JOHN Giles has been a legendary figure in Irish football for over a half-century between his starring days on the pitch to his lengthy career as a pundit.
Born in 1940, he made the trip across the Irish Sea from Dublin when he was only 16 to join Manchester United after getting spotted by a scout while playing for Stella Maris.
It was at Leeds United where he really blossomed into a star[/caption]
He was a staple of RTE’s coverage of club and international football for 30 years[/caption]
While he did break into the first team and racked up 99 appearances for the Red Devils, he was deemed surplus to requirements by legendary manager Matt Busby in 1963.
Busby would go on to rue selling him to one of the club’s fiercest rivals in Leeds United.
At Elland Road Giles became a fulcrum player alongside Billy Bremner during the Whites’ most successful period in its history.
Over the course 12 seasons ion Yorkshire, the midfield playmaker helped the side win two First Division league titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup while they also lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice.
Giles was also central to their run to the European Cup final of 1975 where victors Bayern Munich were aided in their 2-0 win by several highly suspect refereeing decisions.
The latter years of his playing career were spent at West Brom (1975-1977), a stateside stint at Philadelphia Fury (1978) and Shamrock Rovers (1977-1983) where he acted as player-manager.
Media career
In 1986 he embarked upon what was to become an iconic second act as a broadcaster with RTE.
He was the national broadcaster’s “senior analyst” throughout its heyday both from its free-wheeling analysis days as well as a golden period for the Republic of Ireland men’s national team.
The panel of host Bill O’Herlihy, Giles and Eamon Dunphy was further bolstered by the addition of Liam Brady in 1998.
Together, Giles, Dunphy and Brady became affectionately known as “The Three Amigos” in an era where their pre and post-match chat was often more entertaining than the games themselves.
He was eventually given the boot by RTE at the conclusion of Euro 2016 when his contract was allowed to expire.
But his voice is still heard on a weekly basis during his Thursday slot on Off the Ball.
Giles has been embedded at Newstalk’s sports show since day one of the radio station’s inception in 2002.
Wife and children:
Giles has been married to spouse Anne since 1966. The pair have six chilldren, four sons and two daughters.
Two of their sons wound up following in their dad’s footsteps by playing for Shamrock Rovers.
Anne boasts fine sporting heritage herself as she is the sister of Irish sprinting legend Paul Dolan.
He represented Ireland at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games in London and Helsinki respectively.
