Busby Babe Brennan dies

Brennan was part of the Man Utd team to enjoy European glory.

Former Manchester United star Shay Brennan has died at the age of 63.

Brennan died on Friday while playing golf at Tramore in the south of Ireland in County Waterford. Details surrounding his death were not immediately available.

Brennan was catapulted into the Manchester United side after the Munich air disaster in 1958.

He cemented his place in Sir Matt Busby's squad and became part of the 1968 European Cup winning team.

The Republic of Ireland player, the first English-born to appear for his country, was capped 19 times.

After leaving Old Trafford, he moved to Ireland to play and manage Waterford.

Brennan was part of the Manchester United set-up from an early age, becoming an apprentice professional after leaving school in 1955.

Scored twice

He was a member of the FA Youth Cup winning side in 1955, but found that he had to adapt to senior football sooner than he had expected following the Munich disaster.

Just two weeks after the plane crash, Brennan made his first senior outing playing against Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

He scored twice from the unfamiliar position of wide-left, but his celebrations were tempered later in the season when he missed out on a place in the FA Cup final.

But the Republic international bounced back playing his accustomed position of full-back, winning two League Championship medals in 1965 and 1967 and then a European Cup winners medal in 1968.

Brennan left Manchester United in 1970 after making 355 appearances and scoring six goals.

He was always a firm favourite with the Old Trafford fans and was awarded two testimonials.

In 1986 a crowd of 10,000 attended a benefit match in Dublin to honour the legend, when Shamrock Rovers played Manchester United.