Tommy Breen (27 April 1912 – 1 March 1988) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for, among others, Belfast Celtic,

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 ...

, Linfield and

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 ...

. Breen was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams: the IFA XI and the FAI XI. Breen replaced

Elisha Scott Elisha Scott (24 August 1893 – 16 May 1959) was a Northern Irish football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1912 to 1934, and still holds the record as their longest-serving player. Life and playing career Elisha Scott played for Lin ...

as first-choice goalkeeper for both Belfast Celtic and the IFA XI and was rated by

Billy Behan William Behan (8 August 1911 – 12 November 1991) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and Manchester United during the 1930s. He made his Rovers debut on 8 February 1931 in a 5–1 win over B ...

, one of his predecessors at Manchester United and a renowned scout, as one of the best goalkeepers Ireland ever produced. He was also the first Manchester United player ever to play for an FAI XI. During his career, Breen was involved in several controversies; in November 1937, he turned down the chance to play for the FAI XI in a 1938 World Cup qualifier to play for the IFA XI in the 1938 British Home Championship. Then, in 1944, he transferred from Belfast Celtic to their rivals Linfield after a financial dispute.

Sources

*''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan *''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rollin *''DUFC A Claret and Blue History'' by Brian Whelan (2010)

External links

Northern Ireland Footballing GreatsIreland (FAI) stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Tommy 1912 births 1988 deaths Association footballers from County Louth Belfast Celtic F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Dual Irish international footballers Association football goalkeepers League of Ireland players Glentoran F.C. players Ireland (FAI) international footballers Irish Free State association footballers Linfield F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Manchester United F.C. players People from Drogheda Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Expatriate footballers in England Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Expatriate association footballers in Northern Ireland League of Ireland XI players Irish Free State international footballers Irish League representative players Ireland (IFA) wartime international footballers