On This Day in the LOI – 20th May 20th May 1982: Wes Hoolahan born on this day in Dublin. The former Shelbourne and Republic of Ireland international made 43 appearances for his country since making his debut against Colombia in 2008, scoring three
On This Day in the LOI – 20th May
20th May 1982: Wes Hoolahan born on this day in Dublin. The former Shelbourne and Republic of Ireland international made 43 appearances for his country since making his debut against Colombia in 2008, scoring three goals. He came through the ranks at Belvedere before moving to Shelbourne. In Hoolahan's four years at the club, he won three Premier Division titles and caught the eye during Shelbourne's UEFA Champions League run in 2004-05. He was named the PFAI Young Player of the Year in 2002-03. He moved to Scotland with Livingston and then to England with Blackpool. His form attracted the attentions of Norwich City where he made over 320 appearances in 10 years at the club. He had a brief spell at West Bromwich Albion in the 2018/19 season before moving to Australia with Newcastle Jets. Hoolahan scored a crucial goal against Sweden in the 1-1 draw in the European Championships in 2016. However, his crowning moment in an Ireland shirt came when he provided the all-important assist for Robbie Brady's winner against Italy in the final group game as Ireland progressed.
20th May 1999: Bray Wanderers won the FAI Cup for the second and most recent time in their history when they defeated Finn Harps by 2-1 in a second replay of the Final. All three matches (0-0, 2-2) were played at Tolka Park and it was only the second time (1950 Transport v Cork Athletic) that the Cup Final took three matches to decide the winning team. Jonathan Speak (11) put Harps ahead but two goals from Jason Byrne (38, 73) meant that the Wanderers and their manager, Pat Devlin had again lifted the Blue Riband of Irish football nine years after their first success in the competition.
On This Day in Irish Football - 20th May
20th May 1956: Gerry Peyton was born on this day in Birmingham, England. The former Bournemouth and Fulham goalkeeper made 33 appearances for the Republic of Ireland having made his debut in 1977. He was also selected in both the 1988 European Championships and 1990 World Cup squads. Peyton retired in 1994 at West Ham United and went into coaching with Japanese side Jubilo Iwata in the J-League soon after. He was also the goalkeeping coach at Vissel Kobe, AIK Solna and Fulham before taking up the post at Arsenal for 15 years in 2003. He has since returned to Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse.
