JUST TURNING TWENTY-NINE, it hardly seems normal to be bracing yourself for your own testimonial. Most players are entering the prime of their careers.
Shane Tracy manages a gym at a local hotel, as well as being a squad member of Limerick FC on a part-time contract. The arrangement is needs must and he accepts that. While the League of Ireland typically injects its players with a healthy dose of reality, Tracy’s been dealing with that for some time due to injuries and family commitments.
While his beginnings seem little more than the stereotypical Premier League dream of a teenager, his career itself outlines the truly harsh nature of being a professional footballer with little luck onside.
After finishing primary education, the Garryowen local opted to go to CBS Sexton Street. The soccer programme is the game’s shining light in Limerick – in a city of schools where rugby is king. That being the case, Tracy explained it was the only place he’d end up.
“When you were younger, CBS was the soccer school. There was nowhere else really. The likes of Shane Duggan and Lee-J Lynch were there too. It was just ‘the’ place you went to – to win Munster titles and All-Irelands. We’d a very good side,” he reminisces.
“It’s given the League of Ireland a lot of talent. Like I said, you have Duggan and Lynch – but Thomas Lyons and Jason Hughes as well. It was unbelievable school to be in. I never won the All-Ireland for them, but the younger lads coming through after me did. They went on to win more as well. It was just a brilliant few years.”
What’s usually a pipe dream for most, quickly became a more intense longing for Tracy. England is all he dreamt about, but his notion didn’t seem as far-fetched when Arsenal came calling for his sister, Yvonne, back in 2000.
“I took the phone call at the time from Vic Akers. I was a massive Arsenal fan. He rang the landline and wanted to speak to Yvonne. Yvonne’s there 18 years now – so I was 11.
“I always wanted to be a footballer. Back in CBS, Noel Early called me over and told me I needed to give this dream of being a footballer up and all stuff like that. He was half-joking, but he did say it was affecting my studies and all that – warning me to not let the football get in the way. It was the only thing I ever wanted. I had a ball at my feet all the time. We’d play for 12 hours a day.”
He’ll likely never admit he was envious of his sister’s success at the club he adored, but he wouldn’t have to wait long for his own shot.
“I was playing in the Kennedy Cup. I did well in the first two games and then had an absolute stinker for the rest of the tournament. But the first couple of games were watched by Arsenal. David Court was there at the time. He said I was too small but he kept tabs on me throughout the years.
“I came to light then in an U17 FAI game when I was fifteen. I scored a hat-trick against Cherry Orchard. You had the likes of Conor Sammon playing. They were a handy team. We beat them 3-1. I scored two headers and one from the halfway line. I always look back and think how it’s possible for one game to catapult someone like that. My father’s phone didn’t stop ringing after that.
“I had a local scout from Tipperary who worked for Man City – he was onto me constantly trying to get me to go over. I went on a couple of trials then. When I went to Arsenal, I had the impression that it would just be an enjoyable week. I never thought I’d be signing in a million years. I expected to be pulled into an office and to be thanked for coming over. I had it in my head to thank them for the opportunity. Liam Brady called me in then after the trial and told me Arsenal were offering me a two-year contract. I didn’t wait around.”
Tracy was living his boyhood dream and created memories he still holds dear to this day. However, homesickness and a downturn in youth production saw Arsenal look to the continent, and Tracy turn to home.
“I was walking into the training ground and into the gym. I’d be walking past Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. These were players I grew up idolising. It was an unbelievable experience for a 15-year-old. I was more or less living with Yvonne for the first year before the YTS (Youth Training Scheme) kicked in.
“Going into my final year, they put massive money into the infrastructure. We’d been very poor in the Youth Cup. I’d say the following season, they signed nearly 15 lads from all over Europe. I’d seen what had happened to lads who were living in England. They’d come into training and just fall by the wayside. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I was homesick too at that age, so I felt I needed to come home.
“Looking back, it was surreal. We sat behind the dugout at every game. We got to go to the Champions League final as well. I remember the whole lead-up. They were incredible times. I never had the privilege of training with the first team, but sometimes players who were suspended or players who didn’t travel, would hang back. Like with Bergkamp and European games – he’d hang about.
“I lived with Sean Kelly from Tralee. He was captain of the U18s side. Stephen Bradley had just left, but I was there with Stevie O’Donnell and Pat Cregg. It’s funny how it panned out in the end.”
A 17-year-old Shane Tracy left north London to return to Limerick. Admittedly ignorant towards League of Ireland football at this point, he opted to assess career paths outside of football, but hit a brick wall. He explained:
“Initially, I came back and joined Wembley Rovers. I was just enjoying my football and being back with my mates. I actually entered into a welding trade. We went to Dave Mahedy to see what I’d need education-wise for me to get to third level. He said I’d need three or four years to get to college, so I just went into that trade instead. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had. It was some shock, going from training every day to that. I remember separating millimetres of steel and your hands were cut to bits. It was an eye-opener.”
It would eventually be the League of Ireland that got the Limerick native out of his less-than-memorable stint as an apprentice welder – going on to learn more about the league he barely knew existed.
“Thankfully I had the opportunity to go to Galway. It was a 52-week contract. I came into the league after being in England and I had no idea how good it was. People still don’t. I was shocked. I presumed because I’d been at Arsenal that I’d be well able for it. It stood to me in the end because if I’d known how hard it was, I’d have been terrified.
“Making my debut down in Turners Cross in front of 5,000 people was incredible. Joe Gamble was playing centre midfield for Cork, Georgie O’Callaghan was playing, John O’Flynn – some of the best players to play in the league. It was one of my best moments in football.”
Up until this point, Tracy admitted he had ambitions to get back to England. What’s always been obvious is his technical ability. Unfortunately, what’s been even more obvious is how much of a toll that various knee injuries have had on his career throughout 11 years in the league.
“The first really bad injury I had was when I went on loan to Limerick in 2008. I felt really fit that year. I’d let myself down towards the end of my year with Galway. I let myself go and put on weight. That’s probably why Tony Cousins put me out on loan.
“I came back flying though – and it was the day we went to play Athlone. I’ll never forget it. I always had an issue with my left knee but it was never serious. I was running up the stairs the day of the game and my whole knee felt like it ripped apart. I was going up on the bus and didn’t move for the whole journey. It was a cartilage problem. I was told it would be three to four weeks. I had seven weeks left on my loan deal, so I was keen to play so I could get back to Galway.
“Cousins had been let go and Jeff Kenna came into Galway. I wanted to impress to try and get into that team again,” he recalled.
“I woke up from the operation and was told it would be three months. I did all the rehab – did everything to a tee. I went running but it just kept on cracking. I had to get a second operation. I was told then it would be only a month because it was small clean-up job. I woke up from that operation and was told I’d be eight months away from football. That was in April of 2008. The next game I played was in April of 2009.”
From here, Tracy knew any chance he had of returning to England was over and admittedly gave up on it.
“I lost the head. I was living at home and still under contract at Galway. I won’t lie – I went on the lash drinking for six months with my mates. I’d never done it before, growing up. I went crazy then. Galway were brilliant to me. They offered me everything I needed, but I couldn’t do anything. All I had to do was rest it. I was idle. I got the all clear though and cut it all out again. I built my knee up and then signed for Limerick officially.
“Being out for that length of time, I effectively made a decision that I needed to get into college. I won’t say the injury was the reason I didn’t go back to England, but it made the decision for me really.
“Fitness and speed-wise, I never got back to the level I was at prior to the injury. My knee was always a defect. It was maybe 85% of what it was. I tried to build it back up, but I was never full-time at Limerick early on.
“When I was going to Galway, I knew nothing about League of Ireland football, let alone Limerick. I’d never heard of them playing Real Madrid even. I didn’t have any affiliation with it.”
Little did Tracy know that, while a wealth-laden footballing career was up in smoke, the wheels of a smaller scale legacy at his hometown club were firmly in motion.
“The first year I was at Limerick, it was under Mike Kerley. He was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He had Trevor Lovell with him. I worked with him since I was eight years of age. We had a very young side though, so we were inconsistent.
“The following year, Pat Scully came into the club. He was a different animal. We had no money yet and Scully had the same squad. Pat O’Sullivan came in though and transformed Limerick completely. He gave Scully the budget and we turned it over. He had the tools and there was no better manager to do it, in my opinion.
“In 2010, we were unlucky. We had a lot of kids that year and nearly got promoted. The following year was when it all kicked off though. Joe Gamble came in and Denis Behan, too. We felt unbeatable. I knew at that point that the club would go places.”
For the first time since joining Arsenal, a 21-year-old Tracy felt like he was competing in the sport he’d based his whole life around to this point.
“At Galway, I played some games and then I’d drop out of the squad. Under Scully, I played 30-odd games a season and felt like I was actually contributing to something.
“Jackman Park was a funny one. It wasn’t a great surface and a bigger pitch would have suited the players we had. But to be fair, growing up in Limerick, Jackman Park is where you wanted to play. I used to dream of going there for cup finals. I loved playing there because I had great memories of the place.
“We hit the ground running in 2012. Waterford were the bogey team that year but the calibre of the we had players won us the league. We had Gamble and Bradley in midfield. Even the young ones like Dave O’Leary and Steven McGann were superb. That was the first year with actual pressure. Games were so important. I remember playing Athlone at home where Sean Brosnan scored. That game effectively won us the league. Those games were what you wanted to play in.”
As he got older and the club started to grow in stature again, Tracy began to rethink his theory about not being able to have football as a career. Limerick’s promotion in 2012 would give an entire squad optimism about full-time football returning to Shannonside and he admits it was a huge motivation.
“For me, it was about getting a better contract in part. A promotion meant more money. Football had a different meaning now. It was for a living. I was 24 and suddenly, it was a job. You had to win games to improve your lifestyle and stuff. It was different. It was hard to win the division back then. It still is to a degree, but back then you had strong teams in Monaghan, Shelbourne, Longford, Sporting Fingal – even Cork.”
Pat Scully had given Tracy a new lease of life, but he controversially departed after getting Limerick back into the top tier for the first time in nearly two decades.
“After Pat left, Stuart [Taylor] came in. We moved to Thomond Park and the whole squad was bouncing to get in there. We trained a few times in there beforehand and we couldn’t wait to get going. We opened against Cork. It was a freezing cold day – the coldest I’ve ever had playing football. There was 6,000 people in there. It was so surreal to be playing in front of crowds like that in Limerick.”
“I had my third knee operation that year. It was against Derry in Thomond Park. Paddy Kavanagh was running next to me. He didn’t touch me but I felt my knee crack again. I fell to the ground and Paddy kicked the ball out. I actually played the second half, despite it being a bucket handle tear. I was sitting on the physio table, and I was pretending I was fine. I just wanted to play.”
Taylor’s relationship with Tracy was a positive one, but just like Scully, the Scot would exit abruptly. Despite Tracy’s awful luck with injuries, they would persist – in even more bizarre circumstances.
“We were under-performing. The board then made the decision to get rid of Stuart. Martin Russell came in and changed the style of play, but I was injured. I got a bad gash on my leg in work. I was taking off a pool cover. The knob on the cover slipped and hit my shin. We were playing three games against Pat’s, Cork and Dundalk at Thomond Park so it was a big time of the season.
“I played against Dundalk in the end, but I still had the gash. I didn’t think much of it, but as it turns out I was close to getting osteomyelitis, which is a bone infection. I remember up in Drogheda two weeks later, that my whole shin felt like it snapped. I ended up missing 16 weeks over something that was about the size of a finger nail.”
There was a notable grimace from Tracy as he went to speak about the 2015 season. Limerick failed to win in any of their first 21 Premier Division games. Despite that, they would go on to win seven in the next 12 – before surviving automatic relegation on the final day in Sligo. The return to the Markets Field in July ignited a run of results that defied logic.
“I missed the first 10 games of 2015. I remember coming into the squad and the boys were dejected. It was still a decent squad and it shouldn’t have been bottom of the division. It was a really good group. We lost above in Longford and I couldn’t see where the win was coming from. We didn’t get a win over the next few games and I felt like we were down.
“I live a minute’s drive from the Markets Field. I wasn’t born when Limerick were last playing in the Markets Field. My eldest sister’s fiancée at the time, Mark Delaney, was an absolutely massive Limerick fan. He used to tell me about the Markets Field and there being 10-15,000 people there on a Sunday, so I knew about how big of a deal it was.
“There was a huge crowd at it – albeit ‘officially’ 2,500. It was crazy. We lost to Drogheda – 2-1. It was a very low time. We lost to Bray in the last minute thanks to a deflected Dave Scully free-kick.”
Reinforcements arrived midway through the year and contributed massively to the survival effort.
“Freddy [Hall] came in. Shaun [Kelly] and Lee-J [Lynch] came in, too. Vinny Faherty went up top and Dean Clarke went left wing. It changed everything. We were out of the cups, we had no injuries – so that helped.
“I met Lee-J Lynch after the Galway win. He was like a child at Christmas – convinced we’d stay up. That year was unbelievable to that point. Then, Sligo. The last day – that was one of my best nights. We were vicious. We were wired. I can barely remember the game. Duggan was incredible. I took a right-footed shot – one of the worst I’ve ever hit. Paul O’Conor converted it after, on the follow-up.
“We laugh about it now, as I went to college with him – but Danny Ledwith! Sligo brought it back to three-two in the last couple of minutes. We needed to win to avoid the drop. He’s one of the best technical players I’ve ever seen. They had a half-chance and he’s one of the only players I know that could have even turned it into an effort on goal. The ball was dropping from about 50 feet in the air and he almost put it in the bottom corner. He caught the volley so sweetly. If he had scored that, we were down. I thought it was in. My heart stopped. Someone cheered behind me, and then I knew we were okay.”
Blues fans won’t need reminding, but following an incredible roller-coaster of a league campaign, they’d ultimately go down thanks to a defeat in a two-legged playoff with Finn Harps. Tracy still isn’t completely at peace with it.
“The job was definitely not done. We knew that. It wasn’t the game in Ballybofey that cost us. It was the game in the Markets Field. There was about 7,000 people crammed into the ground. We missed so many chances. Even looking at Shaun Kelly’s goal – it makes no sense how he scores from there. We should have been 3-0 or 4-0 up, but it was still in the balance after only scoring once.
“We felt confident going to Donegal. We just needed not to lose. The first goal actually woke us up a small bit. They didn’t have a chance after that. Going into the second half, it was all us. Sean Russell missed a great chance – we had a few of them. I couldn’t see them scoring.”
At 1-1 on aggregate, a shootout was fast approaching, only for youngster BJ Banda to flick his header past Freddy Hall to end the fairytale.
“I remember stopping the first cross. It fell to McNulty again and he got it over me. I still feel like I should have stopped that cross, but I was hoping the near post area was covered. It was the darkest night in football for me. I couldn’t talk. I was lost for words. We felt we left absolutely everyone down.”
Limerick would go on to romp their way to a First Division title thanks to some generous spending, but it wasn’t the league form that Tracy remembers. Following a heroic performance in Derry, Limerick qualified for the final of the EA Sports Cup – Limerick’s first major final in 14 years. What would have been a defining moment in his career, wouldn’t come to pass. Tracy wasn’t selected in the starting XI – much to the uproar of the thousands in attendance. He pulls no punches about it, either.
“I’m 100% bitter about not starting. It was more disappointment, maybe. At the time, I felt I had done enough to start. If there was a lad who was settled at left back, I’d have held my hands up but that wasn’t the case. It would have been ‘the’ moment for me. My family were there, it was on television – I was thinking afterwards if the club would get to another cup final while I was there. We won in Derry in the semi-final. The performance we put on up there was great, and we were all buzzing when we found out the final was in the Markets Field. To not play in that game was disappointing to say the least.”
It’s 2017. Limerick have been through three different managers. Tracy is still at the club, but has been a limited participant to this point. Despite that, the left back is to be commended for his service to the club this Saturday, 16 September.
“I’d never planned on staying with this club when I first came. But I’ve wanted to stay here ever since. The squads got better and better. Your family are able to come and watch you. I’ve enjoyed my time here so much.
“I didn’t even realise I’d been here 10 years until I sat down to negotiate my last contract. I sat down with Kieran Judge and he brought up the testimonial. It’s been brilliant. I’ve had ups and downs, obviously. I’m looking forward to the night though. The response has been incredible.
“Part of the money raised is going towards Irish Guide Dogs. My two sons have autism. We applied for an assistance dog for Jack to help his anxiety a few months ago. Since we’ve gone down to meet them, they’ve been top class. We were lucky enough to be provided with a dog. Within the two months, it’s amazing to see how much it’s meant to Jack. The support they’ve shown since is amazing. It’s the least I can do.”
Giving back is what Tracy has done. Once dreaming of carving out a career in England, he fell on his feet in a league he knew nothing about. Tracy’s developing perception of Limerick Football Club may well be a perfect reflection of how it was, and is now viewed by the general public. Ten years ago, they didn’t exist. Now, they’re firmly cemented into the psyche of a sports-loving city that sometimes needs a steer.
“Looking at how much the club’s achievements have meant to the city while I’ve been here has been so rewarding. In the last decade, the club has grown so much. Five or six years ago, you’d walk around town and nobody knew you really. I’ve heard Joe Gamble talk about it with Cork. He said you can’t leave Cork city without someone coming up to you asking how you are. I’m starting to notice that now, even with kids. They see you as Limerick FC players. The city needed that. It didn’t have it when I first came, now it’s prominent.
“For lads coming back from England, you now don’t have to feel down about it. You don’t have to travel around the country anymore. There’s a platform here for footballers from Limerick to play in Limerick. It wasn’t obvious it’d be like that for me, but I’ve been delighted to do it, looking back.”
As Tracy partakes in what may be his last season with the club that grew alongside him, he leaves behind a certain irony.
A boy who had never heard of Joe O’Mahony, Des Kennedy and Al Finucane growing up, despite living a stone’s throw away from the scene of their greatest exploits, will now be held in similar regard to them.
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