Brian Mooney, (born 2 February 1966 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

) is an Irish former footballer who made his name as a skilful winger in English football. Mooney was spotted in 1983 by

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

playing for Irish schoolboy club Home Farm F.C. where he had won a

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competi ...

. He went to school at St. Joseph's C.B.S. in Fairview. Mooney played for the

Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team The Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-19 Football Championsh ...

that qualified for the 1983 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship where despite remaining unbeaten in a group that included eventual winners France they were eliminated. Mooney scoring against the French at Elland Road. He also played at the

1984 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1984 Final Tournament was held in the Soviet Union. It also served as the European qualification for the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship. Qualification Group 8 Other Groups 1''The mat ...

Liverpool

Having signed for Liverpool, Mooney immediately started to turn heads with some outstanding performances for

Liverpool F.C. Reserves Liverpool F.C. Reserves is the reserve team of Liverpool F.C. It is the most senior level of the Liverpool academy beneath the first team. In the summer of 2012, the whole English reserve football system was overhauled and replaced with an Under ...

even breaking into the Republic of Ireland U-21s side after starring and scoring in the

1985 FIFA World Youth Championship The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Breaking into the Liverpool first team however was a different matter. With a team consisting of Kenny Dalglish,

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...

Craig Johnston Craig Peter Johnston (born 25 June 1960) is a South African-born Australian former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder in the English Football League between 1977 and 1988, winning the European Cup, five league titles and an FA Cu ...

Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...

and the like coupled with the fact that they were at the time the top club side in Europe it became increasingly difficult for Mooney to make a breakthrough playing in the end just one first team game in a Football League Cup tie against Fulham in October 1986. Even a successful loan spell in 1986 at

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

(8 games, 2 goals) only added to Mooney's desperate need for regular first team action. However, in October 1987 things took a turn for the better.

The Preston years

With newly promoted Preston North End struggling in the English third division manager John McGrath brought in both Mooney and

Tony Ellis Anthony Joseph Ellis (born 20 October 1964) is an English former professional footballer who commanded combined transfer fees of nearly £750,000 and scored 185 league goals in 518 league games during a sixteen-year Football League career. Pla ...

with Mooney initially on a months loan. Both players were an instant success with Mooney becoming the darling of the Deepdale terraces. At the end of his loan spell Liverpool agreed to sell Mooney for the moderate fee of £25,000. The next three and a half years were for Mooney a very successful period with his undoubted natural ability attracting the attention of many top flight clubs and the eye of Republic of Ireland boss

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

. In all, Mooney played 128 games for Preston scoring 26 goals and was named the club's official

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

in 1988–89. Was voted 2nd in the clubs cult heroes

Move to Sunderland

Although a Republic of Ireland cap eluded him Mooney did in the end earn a move to top flight

Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...

with the Rokerites (now the Black Cats) paying a fee of £225,000 for Mooney's services. His time at Sunderland was however a disaster with the club being relegated almost immediately and Mooney managing just 27 appearances (1 goal) in an injury ravaged two years. A loan spell at

Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club () is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, that competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the 2021–22 Premier League. Founded on 18 ...

didn't help either with a now disillusioned Mooney dead set against the move, however with Sunderland wanting Mooney to play competitive games he did in his month there make 6 appearances for the

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

outfit without scoring. Injury and poor form put paid to Mooney's career at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated ...

and although at the end of his contract there was interest from several other English clubs,

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

being the most notable, Mooney decided that at the age of 27 to return to Ireland.

Back home

Upon his return to Ireland, Mooney signed for

Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club join ...

He scored in two consecutive rounds in the

1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1993–94 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by English club Arsenal, who beat defending champions Parma in the final. The tournament would be renamed to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Teams Lithuania, Latvia, Es ...

. He then transferred to

Bohemian F.C. Bohemian Football Club ( ga, an Cumann Peile Bóihéamach), more commonly referred to as Bohemians or Bohs, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and are the ...

in 1995 amid controvers

His last game for Bohs was in a relegation playoff in 1999 and he was then release

He then signed for University College Dublin A.F.C. where he was also studying full-time for a degree. During his time playing in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

, Mooney played in both the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

and the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

as well as playing for the League of Ireland Representative Team. After playing for Monaghan United F.C. in 2001–02, he retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Brian 1966 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland B international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland under-23 international footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Burnley F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players Bohemian F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players University College Dublin A.F.C. players League of Ireland XI players Stella Maris F.C. players Monaghan United F.C. players Association football midfielders People educated at St. Joseph's CBS, Fairview