Tommy Traynor was born in Dundalk in 1933 and began his football career with the local St Patrick's side based on the Ramparts. He made his debut for Dundalk in February 1952 against Sligo Rovers and impressed coach Gerry McCourt enough to keep him in the side for the opening game in the FAI cup against St Patrick's Athletic. This match has gone down in the annals of Oriel Park as one of the most dramatic and controversial games ever that the club has been involved.
The match will be mostly remembered for Walter Durkan's "save" when he pulled the ball back from over the line. The photographer, local supporter Malachy Bellew, had his photograph published in the Irish Independent the following day and found himself barred from Oriel Park for his trouble! Mullen, Fearon and McDonagh's goals put Dundalk into the next round when the Lilywhites overcame AOH Cork. Then came another epic encounter with Waterford United in the semi final. The first match ended in a 2-2 draw before Dundalk won a sensational replay by 6-4. The National media raved about the match as the best ever seen in Dublin.
W.P. Murphy of the Irish Independent wrote :" In years to come, when youngsters with the audacity of youth begin to talk over great games, all who were privileged to be at Milltown last night will be able to take the game out of the top drawer of memory and confound their listeners with one of the most breath taking and gripping of Cup ties in history. Dundalk simply refused to accept defeat against a Waterford side who in two matches led four times, but lost." Tommy was voted man of the match for his efforts. Dundalk beat Cork Athletic 3-0 in a replay to claim the cup. Following two more league matches Tommy signed for Southampton on June 11th 1952 in the Gresham Hotel. Tommy made his Southampton debut against Brentford in October 1952 and soon became famous for his tough sliding tackles and his pace. He was called up to the Irish international squad for the first time in 1954 for a World Cup Qualifier against Luxembourg. Tommy turned down approaches from both Chelsea and Manchester City and was part of the Southampton team that won the Third Division title in 1959 and also was part of the 1963 team that was beaten 1-0 by Manchester United in the FA Cup Final. Tommy would represent Ireland in eight occasions with his final cap coming in the 5-1 defeat by Spain in the 1964 European Championship 1/4 Finals in Seville.
By the time Tommy retired from Southampton in 1966 he had played a then club record of 487 apperances. This record has since been surpassed by the Southampton legends Tommy Paine, Mick Channon and Matt Le Tissier. Tommy gained employment in the Southamption shipyards following his retirement and lived in Southampton until his death.
Southampton club historian Duncan Holley wrote after his passing: "whenever you drove down his road he could often be seen, yarning over his front gate or returning from the bookies with a grin on his face. He would not, you suspect, have much time for "modern football" for he would not have fitted in to the over hyped circus that the present day game has degenerated into. No ... he would have played hard, drunk hard and then caught the bus home sitting alongside the fans who had, that afternoon, cheered them on from the terraces. ". Anybody from Dundalk FC who met Tommy at the time if the 50th Anniversary Reunion held for the FAI Cup winning team back in 1952 will recognise that Duncan's description was quite apt. He was an absolute gentleman and a fun loving man. Tommy was also Dundalk's guest of honour when we defeated Bohs in the 2002 FAI Cup Final and celebrated long into the night in Oriel Park afterwards.
Tommy Traynor: 1933-2006.
Thanks to Gerry Prendergast of the Dundalk Democrat and Southampton FC for providing the information for this article.
