Tommy Breen (27 April 1912 – 2 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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

for, among others,

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was an Irish football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for political reaso ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, Linfield and

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

. Breen was a dual international and played for both Ireland teams: the IFA XI and the FAI XI. Breen replaced Elisha Scott as first-choice goalkeeper for both Belfast Celtic and the IFA XI and was rated by Billy Behan, 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 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

. Then, in 1944, he transferred from Belfast Celtic to their rivals Linfield after a financial dispute.

References

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 Belfast Celtic F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Dual Irish men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers League of Ireland players Glentoran F.C. players Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Irish Free State men's association footballers Linfield F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Manchester United F.C. players Association footballers from Drogheda Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland League of Ireland XI players Irish Free State men's international footballers Irish League representative players Ireland (IFA) men's wartime international footballers Newry City F.C. players