Kieron Brady

Sunderland AFC

Brady made his debut coming on as a substitute for Paul Hardyman in a 3-1 win against Plymouth Argyle at Roker Park on 18 November 1989. Brady's full debut came in a 2-2 draw with Port Vale F.C. at Roker Park on 30 December 1989. Brady's first goal, a spectacular overhead kick, for Sunderland came in a man of the match performance against West Ham United in a 4-3 victory at Roker Park on 24 March 1990, Brady went on to score his only other goal of that season seven days later in a 1-0 away victory at Bradford City claiming a crucial 3 points as Sunderland went on to win promotion. Brady featured 14 times in the top flight, scoring twice, once against Chelsea F.C. and once against Crystal Palace F.C.. Following Sunderland's relegation Brady would go on to make only 12 further appearances with only 8 in the league finding the net 3 times. Brady played in the 3rd, 5th and 6th rounds of Sunderland's 1992 F.A. Cup run. His final appearance for The Black Cats was on 11 April 1992 as he came off the bench to replace Peter Davenport in a 2-1 defeat at Roker Park to Charlton Athletic. Although Kieron Brady only played 40 times for Sunderland over a two and a half year period the skill and trickery he produced lives long in the memory of fans lucky enough to see him and he remains a cult hero among Sunderland fans who continue to marvel at just what a player he could have become but for a cruel career-ending injury. For the majority of his time at Sunderland he was still eligible to play for the club's youth team. He was described by Michael Gray, speaking on Talksport in the summer of 2012 and the former Sunderland captain and England internationalist, as the most talented footballer he has ever seen.

Doncaster Rovers

Brady joined Doncaster Rovers on loan in 1992. His first game was on 23 October 1992 in a 2-1 victory over Hereford United in which he scored a penalty, He went on to play a total of Four times for Doncaster Rovers in the Third Division scoring an impressive three times, including the only goal in a 1-0 victory on 7 November 1992 against Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park making him an instant hit with the fans.

International career

Though born in Glasgow, Scotland, Brady represented the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team at international level, a total of four times. Brady made his International debut on 13 November 1990 at Turners Cross, Cork replacing Mark Kelly against England in the 77th minute. Brady made his first International start on 30 April 1991 against Poland at Oriel Park, Dundalk. He went on to represent the Republic on six occasions, half of them as substitute. Brady played in three qualifiers in the 1990 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship qualifying campaign and in the 1990 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship as well as the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Portugal. [1].

Retirement

An extremely rare vascular condition after complaints of leg pains ultimately forced Brady to retire from the game in 1993, at age 22. It has been suggested that perhaps in the future an appropriate "Bolam-type" test should be adopted to assess whether there has been negligence.

Life after football

He now runs the Celebrate Identity Challenge Intolerance Equality and Diversity training group which educates around the areas of racism, religious intolerance and other forms of discrimination. He has also become the first footballer to become a Patron of Gay Pride, joining Peter Tatchell as Patron of Sunderland Gay Pride.

www.cici.org.uk