Limerick soccer legend honoured by FAI

Colm Kinsella talks to Limerick soccer legend Al Finucane who was recently honoured for holding the record number of League of Ireland appearances.

Finucane was honoured by the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) at their recent annual awards in Dublin.

Finucane made a record 634 appearances in the League of Ireland between December 1960 and April 1988.

In 27 seasons playing League of Ireland football, Finucane was never sent off and was booked only three times. He captained both Limerick AFC and Waterford Utd to FAI Cup glory.

Finucane is one of only two League of Ireland players to captain the Republic of Ireland at senior level.

The three-time FAI Cup medal winner won 11 senior captains for Ireland, captaining his country against Austria in Linz. Finucane also played in two uncapped internationals against West Germany’s Olympic team and Australia and played in an U-23 game against France.

The Limerick central defender’s League of Ireland career began with Limerick in a 2-2 draw against Shamrock Rovers at Miltown on December 4, 1960 as a 17-year-old.

Finucane, from Quins Cottages, in Rosbrien, moved to Waterford United in the 1973-’74 season where he remained until the start of the 1981-’82 season when he returned to Limerick Utd.

Finucane’s final two season’s in the League of Ireland were with Waterford Utd in 1986-’87 and Newcastle West in 1987-’88. The stylish defender made his final appearance in senior football for Newcastle West in their First Division tie with UCD at Ballygowan Park on April 10, 1988.

The star defender was renowned for his sense of positioning, composure and distribution skills.

Finucane’s tally of League of Ireland appearances 634 is 69 greater than the second-placed Owen Heary.

Al Finucane said: “I am very proud of my number of League of Ireland appearances. It includes league appearances only, so if the games I played in the various Cup competitions was included it would have been greater.

“I was asked on the night of the awards how I managed to keep playing for so long and I said I was fortunate with the genes I inherited from my parents and I trained assidiously.

“I played League of Ireland football until I was 43 and I rarely missed a training session.

“I never smoked and I didn’t drink much. I used to have two pints after training on a Thursday night and two pints after a game on a Sunday.

“After I finished playing I was involved with coaching the UL Collingwood Cup team.”

Al Finucane’s talents as a soccer player were evident from a very young age. He was snapped up by Jack Tuohy to play with Reds United when he was only eight and played at U-13 level in the local schoolboy leagues. He joined Limerick as a 17-year-old under manager Ewan Fenton.

While Finucane spent the majority of his career playing with Limerick teams, his eight seasons with Waterford Utd included an FAI Cup win in 1980 when, at the age of 37, he captained them to their first Cup success in 43 years.

As a result, Finucane became the second player to skipper two clubs to success in the competition as he captained Limerick to their 1971 Cup win over Drogheda.

Finucane added a third FAI Cup medal in 1982.