper (1978)
  • Tommy Jackson (1978–82)
  • Alfie Hale (1982–88)
  • Peter Thomas (1988)
  • Andy King (1989)
  • Derek Casey (1989)
  • Johnny Matthews (1989–1990)
  • Seamus Coad (1990)
  • Alfie Hale (1991–93)
  • Brendon Ormsby (1993–94)
  • Johnny Matthews (1994–95)
  • Mick Bennett (1995–96)
  • Tommy Lynch (1996–98)
  • Mick Flanagan (1998–00)
  • Paul Power (2000–01)
  • Brendan Rea (a.i.) (2001)
  • Jimmy McGeough (2002–03)
  • Alan Reynolds (2004)
  • Brendan Rea (2005)
  • Mike Kerley (2006)
  • Gareth Cronin (2006–08)
  • Stephen Henderson (2008–2011)
  • Paul O'Brien (2011–2013)
  • Tommy Griffin (2013–2015)
  • Roddy Collins (2015–2016)
  • Alan Reynolds (2017–2020)
  • John Sheridan (2020)
  • Fran Rockett (a.i.) (2020)
  • Kevin Sheedy (2021)
  • Mike Geoghegan (a.i.) (2021)
  • Marc Bircham (2021)
  • Ian Hendon (2021)
  • Ian Morris (2022)
  • Gary Hunt (a.i.) (2022)
  • Danny Searle (2022–2023)
  • Keith Long (2023–)
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