Tony Grealish RIP

[Stuttgart88]

Tony Grealish has died at the very young age of 56.

His beard and O'Neill's cotton jersey are iconic images of my childhood following the BIG and Tony was a stalwart of our midfield. I seem to recall an absolute screamer against Cyprus too.

I look forward to memories being added below.

RIP Tony.

[Bungle]

RIP Tony.

[paul_oshea]

Only 56. I saw he played Gaelic football growing up too.

RIP Tony.

[Junior]

Too young to have seen him line out for the B.I.G but I have obviously read about him over the years. Funnily enough my memory of him was watching him playing for Brighton vs. Man U in the FA Cup final in '83 on the TV. They should have won it, but Gary Bailey made a point blank save in the last minute, it went to a replay and Man U won 4-0. Think Michael Robinson was playing for Brighton that day as well.

I remember him purely because he had a beard.

Too young.

RIP

[tetsujin1979]

RIP Tony, read on his wikipedia page today that Example is his nephew

[Junior]

[Junior]

Here is a piece published in the YBIG fanzine a little while back. Im sure they won't mind me posting it here.

Sounds like very much the Kevin Kilbane of 25 years earlier....

Donal Cullen
Given the recent posts on the YBIG forum about the lack of passion amongst the stars of today and especially the vilified response to the announcement of the retirement of Steve Finnan, it is nice to look back at a time when playing for Ireland was not as high profile as it is today, and at a player who gave his all when he was in the team.
The year 1984 was the fourth of Eoin Hand's Irish term of office and so far things had been going well enough. He had inherited the job from Johnny Giles and a group of players who were to be Ireland's golden generation. However, like England's Steve McClaren discovered with his golden generation, having the players does not mean success. Hand had a wonderful 1982 World Cup campaign which almost got us to Spain but fell at the last hurdle to France and Belgium. There followed a disastrous tour to South America and the Caribbean and a poor showing in the qualifiers for Euro '84. His last chance was the 1986 World Cup and his attempt to get us to Mexico began well with a 1-0 win over the Soviet Union. Then things began to go wrong when Ireland lost their next match in Norway, who were useless then. The final match of 1984 was in Copenhagen against Denmark.
Ireland's team for the Denmark match had some of Irish great soccer names. Mark Lawrenson, David O'Leary, Kevin Sheedy, Frank Stapleton and, perhaps the greatest, Liam Brady and confidence was high. However they ran slap dab into one of the best teams Denmark ever had and were played off the field. Ireland lost 0-3 and had but one chance on goal - a weak volley by Sheedy. To the television viewers back in Ireland, accustomed then to defeat in away games, the result was not so much of a disappointment as the poor showing by the players. The one abiding memory of the night was when Ireland were totally taken apart by a brilliant Danish move for their second goal, scored by Preben Elkjaer, and one player so totally devastated and disappointed by the whole thing that he threw his arms up in the air and walked back to the centre circle shaking his head in frustration. His show of emotion was not directed at team-mates, or even the Danes, it was because he was passionate about Ireland and wanted them in the finals. That player was Tony Grealish who was a somewhat limited player (compared to his illustrious team-mates) but one who was loved by the fans.
Anthony Patrick Grealish was born in Paddington, London, to Irish parents. His dad was a fervent GAA fan and young Tony took up football - representing London GAA in the All-Ireland (if that isn't a mis-nomer!). However it was the foreign sport which grabbed a hold and at 18 he joined local club Orient. It was while playing as a right-back for the London club that he came to the attention of Irish manager Johnny Giles who called him up for a friendly with Norway in 1976. He was one of three players to make his debut in the match and all three (Grealish, Ray O'Brien and Mickey Walsh, who scored) impressed but only Grealish was to enjoy anything close to a decent international career even though his first two caps were awarded at full back. There was a break of two years before Grealish got another chance in the Irish team, this time in midfield in Norway. He made his first competitive start three days later in a 3-3 draw with Denmark when he scored his first goal. Grealish then played at full back in the 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland before he then established himself in Ireland's most difficult position in the time, midfield.
For a younger readership, Grealish is possibly not that well know from an era which had Brady, Gerry Daly and Johnny Giles in midfield for Ireland but at the time Grealish was Ireland's Lee Carsley. He could not hope to compete with the skills of a Brady or Giles or the scoring prowess of Gerry Daly but he was in the team on merit. Grealish was a battler and always gave his best. He also tried to keep up with Daly in the goalscoring stakes and his 8 goals was second only to team-mates Daly and Stapleton at the time he finished playing for Ireland. If the YBIG was around at the time and they asked the fans then to pick a team it would more-then-likely include a midfield trio of Brady, Grealishand Daly (Giles was about to retire from playing). Ashley Grimes, Mick Martin and Kevin Sheedy were around at the time but Grealish was to retain his place in the team until 1985, by which time he was only 29.
In 1981 Grealish moved from Luton to Brighton to join an increasing Irish contingent at the South Coast club. It was while at Brighton that he played in the FA Cup final and the team nearly pulled of the shock of the century when they almost beat Manchester United. At 2-2 Michael Robinson burst into the United box and squared the ball to the unmarked Smith who should have scored but fluffed it. Grealish captained the Brighton side in the replay but they lost 0-4.
Grealish left Brighton to join WBA who were then managed by Johnny Giles. Giles did not last long but Grealish did until he got an offer from Manchester City which he could not refuse. However he made only 11 appearances before moving on to Rotherham for a few seasons and then Walsall. He even ended up in Portugal with Salgueros on loan before finishing his playing career at Bromsgrove Rovers and Halesowen Harriers.
Grealish was 40 then but it was with Ireland that he is best remembered. He played in Eoin Hand's last match in charge of Ireland, a 1-4 home defeat by the Danes and of the 13 players used in that game was only one of two (Seamus McDonagh the other) who did not get a look in when Jack Charlton took over. Charlton had plenty of options in midfield when he arrived on the scene but Grealish never got the chance to prove his worth even though he would be playing on for another 8 seasons in League football and a further 4 in non-League.
Anyone who remembers the time before Big Jack brought Ireland places we could only dream of at the time would remember Grealish and he goals for Ireland. He played with and against some of the best players around at the time and would be best described as "an honest pro". He did the work, scored the goals and had a passion for Ireland which marked him out as a fan favourite at the time. That and his Captain Birdseye beard would mark him out as one of Ireland's better players from our own failed golden generation.

[paul_oshea]

Too young to have seen him line out for the B.I.G but I have obviously read about him over the years. Funnily enough my memory of him was watching him playing for Brighton vs. Man U in the FA Cup final in '83 on the TV. They should have won it, but Gary Bailey made a point blank save in the last minute, it went to a replay and Man U won 4-0. Think Michael Robinson was playing for Brighton that day as well.

I remember him purely because he had a beard.

Too young.

RIP

Don't lie....you weren't too young.

[Stuttgart88]

Junior is too young to have seen Tony play for Ireland whereas I'm too old to know who Example is.

[Yard of Pace]

Top 5 of coolest looking Irish players ever. I was only very young when he was playing but I fell in love with him while watching that video of Ireland v USSR from the mid-80s on Youtube. May he rest in peace and may there be a worthy tribute from us fans at our next home game.

[Stuttgart88]

Here is a clip on Tony in action versus Netherlands, and a legendary Lawrenson goal. The match was played in near darkness IIRC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=JVAl5XgOxiQ

I've no sound at work but I'm 99pc sure the Dutch goalscorer was a guy called Simon Tahamata.

[Stuttgart88]

"Paddy" Grealish is really fondly remembered on this Leyton Orient forum:

http://s16124652.onlinehome-server.i...7866cf1fe6d390

[EastTerracer]

Tony Grealish was one of the mainstays of the team during my early years following Ireland. One of my most memorable Grealish moments was when he scored the second goal on a glorious sunny day in Lansdowne Road in June 1985. There were many more moments besides that but it just stuck in my mind as I clearly remember seeing it from the South Terrace.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

[geysir]

Very sad to hear about his premature decline. Tony Grealish was an enigma and has left an indelible memory of one players' pride and uncompromising commitment in playing for Ireland.
One game that stands out was against Holland away in 1981, we had beaten them at home in 1980 and needed to beat them away. Brady was being given all the attention by Holland and it was left to Grealish to take on the mantle. After we had made our 2 subs, I think the game was held up for while for Tony to get splinters strapped on one leg, there was no danger of him coming off. Unfortunately it ended 2-2, a result that virtually killed the hopes both teams. Those were the days when the top teams worried about our midfield.

[KK77]

Very sad news.

My dad started bringing me to the games at the start of the Mexico 1986 campaign so i can remember Tony well from that time. He always seemed to me (a kid at the time) as a real tiger in the midfield. God bless him.

RIP

[Stuttgart88]

Tony Grealish was one of the mainstays of the team during my early years following Ireland. One of my most memorable Grealish moments was when he scored the second goal on a glorious sunny day in Lansdowne Road in June 1985. There were many more moments besides that but it just stuck in my mind as I clearly remember seeing it from the South Terrace.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

My God, two of our goalscorers that day with bowel cancer in their 50s.

[ArdeeBhoy]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/tony-g...urce=shortlink


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAl5...ature=youtu.be

[SkStu]

Very sad news. RIP Tony.

[RiffRaff]

Very sorry to read about this. He didn't have the ability of some of his international team mates but he was often the best player on our team. When I was reading Trap and co making excuses about not being good enough to take on the top teams, Tony Grealish came to my mind. We could use someone like him nowadays. RIP

[Drumcondra 69er]

RIP Tony Grealish. He scored the first goal I ever saw Ireland score in the flesh to kick start a comeback a minute after we went 2 down at home to the USA in 1979. The Americans crumbled after that and Don Givens and John Anderson scored not long after to turn what could have been an embarrassing defeat into a victory, always loved him as a player after that, was only a nipper on me Da's shoulders at the time but it's always stayed with me. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Few more memories and thoughts on his passing there if anyone's interested.

http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/201...irst-time.html