They sent me home and got a fellah called Bobby Charlton EXTRA.IE FAI CUP FINAL
Former Dundalk and Hoops striker Hughie Gannon on being the Cup final hero and a brush with greatness at United
‘I HEADED IT TOWARDS GOAL AND NEXT THING, BANG, I’M ON THE GROUND’
HUGHIE GANNON opens the hall door of his house in Penrose Street, in the shadow of Shelbourne Park, and extends a firm handshake and a genuine welcome. ‘Come in,’ he says warmly, adding with a twinkle in his eye, ‘Tell me again, why do you want to resurrect me?’
Why indeed?
It’s because Gannon, spry and lean at 82, has a story to tell.
More than one actually, as his words flow over the course of 90 minutes, sweeping through his two FAI Cup final triumphs, for Shamrock Rovers in 1955 and Dundalk in 1958, book-ended by yarns from his brief stint at Manchester United with the Busby Babes and finally, at Bangor City, in the Cheshire League.
Gannon’s recall of events of 60 years ago and more is astonishing, as his is stamina, as he hardly draws breath.
When he reveals how he used to run marathons into his 50s, you sense you’re in the presence of someone who’d give the Duracell Bunny a run for his money.
Along the way, Gannon dips into delightful Dublinese, using expressions like ‘swallier’, ‘waster’, ‘eejit’ and how he ‘never raised a jibber’.
Through it all, you sense Gannon was the sort of fellah who never shirked a tackle and whose bravery was evident when he shipped a broken jaw while scoring the winning goal in the ‘58 final.
‘Wherever the ball was, I was after it. It didn’t matter if there were three or four going for it, I’d make an effort. There were a few lads who were great footballers, but they’d only have to get a skin or two of a boot and they’d fade out of a game.’
Over tea, you also pick up that Gannon is related to a pair of Rovers legends, Liam O’Brien and Harry Kenny, through marriage, and that his favourite footballers all happen to be South
American forwards Pele,
Jairzinho, Maradona and Messi.
Gannon’s frontline football career was over at the age of 23 as he chose to channel his energies on family and work, as he’d ‘got a sour’ for playing football for a living.
By then, he’d embraced glory, pain, rejection and controversy, in equal measure.
Might he have gone on? ‘I had to put work first, which I did although years later, Kit Doyle, a pal who played for Shelbourne and got a cap against Belgium says to me one day, “Weren’t we eejits, Hughie for packing up football too early?”
WHERE to start? At the very beginning, a cold winter’s morning in January 1937 at the family home in Pigeon House Road.
‘I was born in the front room. My mother, Annie, who was the greatest person on earth, used to say to me, “Hubert, when you were born, there was nothing in the house, but outside there was a lot of snow.”
‘Times were tough then, they didn’t need a lot of babies being born.’
Like most kids growing up in Dublin in the post-War era, Gannon was outside all hours of the day, playing sports, Gaelic football, hurling and football.
He has a black and whote photo of a hurling triumph with his school at Croke Park and points out he isn’t wearing boots, rather runners. ‘We couldn’t afford boots then.’
It was at football where he excelled as a tigerish, pacey inside forward, good enough to play for Johnville, the local schoolboy club who were a nursery outfit for Shamrock Rovers, the glamour club of Irish football in the 50s. Jem Kennedy, after whom the Kennedy Cup is named, ran Johnville and he was cute enough to persuade Gannon to hold fire on heading to Manchester United at 16.
‘United wanted me in January but Jem said, “I think you’re better off going when the season was over.” I was important to the team and I enjoyed Johnville so I went away in July.’
Gannon has a black and white photo of the United playing staff taken at The Cliff in the summer of 1953.
Almost everyone is smiling. He picks out Stan Pearson, Liam Whelan, Tommy Taylor, David Pegg, Jackie Blanchflower, Albert Scanlon, and the towering Mark Jones, whom Gannon, slight and fair-haired, is standing beside.
‘The only one not in that photo was Bobby Charlton. It became a standard joke when I came back. “They sent you home and look who they got? A fellah called Bobby Charlton!” he laughs.
Gannon was home after five weeks at United. ‘You were told you weren’t good enough or words to that effect,’ he quipped.
But soon after, he signed for Rovers, while still 16, which was against the rules. It was all hush-hush but the money was decent and he kept his mouth shut.
‘There was no contract, no papers. Rovers paid me three pounds a week and told me to go back and play for Johnville.
‘I was on the pig’s back and then a gang called Donore found out and protested. It went to the Schoolboy League who said “You can’t play, you’re a professional footballer.” That was the end of Johnville. I was crying my eyes out.
‘So Rovers said “You better come up here.” I was 18. The first week we had a match in Sligo.
‘I was told going out, “If anyone asks, your name is Jimmy Behan.” I wasn’t signed but no one asked who the young fellah was at outsideleft.’
Gannon played three league games in the spring of 1955, all away from
home, as Rovers held senior players back for the FAI Cup final, against Drumcondra. Gannon wasn’t involved and he’d no interest in going to the final either.
After 10 o’clock Mass and Communion, he was out with his mates in Ringsend Park playing ball when he heard a shout; he was wanted at home.
‘Being the obedient boy I was, I went in and me mam says to me, “Do you know a man called Paddy Coad?” I said “I do, yeah.”
And she says, ”Well he’s after been here in the house and says you’re to go to Dalymount Park. Be there at half two and not to have your dinner.” I said “For what?” She says, “I don’t know. That’s the message Hubert.” She never called me son.
‘So I gets on the bus into town and another bus up to Dalymount and I’m sitting there in the corner of the dressing room like the little boy I am and Coad comes over and says “Get stripped, you’re playing.”’
Coad, the Rovers player-manager, had a foot injury and turned to youth rather than experience as a replacement. Gannon wasn’t at all ruffled.
‘It didn’t seem to take a feather out of me. I want out and played. I didn’t turn out to be the best player on the pitch but I got the ball in the net.
‘Arthur Ellis was the referee. He said “I’m sorry son, you’re just offside.” I have to say the rest of the match went past me until Liam Tuohy scored the winning goal.
‘We were in the dressing room afterwards. I went up to Paddy Coad and says “There’s your medal” and he says “Oh no.. You have to play in a Cup final to get a medal. It’s yours.”
‘So I got a Cup medal for nothing, basically. Looking back, I don’t think I realised what it meant to me at the time.’
GANNON’s appearances were restricted next season, during which he was hauled in before the club hierarchy of Joe Cunnngham and Tom Scully.
‘Mr Cunningham said, “It has been brought to our notice that you don’t come up and watch the team playing, when you’re not playing?”
‘I said. “Yes that’s right. To tell you the truth, I don’t really like watching games. I’d rather play”. I simply told the truth but that was it for me at Rovers.’
A move to Shelbourne followed only to end in a row over money as Gannon felt he should be compensated for missing a week’s work after getting injured playing for the B team.
‘My mother used to say, “Hubert you can’t eat your principles” But my principles got me into trouble more than once.’
After a handful of games for Workman’s Club, Gannon signed for Dundalk and made his debut in January 1958.
‘I loved Dundalk. They looked after you. There was always a cup of tea and a biscuit when you got there, and the crowds were great.’
Gannon played in every round and scored four goals as Dundalk won the FAI Cup without conceding a goal – a rare feat.
In the final, they were 5/2 outsiders against a Rovers team dappled with stars such as Tuohy, Ambrose, Nolan, Mackey, Burke and Hennessy.
In front of a 27,000strong crowd at Dalymount Park, the game was scoreless just past the hour when Gannon struck.
‘Our keeper Ted McNeill, kicked the ball down the middle. I started to run. Vinny Gilmour was centre-forward and he lifted it on again. Talk about up and unders,’ recalled Gannon.
‘And I’m still running, straight down towards the penalty area. I’m watching the ball as it hit the ground and bounced up again.
‘I’d my eyes on the ball, couldn’t see anyone coming. I just got in there ahead of Hennessy, Mackey and Christy O’Callaghan in goal, as he was coming out.
‘I headed it towards the goal. The next thing, bang and I’m falling on the ground.
‘Then Gerry Mackey comes over and tells me, “It’s in the net, Hughie,” so I knew I’d scored.
‘Barney Sheridan was our trainer at the time. He gave me a sponge and says “Keep that up to your jaw, Hughie.” After the match, I started spitting up blood, and was told to go to the Mater on my way home.
‘I was examined and they says “I think you’ve a broken jaw.” They kept me in for a week.
‘Of course, one or two of the lads came up to see me and told me what I’d been missing at Dundalk, there were bonfires and all.’
Gannon was not the only player to win FAI Cup medals with Rovers and Dundalk – the likes of Alan O’Neill, Mick Lawlor and Dermot Keely all achieved the feat later – but he managed it inside three years, having just turned 21, and also scored the winner in the final. His is a unique tale.
At around 2.30pm today, echoing an old Cup final tradition, Shamrock Rovers fans will follow a white horse over the bridge linking Ringsend to the city and turn left towards the Aviva Stadium.
They will almost pass the front door of Gannon, a great character, who played his part in shaping the endearing narrative of this grand old competition.