Sad passing of one of Limerick city’s finest soccer players at just 63

ONE OF Limerick’s finest soccer players has sadly passed away, aged just 63.

Mike Reardon, who lived in Rosbrien, was selected to play for Limerick FC by Sam Allardyce during the former England boss’s time on Shannonside.

Mike started playing soccer at nine years of age, initially with Ballynanty Rovers, before moving to Wembley Rovers.

Starting as a winger, then striker, before setting into the centre-half role, Mike almost everything there was to win with the iconic city side.

He captained Wembley Rovers to win a Minster Minor Cup and a Munster Junior Cup. His soccer career was spent playing mostly with Wembley.

But one season before his retirement at 41, was spent at the now-defunct Vereker St Clement’s club, where he became the only captain to lead the team to a junior trophy with.

To mark Jackman Park’s renovation at the end of the 1980s, Mike turned out for a Munster select side against West Ham United. He was tasked with marking Ireland legend Liam Brady.

And such was his appetite for the battle, he came out of that game needing seven stitches to his head.

Having been brought to hospital by his uncle, Mike declined the offer of pain-killing injections, asking the doctor-on-duty to simply stitch his head.

He wanted to get out and enjoy a night of celebration in the city’s Glentworth Hotel with the visiting West Ham side.
It was not just on the soccer field where he excelled.

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A childhood member of Limerick Athletics Club. Mike was a regular at the LPYMA fields at Ennis Road on the northside.
A sprinter, he won county and provincial medals.

At the age of just 12, he won an All-Ireland medal in the high-jump, with his height record standing for a massive 35 years thereafter.

While the most well-known Limerick win in Croke Park in 1973 saw the senior hurlers land the Liam MacCarthy cup, another Treaty side secured national glory at headquarters.

Mike was picked for a Limerick national school Gaelic Football side which beat Dublin.

As a reward for his man-of-the-match performance – which included scoring the winning goal – the youngster received a hurley signed by the senior hurling heroes of that year.

Educated at Sexton Street CBS, Mike then went into an apprenticeship where he qualified as a mechanical engineer and an electronic technician.

He began his career at Krups, before moving to Wang, then Tellabs and Kostal in Abbeyfeale.

At the same time, he studied by night.

Later in life, Mike would move into bar work, something he enjoyed, and had, for the last 20 years, worked at Charlie Malone’s at Wolfe Tone Street in the city centre.

Paddy Kelly, the owner of the pub said he was a quintessential barman.

“He helped lots of people in different ways, of all ages. From young people up to the older people here, he’d always drop someone home. Or if there was anyone down in the dumps he might bring them back out of it. He would always mind someone – and he could always spot if someone is down,” said his friend of over 20 years.

In his spare time, Mike loved nothing more than a game of cards. Or going to watch a Young Munster RFC game.

Paddy would let him take Saturdays off to watch The Cookies, with Mike then minding the bar when he was away on Sundays watching Limerick’s hurlers.

Mike, who hailed from Ballinacurra Weston, died unexpectedly earlier this month.

The beloved granddad of Louis, he is sadly missed by son-in-law Philip, brothers Pat, Tim and Paul plus sisters Marie, Betty, Frances and Ronnie.

May he rest in peace.