Liam Tuohy's like won't be seen again, says Niall Quinn
Monday 15 August 2016 15:17, UK
From the passing of Ireland great Liam Touhy to John Egan's promising Brentford debut, Niall Quinn reflects on an emotional week in Irish football.
On Saturday morning, in a hotel lobby in Brentford, I ran into a familiar face. A good few years have passed since a skinny young lad from Cork called John Egan arrived at Sunderland with his mum and dad.
He had his dad's name and it wasn't too much of a gamble to predict he would have his father's pedigree as a sportsman too. I had a dad who performed some great feats on the hurling field and, when the chance came for me to try my luck in England at a football club, Billy Quinn let me spread my wings with a heart and a half.
True greats never want to make their children live for them all over again, they just want to see them reach their potential. So the son of an eight-time All-Ireland legend came to Sunderland be a footballer.
Young John has been haunted by bad luck and injuries over the last few years. He's had a few loan spells and a run at Gillingham, where the potential really began to shine through. On Saturday he was making his home debut for Brentford, a good progressive club where he will thrive.
I've always kept an eye on his progress over the years so it was a thrill to see the vidiprinter report Egan scoring two second-half goals against Ipswich. I've said it before he made the breakthrough and I'll say it again, he will bring the same honour to the green jersey of Ireland as his late father brought to the green and gold of Kerry.
And if he has an inkling that our meeting near Sky Studios on Saturday brought him good luck I'm available most weekends!
John is the sort of young player Liam 'Rasher' Touhy would have appreciated. When I was young, Rasher was the doyenne of Irish football for us young lads. A man of great wisdom, wit, generosity and kindness, he was the essence of an Irish football man.
Long after I'd flown the Irish youth nest he admitted he once dropped me for a friendly international to annoy Arsenal who had earlier refused to release me for a World Youth Cup qualifier. He could hold a grudge like the best of them but, let it be noted, we still qualified.
We often say in Ireland when a good man passes that his like won't be seen again. In this case it is absolutely true.
His protégés Brian Kerr and the late great Noel O'Reilly went on to have as much influence as Liam had on our game.
Irish football lost a true and loyal servant on Saturday when Liam passed. We often say in Ireland when a good man passes that his like won't be seen again. In this case it is absolutely true.
Niall Quinn is chairman of Fleet Street Sports media group and writes for SportsVibe. Read his column every week on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps.
