Irish soccer mourns passing of a huge character in Ray Treacy
RAY TREACY used to joke that he would have won 21 Irish caps, not 42, but for the fact he packed his banjo in with his boots on Ireland’s away trips.
Like of a lot of what ‘Trasser’ said, it was a remark delivered tongue in cheek. At 68, Treacy’s sad passing last night after a debilitating illness, which he bore bravely, has robbed Irish football of one of its most popular characters.
Ever armed with one-liners, ‘Ringsend Ray’ Treacy could play a bit too, as an 18-year senior career, and those Irish appearances, confirmed.
He finished his English League career under John Giles at West Brom, where it had started in 1964, before another successful stint with Giles at Shamrock Rovers, where he scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 1978 FAI Cup final.
Treacy knew the game too. He did a remarkable job as manager of Drogheda United and later led Rovers to the League title in 1993/94.
Off the pitch, his Ray Treacy Travel business in Dublin’s Store Street was highly regarded.
Famously, he hired the Achille Lauro to ferry fans to and from Italy for the 1990 World Cup and later took charge of the Irish team’s travel arrangements where his rapier wit stood to him, not least when the Irish media were assigned hotels in what Treacy liked to jokingly label the ‘regenerated area’ of cities.
Suprisingly for a travel agent, Treacy was a nervous wreck when flying. Arguably, it was the only time the Trasser ever showed fear. He will be hugely missed.
Our deepest condolences to his wife Jenny, daughters Karen and Lisa, and sons John and Gary.