FAI leads tributes to McCaffrey
FAI CEO John Delaney has led the tributes to former Republic of Ireland underage manager Seán McCaffrey, who passed away yesterday at the age of 58.
McCaffrey took over as manager of the Ireland Under 17 and U19 teams when Brian Kerr moved up to the senior side in 2003, and led the U17s to the 2008 European Championships in Turkey.
He also played a key role in the establishment of Monaghan United and took charge of the club that represented his native county in their early League of Ireland years before a short stint as Dundalk manager in 2012.
‘While many people will rightly praise Seán for leading his Under 17 team in 2008 to the European Championships in Turkey, his real legacy lies with the numbers of players that he helped produce for the men’s senior team, which was well into double figures and included the likes of Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick, James McCarthy, Darren Randolph and Aiden McGeady,’ Delaney said.
‘Quite simply, Seán McCaffrey was a football man. He was passionate about the development of the game, he drove Irish football on, and he was always the same.’
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.