 Thursday, 14th Jul 2011 09:08 A man who would be best described as an institution at the Dell. After Bill Rochford went to Colchester the left back spot was contested by several for a season or two but then in the summer of 1952 Saints signed a 19 year old from Dundalk who would become a legend. They say about some of those born on the Emerald isle that they have a map of Ireland on their face and Tommy certainly fitted that description, if John Wayne hadnt got the lead role in the Quiet Man, then Tommy would surely have been 2nd choice. He came to the club from his home town club of Dundalk on the advice of former Saints keeper and fellow Irishman Fred Kiernan, turning down both Man City and Chelsea in the process He made his debut in the October of 1952 but found his path blocked by first Peter Sillett who joined Chelsea and then Jack Gregory, but Tommy was racking up some impressive games in the meantime and in 54/55 he started the season as first choice left back and didnt miss a game all season, from then on he was a virtual ever present till the emergence of Denis Hollywood some ten years later. Tommy had a reputation, he was as toughas they came and was renowned for his ferocious sliding tackles, he was the type of player whose mere prescence left both opponents and team mates in awe, although not a natural athlete he had a deceptive turn of pace and this would often get both himself and the team out of trouble, he had a good football brain to match and this won him caps for Eire although they were few in number, only 8, but back then Eire were not a major footballing nation and the World Cup aside their werent many tournaments etc for them to play in. Eventually age caught up with him, sadly as Saints were on the cusp of top flight football which Tommy was sadly not to grace, his last season as first choice was 1963/64 but with his 31st birthday approaching and the aforementioned Hollywood chomping at the bit the following year would see him only make 5 appearances although his influence around the club and in the reserves would mean his contribution was still great even when not playing. His last appearance for the Club was in 1965/66 at Preston North End a game in which Saints cruised to a 5-2 win as they powered towards promotion, Tommy went back to the reserves but approaching 33 an age that was pretty much considered retirement for most pro footballers back then he decided to call it a day at the end of the season, it had been the best in the clubs history up to that point but it was to be Tommy's last. Younger fans might not have heard of Tommy but they should do so now, in February 1964 he became the clubs record appearance holder and even now stands fourth in that table, only Terry Paine, Mick Channon and Nick Holmes in front of him. That appearance milestone was the subject of a bit of controversy at the time, knowing the milestone that was due to be passed against Swansea in a midweek fixture, the Club had worked out that the game against Pompey at the Dell on 8th February would be his 500th for the club if you included friendlies, so they decided to make a presentation to Tommy before the match to mark that half century. But the problem was that the Swansea game was postponed, so although Tommy would break the record against Pompey, he would only be on 499 in total, however with the gold watch already engraved the Club decided to press on with the presentation and luckily for all, Tommy hit the 500 a week later. After his retirement fro football in 1966, Tommy initially ran an off licence and then worked in the docks, he lived in Shirley and was also instrumental in setting up the Tyro League which is still in existence today and has been a valuable youth league set up that has enabled boys of all abilities to get a game of football. Sadly Tommy dies in September 2006 aged 73.
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