Seamus "Shay" Keogh (6 September 1934 – 13 April 2020) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a centre half. He was part of the great

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

teams of the 1950s in a side, popularly known as Coad's Colts, that enjoyed many memorable days during that decade. A former schoolboy and youth international, he joined

in 1952 and stayed for nearly a decade at

Glenmalure Park Glenmalure Park, often simply known as Milltown, was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers ...

. As a Crumlin man, Shay played in the club's first four European games against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. ...

in the

European Champion Club's Cup The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. The competition in its older form ...

Career

He captained his country in the first ever B international in October 1957. He won his second "B" cap the following year winning in Iceland. He won one cap for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

in a 2–2 friendly against Poland at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

on 5 October 1958. Shay represented the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

nine times between 1955 and 1959. He shared a benefit game with Ronnie Nolan in May 1961. In September 1961 he signed for

Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...

and also had further spells at

Jacobs F.C. Jacobs Football Club was an Irish association football club based in Crumlin, Dublin. Jacobs were one of the founding members of the League of Ireland and played in the league from 1921–22 until 1931–32. Like several fellow early League o ...

and as player-manager at

St Patrick's Athletic F.C. St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Ir ...

between 1963 and 1965. On 20 December 1973, Liam Tuohy resigned as Rovers manager. Shay, who was at that time the technical advisor to the club, was appointed manager, with

Dougie Wood Dougie Wood (born 15 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for eleven seasons with Derry City from 1961-1972 in the Irish League. He won six inter-league caps for the Irish League between 1964 and 1967, and won the Irish ...

but resigned two days later.

Personal life

Keogh died in the

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

suburb of

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

on 13 April 2020 at the age of 86.

Honours

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 us ...

: 3 :: * Shamrock Rovers – 1953/54, 1956/57, 1958/59

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

: 2 :: * Shamrock Rovers – 1955, 1956

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

: 3 :: * Shamrock Rovers – 1955/56, 1956/57, 1957/58 * Leinster Senior Cup: 5 * Shamrock Rovers – 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

: 5 * Shamrock Rovers – 1952/53, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1959/60 *

Top Four Cup The Top Four Cup was an association football super cup featuring the top four clubs in the League of Ireland. It was first held in 1955–56 and last played for in 1973–74. It was played at the end of the season. Shamrock Rovers were the i ...

: 2 * Shamrock Rovers – 1956, 1958

References

General references * ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins () {{DEFAULTSORT:Keogh, Shay 1934 births 2020 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Republic of Ireland B international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers St Patrick's Athletic F.C. managers Sligo Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland XI players Association football central defenders Republic of Ireland football managers