Ray Treacy died late last night at the age of 68 after a short illness.
In a senior career that spanned 18 years, he won 42 caps for Ireland and played for eight different clubs, including West Brom, Charlton, Preston, Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United.
His highlights in an Irish shirt include a goal against France in a 2-1 World Cup qualifier victory in November 1972
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZEPNBBUnMY
He remains the last player to score for Ireland while on the books of a League of Ireland side. This, he achieved as a Shamrock Rovers player back in 1978 when he forced home a header in a 4-2 home win over Turkey.
His most prolific spell in English club football was at Charlton where he racked up 44 goals. After seasons at Preston and Swindon, he joined Johnny Giles at West Brom for the 1976-77 season. Gilesy, in his first season as player/manager, succeeded in getting West Brom promoted. The following season, they finished an uber-creditable sixth in the top division, the highlight of which was this 4-0 win over Manchester United, in which Treacy got on the scoresheet.
He returned to Dublin with Giles and Dunphy in 1977, sharing their vision of turning Shamrock Rovers into a side capable of competing in Europe. Ultimately, this foundered as Giles' Rovers side were unable even to conquer Ireland. It was only when Jim McLaughlin succeeded Giles as boss that Rovers began to hoover up League titles again.
Nonetheless, Treacy banged in the goals at Milltown, scoring 35 in 71 matches. He nailed the winning penalty in the 1-0 win over Sligo Rovers in the 1978 FAI Cup Final.
Younger fans will remember him for more his exploits as a manager and his time as a pundit and commentator. Appointed Shamrock Rovers manager during the moderately stable RDS years back in 1992, he guided the club to their only League title win during their nomadic era, clinching the championship in 1993-94.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO-ObVeD0-M
He was a fairly regular contributor to RTE's football coverage, functioning as a co-commentator for Ireland games in the mid-1990s as well as League of Ireland games. He was alongside George Hamilton in the commentary booth the night the English fans rioted in Lansdowne Road twenty years ago.
He worked as a travel agent after his football career ended. He remained involved in Irish football, co-ordinating the transport for Irish away matches until his retirement in 2009.
