Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association

22/08/2026

𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗦 𝗜𝗣𝗙𝗕𝗔 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿 | See Ticketmaster post below and full preview on our website, including link to purchase tickets ➡️ https://ipfba.org/2026/08/22/talking-reds/

⚽ The Irish Professional Footballers Association presents 'Talking Reds', a special night of football stories, insight, and banter featuring a pair of legendary former Liverpool and Ireland players, Ray Houghton and Mark Lawrenson, at Vicar Street on 19 October 2026.

🎫 Tickets are on sale now https://bit.ly/4gkt2Ih

17/08/2026

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ‘𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬’: 𝐹𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑒𝑎́𝑛 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒-𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝐹𝐶 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑎𝑚𝑒

Dundalk FC and the IPFBA have presented a posthumous Hall of Fame Award to the family of the much-travelled and fondly remembered former Town winger, the late Seán ‘Sheets’ Sheehy.

The honour — part of Dundalk’s Centenary Legends series — was received at the FAI Cup game against Castlebar at Oriel Park last Saturday evening by Seán’s sons Trevor and Seanie and his brother Eugene. They and family friends were joined by Terry Eviston and Harry McCue from the IPFBA for the occasion.

See full piece here: https://ipfba.org/2026/08/17/sean-sheehy/

04/08/2026

𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 ‘𝗣𝗼𝗽’ 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯𝘀 | Dynamic midfielder Leo ‘Pop’ Flanagan is the latest honouree in the Dundalk FC / Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association Hall of Fame. A flame‑haired playmaker with a happy scoring knack, his work‑rate, weapon-like left foot and competitive edge were central to Jim McLaughlin’s great side that won two leagues and a couple of FAI Cups in the late seventies and early eighties. The Clones man played for St Patrick's Athletic before that and made numerous representative appearances for the League of Ireland overseas. Home on holiday from Florida, Leo received his Centenary Legend award at Oriel Park for the visit of Sligo Rovers last weekend, having also visited Richmond Park for the St Pats vs Dundalk game.

📷 Leo ‘Pop’ Flanagan pictured with IPFBA members Tom Mohan (Academy Director at Dundalk FC), Harry McCue (chair) and Terry Eviston

➥ See full feature on his stellar career as a player and coaching official in America: https://ipfba.org/2026/08/04/pop-flanagan/

+ Check out the other Hall of Famers on our website

27/06/2026

Members of the late, great Tom McConville’s family were present in Oriel Park on Friday night to receive a posthumous Hall of Fame Award jointly presented by Dundalk FC and the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association.

Fondly known to fans as Tommy Mac, the cultured defender, who sadly died in 2013, was synonymous with his native Dundalk, making a record 580 appearances spanning two spells between the mid-sixties and mid-eighties.

He won four league titles and three FAI Cups with Town (as well as one championship with Waterford FC), not to mention six senior Ireland caps between 1971 and 1973. Yes, Tommy McConville was that good — genuine international class, and a gem of a person who is fondly remembered far and wide.

His former team-mate Martin Lawlor, IPFBA secretary, was delighted to be at Oriel Park for the award presentation.

👉 See photos and an extensive profile of Tom's fascinating career and remarkable League of Ireland legacy on our website: https://ipfba.org/2026/06/27/titan-tommy-mac/

Dundalk FC Lilywhite News Dundalk FC Supporters Trust

20/06/2026

Fintan Drury, a founding member of the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association, launched his new book, GENOCIDE, at Hodges Figgis in Dublin on Thursday. Dealing with the Gaza crisis, it follows his acclaimed 2025 release, Catastrophe.

Long before his work as an author and humanitarian advocate, Fintan Drury was a fine striker with UCD, scoring their first ever goal in the League of Ireland back in 1979. He later became one of Ireland’s first UEFA-licensed player agents, with his diverse career spanning journalism, media and business. He is the current chair of Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI).

📷 Fintan pictured at Thursday's launch of Gemocide (Merrion Press) with IPFBA Chair Harry McCue.

👉 Read a recap on his UCD days and varied career, including a narrow escape while on tour with 'The Doc' in Sudan in 1980, at https://ipfba.org/2026/06/20/fintan-book/

31/05/2026

Hilary ‘Hilda’ Carlyle, a key figure in the halcyon Jim McLaughlin era at Dundalk and a striker who put the fear of God in even the toughest League of Ireland defenders, was a fitting recipient of the club’s most recent Hall of Fame Award at Oriel Park on Friday night.

Derry native Hilary was a huge crowd favourite during his time at Dundalk, having starred with Finn Harps before that. The archetypal barnstorming centre-forward, he lifted the Lilywhites to new heights in the late seventies and early eighties, netting 40 goals in just over 100 appearances.

𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬: Read all about Hilary's colourful career (including his intervention between two all-time greats in the States!!) and immense impact on domestic football here → https://ipfba.org/2026/05/31/cult-hero-hilary/

The award was organised by Dundalk FC (thanks to Padraig McGowan) and the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association.

25/05/2026

The IPFBA was delighted to be involved in co-sponsoring two recent very worthy inductees to the Dundalk FC Hall of Fame, both absolute titans of the League of Ireland:

𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 — The legendary fearless shot-stopper who guarded Dundalk’s net across 400 games, Richie collected no fewer than 13 honours during his time at Oriel Park, including three league titles and three FAI Cups, plus two Player of the Year awards.
➤ Read more: https://ipfba.org/2026/05/02/richie-fame-award/

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗼𝗿 — A true Lilywhites icon and left-back in a defence known as “The Mean Machine”, Martin personified the Lilywhites’ spirit and grit. He made 570 appearances across 17 seasons and won multiple trophies with ‘The Town’, including two doubles.
➤ Read more: https://ipfba.org/2026/05/10/dundalk-icon-martin/

The IPFBA is encouraging other League of Ireland clubs to follow in Dundalk’s footsteps to recognise their own legends.

23/05/2026

🏌️‍♂️ By any measure, the third annual Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association Golf Classic was a spectacular success. ⛳️

No fewer than 42 teams from all over Ireland flocked to Castleknock Golf Club for this fundraiser last Friday week. A massive thank you to Niall Quinn for hosting the event, his fellow IPFBA patron John Giles for his ever-popular presence, and to our dedicated local organising committee (spearheaded by Alan O'Neill), all the players, sponsors, and supporters from the business and football community who made the day – and night – such a memorable one. Your collective support was humbling and shows the goodwill that exists for former players across Ireland.

We’ve included a few snapshots here – including birthday boy Pat Byrne “breaking 70”! – but you can find the full event wrap-up and lots more great photos on our website (click link).

╰┈➤ https://ipfba.org/2026/05/18/castleknock-classic/