Brian Mullins

infobox GAA player
name=Brian Mullins
placeofbirth=Dublin
countryofbirth=Ireland
county=Dublin
occupation=University sports director
code=Football
sport=Gaelic football
province=Leinster
club=St Vincents
clubs=St Vincents
clapps(points)=
clposition=Midfield
clyears=
counties=Dublin
icyears=?-1985
icapps(points)=
icprovince=7
icposition=Midfield| icallireland=4
allstars=2

Brian Mullins is a former Gaelic football player for Dublin and is the current Director of Sport for University College Dublin (UCD). Mullins was the manager of the TG4 'Underdogs' team that played Dublin in its inaugural year. He is a fluent Irish speaker and was therefore a good candidate for the role of 'Underdogs' manager which is shown on the Irish language television station TG4.

Career

Mullins was previously a teacher in Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack on Dublin’s northside where he taught Irish, Geography and History as well as P.E. He then went on to become a school principal in the Carndonagh secondary school in Co. Donegal. He returned to Dublin in 2000 to take up his role as UCD Director of Sport. He managed the 'Underdogs' team along with Jarlath Burns of Armagh and Ned Sullivan of Kerry. [http://www.ucd.ie/alumni/ucd_connections/ucdconnections9/2004ucdp26.pdf]

Between 1995 and 1998 he was manager of the Derry senior Football team. He guided to two National League titles in 1995 and 1996 and one Ulster title in 1998.

Mullins is the current Chairman of St Vincent's [http://www.hill16.ie/viewstoryhill16.asp?id=7394&mainheading=Word+on+The+Hill&viewstory=yes]

Playing career

Brian is regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his time and has won two allstars for his all-Ireland winning performances with Dublin in 1976 and 1977. [http://www.stpats.ie/news_detailed.asp?id=13] The 1976 final was a historic final against bitter rivals Kerry, the game finished on a scoreline of 3-08 to 0-10. The following year, Dublin with Brian Mullins steering the midfield easily beat Armagh by a scoreline of 5-12 to 3-06. He won two more all-Ireland winning medals for Dublin in 1974 and 1983. The 1974 final was a five point win over Galway and the 1983 final was a closer game with a 1-10 - 1-8 win over the same team. Mullins has won the national football league division one title with Dublin on two occasions in 1976 with a win over the team he would go on to manage in 1995 to win the same title on two occasions in 1995 and 1996. He won his second National Football League title in 1978 when Dublin defeated Mayo in the final.

In his all-Ireland winning year of 1976, he collected a medal with St. Vincents in the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship. Another Dublin GAA favourite Jimmy Keaveney was one of his team mates in the final.

'One Friday night in late June 1980, Mullins was driving out the Clontarf Road, when his Fiat 127 went out of control and collided with a lamp post. To even play football again after that was a miracle'. [http://www.hoganstand.com/Dublin/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=9577] Despite this he went on to collect his fourth allstar for Dublin in 1983 despite being sent off in the 1983 All-Ireland final. Mullins' time away from football was not wasted, he received some time off from his place of work, Greendale secondary school and went on in 1980 to get a Masters degree in athletics administration at New York University.

Kerry midfielder Jack O'Shea faced up to Brian on many occasions during the seventies and again in the eighties. “To look at Brian Mullins you’d get the impression that he was there for his strength. But he had brains. He never let a pass go astray.” [http://www.hoganstand.com/Dublin/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=957]

He retired from inter-county football in 1985, and became the caretaker manager for Dublin although it didn't last long and ended with a disappointing loss to rivals Meath. Meath had been in the GAA wilderness for 16 years so, a loss to Meath in the Leinster final came as a shock. In 2008, there was speculation that Mullins would succeed Paul Caffrey as Dublin manager. [http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/gaa/mhqlsngbauoj/]

References

External links

* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Dublin/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=9577 Article on Brian Mullins]
* [http://www.hill16.ie/default.asp Official Dublin Website]
* [http://www.stvincentsgaa.ie/ St Vinncents Official website]