He was fearless in both the air and in the tackle. At 16 years of age, he was unbelievably quick for a boy who was obviously quite large. To put it simply, Paul McGrath was a behemoth on the pitch. His first club, Pearse Rovers, were the first to experience his raw but still extraordinary talents. However, McGrath proved that he was more than just a rarity-being an ethnic minority-but also a very special talent on the football pitch, even as a youngster. McGrath endured an even more tough time during his youth due to the fact that he was black, something so uncommon in Ireland at the time, that it caused heads to turn at the sight of such a rarity. McGrath was raised in various tough orphanages throughout Dublin, the grim photos of which can still be seen today. Soon after he was born, his father fled the scene, leaving his fearful mother to confide in her only option-putting Paul up for adoption. Paul McGrath was born on the 4th of December, 1959 to an Irish mother and a Nigerian father. Paul McGrath turned and put a big arm round me saying, 'Well mate'.Īnd that’s how the night started. He and my father both turned and looked at me, a smile cracking on my dad's face knowing I was feeling the equivalent of shell shock. McGrath was part of an elite hard men contingent such as Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, and Norman Whitside. A player who was typical of footballers back then, who played hard on the field and played hard off it a game galaxies away from the standard nowadays containing metro-sexual males like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Not only a “God” for Aston Villa, but for my beloved Manchester United and Republic of Ireland. I looked into the big brown eyes of one of the greatest players to grace the game.

Paul mcgrath autobiography