Analysis: a 'wizard on the ball', O'Brien became one of the first Irish women to play the game at an international level 50 years ago
By Helena Byrne, British Library
Inducted to the FAI Hall of Fame in 2020 and dubbed 'the greatest player we never knew about', it is only since her death in 2016 that the accolades achieved by Irish footballer Anne O’Brien have become more widely known by the general public. One of 10 siblings, Anne was born in January 1956 to John and Rosanna O'Brien. She was was an all-round athlete who was great at all sports, especially athletics and soccer. But soccer was Anne's favourite, which she played on the streets of Inchicore with the boys.
Anne came from a footballing family; her relations include Irish soccer internationals Jimmy Conway and Johnny Giles, and football runs in the family genes; her nephews Stephen and Ger O'Brien also played professional football in the League of Ireland, while her grand niece Annie O’Brien has represented Ireland in goals at under 16 level.
When she was 12, her mother formed a football team for her, Inchicore Celtic. At the age of 14, Anne joined the Vards, one of the Dublin League teams. When the team won the Drumcondra Cup by beating rivals Drimnagh Boscos 3-2 at Tolka Park in 1971, the three goals were scored by teenager Anne. The Evening Herald match report called her 'hero of the night', reporting that she 'equalised twice before slotting the winner 12 minutes from time'. In the post-match interview, Vards team captain Rosaleen McAllorum described Anne as a 'wizard'.
In 1972 the All Stars team was established, an amalgamation of three teams in the Dublin League. Many of the Vards players, including Anne moved to the All Stars, who were managed by Dan McGlone and coached by Tom Brennan, both of whom were involved in the Women’s National Team. They were a very strong team and according to the Sunday Independent 'they were runners-up in the Leinster League in 1972, and in the same year they won the Leinster Cup, the Drumcondra Cup and the Ladies F.A.I Cup'.
But international stardom was waiting for Anne. French side Stade de Reims went on a number of international tours throughout the 1970s, including North America, Indonesia and many European countries. In 1973 they visited Ireland for a tour that consisted of playing an Irish selection and other clubs around the country. This is where they first spotted Anne, and after the tour a number of players, including the Inchicore teenager, were offered an opportunity to join the French team.
Anne, still just 17, said yes to a professional career and soon made the move. Reims were semi-professional in practice but due to league regulations it was considered an amateur team. They had the backing of a local factory, Jerf Sportswear, who hired some of the players on generous salaries and allowed them as much time off as required for training and playing matches. Anne was offered a three year contract of £75 per week, starting in 1974. In her first year, home matches attracted crowds of around 6,000 people.
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From RTÉ Archives, 17 year old Anne O'Brien from Inchicore in Dublin signed to French club Stade de Reims on a three year contract in 1974
Her transfer to France made headlines in Ireland and Britain. The reports focused on how much money she would be paid for playing football and the signing was covered by all the major news outlets. This inspired other players, such as Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis in Scotland, to follow in her footsteps and pursue a full time career in football. Hebdo Reims published an article on March 7, 1974 about Anne's transfer and stated that the move was 'influenced more so by her kindness and her character being in the spirit of the team, than by her technical value, which albeit exceptional, does not spoil anything of her personal traits’.
Anne was the first foreign born player to transfer to a French league club. However, at this point several Reims players had already left to play in other countries. In 1974, French players Nicole Mangas and Jocelyne Henry were playing in the Italian championship with Milan and Catagna.
Anne made her debut in the Western Football League on March 10, 1974 away to Vitry. The match was played at the military stadium in Mourmelon-le-Grand infront of 600 spectators and she scored a goal 24 minutes into the game. However, the few English language news reports that covered this match just focused on the money she was being paid and the fact that champagne was freely available to players, rather than the football.
While the French language articles went into greater detail on the match and the players, they were very critical, though also complimentary, of Anne's performance. The match report in L'Union had a photo of Anne in action on the pitch with the caption 'Although in poor shape (like most Rémoises), Anne O'Brien showed great technical qualities'. In the report it said ‘She scored a goal and several of her shots either narrowly missed or forced the keeper, Lanson, into making hard saves’. Stade de Reims went on to win the match 5-0.
In her first year the team went on a Caribbean tour of Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique. They played in front of thousands of football fans during this tour. She won two French national championships (1974/75 and 1975/76) with Reims, scoring a goal in the 1974/75 championship final. Anne was also selected for the French League XI team in a match against a Rest of Europe team in 1975. It was in this game that she got spotted by an Italian league scout and in 1976 she transferred to Lazio on a professional contract.
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Helena Byrne is a librarian that specialises in web archiving and an independent researcher focusing on the history of women's football in Ireland. She regularly contributes history segments to FAI Women's National Team match programmes.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
