Killyleagh YC stalwart is mourned

Killyleagh YC stalwart is mourned

16 September 2020

TRIBUTES have been paid to Killyleagh YC stalwart Manus Murray, who died on Monday.

Manus gave a lifetime of service to the club, both on and off the pitch. He shared in many of the club’s glory days and watched sons, Mark and Colin, enjoy huge success in the YC colours.

The club said in a statement: “Few can approach the 60-year unbroken connection Manus had with the Showgrounds, serving the club so loyally in so many different ways over the years.

“Manus was there at very start of Killyleagh Youth Club. He lined out in the forward line in the club’s first game in September 1960, taking part in the South Belfast Youth League as a 15-year old.”

Within two months of that appearance Manus would be snapped up by Crusaders, becoming the first player from the club to join an Irish League team.

A member of a famous Killyleagh footballing family, Manus returned to play at the Showgrounds with his brothers, Seamus and Liam. 

He scored four goals in a 16-1 win that still stands as a record score for Killyleagh YC. He also played in the club’s first trophy-winning side in the Amateur League.

When his playing career ended he continued his connection with the club, serving on the committee, acting as team attendant and performing linesman’s duties.

For more than 30 years he was a constant in the Killyleagh dressing room as kitman to Dee Heron’s all-conquering teams until stepping down at the end of the 2017 season.

Up until the past year, when he suffered health problems, he could count on one hand the number of games he had missed in the past two decades.

In its statement the club said: “He took great delight during a time in which his two sons, Colin and Mark, were members of Dee Heron’s history-making, six-in-a-row Amateur League Premier Section title winning side and Steel Cup winning teams. Manus was also proud to see a third generation of his family, with his three grandsons Mark, Aaron and Ross, don the famous white shirt of Killyleagh.

“He was a football man through and through who loved Killyleagh YC, and its members held him in a special place. He was always a constructive, wise voice and it will be sadly missed at The Showgrounds.”

Sympathy is extended to his wife, Nell, sons Colin and Mark, daughters-in-law Pamela and Dawn, and the entire family circle.

Manus’s funeral will take place from the family home, 13 Osborne Drive, Shrigley on Thursday at 1.15pm.