GOALKEEPING LEGEND

Newry in County Down has produced quite a number of people distinguished by their association with sport. The founder of the GAA, for instance, Michael Cusack, was born there. So also was golfer Ronan Rafferty, and former British Heavyweight Boxing champion Danny Macalinden.
However there are those who will tell you that none of them held a candle to Newry’s goalkeeping hero, the legend known locally as Big Pat — Pat Jennings.
Jennings was famous for a lot of things — like having starred for the two great North London clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal; and like playing 119 times for Northern Ireland; and for making hundreds of stunning saves against top class Premier League and international players; and playing his last international at the age of 41 (against Brazil in Mexico in a World Cup game).
To all of those you can add Bobby Charlton saying of him, “Pat was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.” Men like Bobby don’t hand around compliments like that willy-nilly
I had the good fortune to spend about half an hour in Pat Jennings’s company shortly after Spurs had moved from Cheshunt to their new training complex. A softly spoken man who stood just over six feet tall, he was a modest, thoughtful thinker, completely devoid of boastfulness.
We spoke about the new facilities Spurs had acquired, about the state of the game, and the way football had changed and was changing. When I mentioned that I had been offered a full time contract with Watford, but that my father’s decision about me and my future ruled out my signing for them, he seemed especially interested.
And no wonder, because Pat’s first club in England was the then Third Division Watford. He spent 15 happy months with them, and it was during his time there that he was first capped for Northern Ireland.
For him the happiest times of his football life were with Spurs. And the worst day of his life was when he was told right out of the blue by Keith Burkenshaw that they were selling him. And that he could expect a phone call from Bobby Robson that evening.
Bobby was then managing Ipswich. Pat of course never went to Ipswich. He went to Spurs’ big North London rivals, Arsenal, in 1977. They paid £25,000 for him, he played for them 237 times, and he was rated by many as the bargain buy of the century.
My personal memory of Big Pat is of a warm and humble human being, and it was a privilege for me that he laid his hand on my shoulder, as the photo shows.