Niall Quinn to join John Giles and Liam Brady in star-studded Vicar Street event

Niall Quinn has been added to the lineup for Three Wise Men Talking Proper Football at Dublin’s Vicar Street on April 28.

The Dubliner - who scored 21 goals for Ireland in 92 senior appearances between 1986 and 2002 - joins fellow ex-international legends John Giles and Liam Brady in a star-studded bill.

The trio have a long history with Irish football as well as each other. Speaking to Hot Press ahead of the event, Quinn recalled his initial meeting Brady during his first call up to the Republic of Ireland side.

"Liam was the star of the show in the eighties," Quinn said. "It was exhilarating for a young lad to be there and to see this man, having an aura about him the way he did.  The way the waitress would go up to him and ask him if he wanted more tea or coffee. He held a very special place wherever walked, whether it was in the cafe, or whether it was.

"In the dressing room. When he spoke everybody listened. He also had another side to him where he would stop to see how the young lad was getting on.

"He actually showed me how to shave. I left home at 16. I hadn't started shaving. Nobody had told me how to. I was having a shave, and I was cutting myself. He said: 'What are you doing? You've got to go up against the grain', and he showed me."

The upcoming Vicar St show is in aid of the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association (IPFBA), an organisation established last year by ex-players that offers assistance to former professionals facing health and financial challenges.

Studies show that ex pros have been disproportionally struggling with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

"It is happening," Quinn said. "There's no point in denying it, you know.

"I think my wife deserves a bit of credit here, because as this started to to gain ground in the news over the last 10 years or so, she really pushed me into a pattern of doing quizzes and crosswords. I went back and got my education again. I went back to college there in the pandemic, just to keep the brain active and to keep everything going.

"But I wouldn't lie to you and say I'm not bothered about it."

Fans can expect an evening of great craic and football tales in Vicar Street on April 28, all in the name of a good cause.

"I think there is a need now to highlight the issues that ex-players are going through and there is something here that's starting that can really help," Quinn added, speaking at an IPFBA press event in Abbotstown on Friday morning.

"I'm here to join the guys in a having a great night, getting the message out there and creating bigger public awareness of what's happening. There's so many avenues this can go down with the right
encouragement. Being asked to do this was the easiest yes in the world."

Tickets are on sale now via ticketmaster.ie.

• Stay tuned for the full wide-ranging interview with Niall Quinn, in which he talks about forgiving Declan Rice, the upcoming film about the Saipan incident and almost becoming a professional Aussie Rules player.