HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gerard Anthony Francis Conroy (born 2 October 1946) is an Irish former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
. A winger and forward, he scored 74 goals in 372 league and cup appearances in a 14-year career in the English
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
from 1967 to 1981. He also scored two goals and won 27 caps for the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
in a seven-year international career from 1969 to 1977. Raised in Cabra, Dublin, he began his career at Home Farm before spending two years with
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...
from 1965 to 1967. With Glentoran, he won the Steel & Sons Cup and
Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...
in 1966 and helped the club to win the Irish League title in 1966–67. He was sold to English First Division club Stoke City in March 1967 for a fee of £15,000, and went on to help Stoke to win the League Cup in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
. He spent 12 years with Stoke, scoring 67 goals in 333 league and cup appearances. He was a popular figure with Stoke fans due to his creative flair and dribbling ability, as well as his distinctive pale skin, bright ginger hair and sideburns. He moved to
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
to play for
Bulova Bulova is an American luxury timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 in New York City. Formally the Bulova Watch Company, it makes watches, clocks and accessories. History Founding Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J ...
in 1979. He returned to England the following year to join
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
in the Fourth Division. He signed with Irish club
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
in September 1981, moving on to Limerick United in November 1982, where he ended his career. He later ran his own insurance business and worked for Stoke City and the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
. He is married and has three daughters.


Club career


Ireland

Gerard Anthony Francis Conroy was born in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to John (Jack) and Esther Conroy, and was one of ten siblings: Alphonsus (Ollie), Laurence (Lar), John (Donny), Rita, Peter, Michael, Vincent, Paul, and Marie. Christened as Gerard, he soon became known by the name Terry as he could not pronounce 'Gerard' as a young child. His mother held two jobs: as a factory worker and an office cleaner. The family lived in the suburb of Cabra, and had very limited finances. Being one of the younger children he was indulged, and took advantage of his lack of household chores to spend the majority of his time playing football in the street. However he was arrested by a plain-clothed policeman and sentenced to probation in Children's Court for playing football in the street. He later credited his ball control skills to the many years he spent playing football with large numbers of other children in the tight streets of Cabra. His father and brothers were in the printing trade, and his brother Ollie, a talented footballer, rejected the opportunity to turn professional at
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
in 1950 in order to remain employed in Dublin as a machine minder and play football part-time in the
League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...
. Three more of his brothers also played in the League of Ireland, and both Ollie and Michael played in the Shelbourne team that won the
FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...
in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
. Conroy began his career with Home Farm, where he won four Irish youth caps. He played for the Home Farm under-13s at the age of ten, at a time when Home Farm were considered the best youth team in the country. The club held the registration of many of the country's top young players. Future Ireland international Billy Newman played in Conroy's age group. However, Conroy was determined to go beyond playing in the League of Ireland and was determined to play as a professional in the
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
. However, he was frequently told that he was too short to be taken on as an apprentice by an English club. However, a late growth spurt saw him grow an extra six inches to reach the height of at age 17. By this time, he also began playing for the Home Farm senior team in the League of Ireland B Division. In 1964, Conroy was offered a contract at Shelbourne and
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...
. However he instead moved to Northern Irish club
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...
, where he believed that he would have a better chance of being spotted by an English club. He received a signing-on fee of £600. As the club were based in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
he had to spend the night at manager Billy Neill's house after midweek games as he would miss the last train back to Dublin, and would have to instead catch the train the following morning to make it back to his regular job as a printer. He played for the Glentoran 'Seconds' (reserve team) in the final of the Steel & Sons Cup on 25 December 1965, which ended in a 1–0 victory over
Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland.
is a to ...
. He scored on his first team debut two days later, a 3–2 win over Bangor. He went on to score both goals for Glentoran in the
Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
on 23 April 1966, a 2–0 win over Linfield at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
. In total he scored eight goals in the 1965–66 season, as the "Glens" finished third in the Irish League, two points behind champions Linfield. He went on to score 25 goals in the 1966–67 campaign, as Glentoran won the league by a one-point margin. He also played in Europe, as the Irish Cup win also qualified Glentoran to a place in the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
in 1966–67, and he helped the club to a 1–1 draw at home with eventual runners-up Rangers before they suffered a 4–0 loss at
Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...
. He received a league winner's medal despite leaving the club before the end of the season.


Stoke City

Conroy had played for Home Farm in a friendly match against Stoke City at the age of 17 and impressed City manager Tony Waddington, who continued to track Conroy's progress via his local scout
George Eastham, Sr. George Richard Eastham (13 August 1914 – January 2000) was an English association football, football player and manager. An inside forward, he represented England national football team, England once at international level, and played for Bol ...
However
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
initially agreed a fee with Glentoran, but Waddington took the same train as Conroy after he left negotiations at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...
and successfully talked Conroy into signing with Stoke. This approach was actually an illegal approach according to FA rules. Conroy turned down a printer's apprenticeship after his talk with Waddington and moved across the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
in March 1967 for a fee of £15,000 (£10,000 plus two conditional bonus payments of £2,500). In the summer, he was registered with the Cleveland Stokers, Stoke City's
United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League ( ...
franchise team, and in his own words "played a handful of games without making too much impact". After taking the place of winger Gerry Bridgwood in the first team, he made an instant impact on his debut on 6 September 1967 by scoring the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Leicester City at the
Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. Histor ...
. Though Conroy only made nine league appearances in the 1967–68 season, he was present on the final day 2–1 win over
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
which kept Stoke out of the First Division relegation zone. He was again registered with the Cleveland Stokers – now in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
– in the summer of 1968, but did not play a first-team game for the club. He started to become a first-team regular for Stoke in the 1968–69 season after scoring against Liverpool at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
on 20 August, and went on to score in four consecutive games over the Christmas period. Waddington did, though sometimes prefer to play
John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He played retired police officer Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, receiving nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two P ...
to Conroy, using Mahoney as an extra defensive midfielder to make Stoke more solid defensively. Conroy also damaged cartilage in his knee after being challenged heavily by
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
's left-half Alan Oakes in a 3–1 defeat at
Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...
on 29 March and was ruled out of action for five months. After recovering, he went on to make 33 appearances in the 1969–70 campaign and got some measure of revenge over Manchester City at Maine Road on 17 January by scoring the only goal of the game after dribbling past three defenders from the half-way line. He scored 14 goals in the 1970–71 campaign, the highest tally he ever recorded, including one in a 5–0 victory over
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on 26 September that came third in the BBC Goal of the Season competition. The goal came after he played a one-two with Peter Dobing before striking a first-time shot into the net from 25-yards. Stoke reached the semi-finals of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
for the first time since
1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...
in 1970–71, where they lost 2–0 to Arsenal after a replay; in the original tie, Stoke had led 2–1 before conceding an equaliser five minutes into injury time. Conroy played in 19 of Stoke's 21 FA Cup and League Cup games in the 1971–72 season, as they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup. In the League Cup Stoke defeated
Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
,
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
(after a replay),
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
(after two replays), Bristol Rovers and
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
(after two replays) to reach the
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against Chelsea. Conroy was a key figure in the semi-final decider at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
against West Ham, as he won a penalty in the first half and then scored the winning goal on 49 minutes with a 25-yard volley. He also opened the scoring in the final itself, as he converted a simple header after five minutes and helped Stoke to go on to secure the first trophy in the club's history with a 2–1 victory. Stoke also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, again losing to Arsenal, though Conroy missed this game as he was sidelined for the rest of the season after he injured his cartilage again in a defeat to
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
on 8 April. Stoke's League Cup success won them qualification into the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
for the first time in the club's history in 1972–73, and Conroy scored Stoke's first goal in Europe on 13 September, a 3–1 victory over German side
1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...
at the Victoria Ground. However Kaiserslautern won the return leg 4–0 to eliminate Stoke at the First Round. Stoke went on to finish 15th in the league, with Conroy claiming five goals in 39 appearances. The club then finished fifth in the 1973–74 campaign, but Conroy missed much of the season with recurring cartilage problems and featured in just eleven games. He underwent surgery to remove more cartilage from his knees and as a result, lost some of his natural pace and strength, making him a less effective player for the remainder of his career. Stoke qualified for Europe again in 1974–75 and managed to draw both legs with Dutch side
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
, only to exit the competition on the away goals rule. However, Conroy again struggled with injuries and was limited to just 16 league appearances. He played most of these games as a centre-forward, as regular striker John Ritchie missed much of the season with a broken leg and
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...
was nearing the end of his career and was unable to play every game. Conroy scored his two career hat-tricks during the campaign, against Halifax Town in the League Cup on 11 September, and then against Carlisle United in a 5–2 league win on 22 March. At the end of the season, Stoke had three games to play against mid-table sides and needed to win all three to win the league however they lost at Sheffield United and had goalless draws with
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
, leaving the club with another fifth-place finish. Conroy was again limited to just 16 league appearances as he continued to suffer injury problems in the 1975–76 season and underwent an operation to remove all the remaining cartilage from his knees. The club also suffered a disaster, as a strong gale blew a section of the roof off the Victoria Ground's Butler Street Stand on 2 January. As the correct insurance was not in place, the club were forced to sell key players such as Jimmy Greenhoff, Mike Pejic, Alan Hudson, John Mahoney and Geoff Salmons to finance stadium repairs. Stoke were relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season after winning just one of their final 15 games, with new manager George Eastham proving unable to turn around the club's slump after he replaced Waddington as manager in March. Conroy later blamed complacency on the part of the players, admitting that he "never conceived" that Stoke could be relegated after their successes earlier in the decade. Eastham was sacked after a poor start to life in the Second Division in 1977–78. Though his replacement, Alan Durban, managed to improve results, Conroy was not suited to Durban's new playing style. Durban asked Conroy to play as a midfield player rather than as a winger and told Conroy he was free to look for a new club at the expiry of his contract. Stoke won promotion at the end of the 1978–79 campaign, though Conroy was limited to just seven league appearances.


Later career

Conroy was offered a contract by Worcester City and spoke with Tranmere Rovers manager John King, but instead joined
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
club
Bulova Bulova is an American luxury timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 in New York City. Formally the Bulova Watch Company, it makes watches, clocks and accessories. History Founding Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J ...
on a free transfer in 1979. His two-year contract was cancelled by mutual consent after he pushed the head coach in a dressing room incident. In his autobiography, ''You Don't Remember Me Do You?'', Conroy stated that "the five months we is familywere there seemed like five years". He signed with
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
in a move that reunited him with Tony Waddington, his former manager at Stoke City. Crewe were at the bottom of the Fourth Division when Conroy arrived. Though they only improved by one place by the end of the 1979–80 season, Crewe were re-elected to the Football League. He went on to play 30 games in midfield in the 1980–81 campaign as the "Railwaymen" improved to finish in 18th position. He retired at the end of the season to attempt to launch a career in coaching. However, he failed to find a position at club level to supplement his part-time role coaching the Republic of Ireland national team. He later played at a semi-professional level in Ireland, joining Waterford United in September 1981, and then
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
in November 1982.


International career

Conroy won his first international cap under manager Mick Meagan on 7 October 1969, playing in a 3–0
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
defeat to
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. He scored his first goal for the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
in a 2–1 defeat to the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...
on 18 October 1972. He scored in Ireland's next game, a 2–1 win over
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
at
Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...
on 15 November. Both of these games were
qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
games for the
1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...
; Ireland failed to qualify after finishing second in 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification for UEFA Group 9, the Soviet Union qualified as group winners whilst France finished third. On 3 July 1973, he appeared for a Shamrock Rovers XI in a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
against the Brazil national team at Lansdowne Road; he scored a goal in what ended as a 4–3 defeat. He played his final game for Ireland on 24 April 1977, a 0–0 draw with
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
at Dalymount Park. He returned to the international fold though in 1981, when he was appointed as assistant to the manager Eoin Hand. Hand's contract was not renewed in 1985, and Conroy also left his role soon before new manager
Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Defender (association football), centre-back for Leeds. He was part of the England ...
took charge.


Style of play

Conroy was a firm fan favourite amongst Stoke City supporters due to his ability to create something out of nothing and his distinctive pale skin, bright ginger hair and sideburns. He was a talented dribbler. He described himself as having "the classic winger's role; a trick, then head down and go, hit the byline and cross".


Personal life

Conroy met Sue at The Place
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
in
Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...
in 1970, and the pair got married on 13 May 1972. They had three daughters together: Tara (born 1974), Niamh (born 1982), and Sinead (born 1986). After retiring from football, Conroy sold pottery on a market stall for three years. He later ran an insurance business in
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...
and later supervised industrial cleaning contract work at exhibitions and shows. He returned to former club Stoke City in 1997 to work in the hospitality department at the new Britannia Stadium. He later also worked as a PA matchday announcer at the ground. He was also appointed welfare officer by the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
in 2008, giving him the responsibility to look after Irish youngsters who came to the UK to join academy scholarship programmes. His contract with the FAI was not renewed when it expired in 2011. In March 2011, Conroy fell seriously ill with a suspected vascular aneurysm. He successfully recovered from the illness after undergoing a life-saving emergency operation that had a survival rate of just 10%. Whilst in hospital he had been given the
last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...
twice. He published his autobiography, ''You Don't Remember Me Do You?'', in August 2014.


Career statistics


Club

Source:


International

*Sourced fro
Terry Conroy
profile at national-football-teams.com


Honours

Glentoran * Steel & Sons Cup: 1966 *
Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...
: 1966 * Irish League: 1966–67 Stoke City * League Cup:
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
* Watney Cup:
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...


References

General * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Terry 1946 births Living people Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Glentoran F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in England Stoke City F.C. players Cleveland Stokers players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Shamrock Rovers F.C. guest players Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Irish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Bulova SA players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Limerick F.C. players NIFL Premiership players United Soccer Association players English Football League players Hong Kong First Division League players League of Ireland players Irish association football coaches Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff Football Association of Ireland officials 21st-century Irish autobiographers 20th-century Irish sportsmen