Brian Mullins (27 September 1954 – 30 September 2022)Dublin football legend Brian Mullins passes away, aged 68 was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He played football with his local club St Vincent's and was a senior member of the Dublin county team from 1974 until 1985. Mullins later served as manager of both Dublin and Derry. He was regarded as one of Dublin's greatest-ever players. He was a nephew of Bill Casey, who played for Kerry in the 1930s and 1940s.
Biography Mullins was born in Dublin in 1954. He received his primary and secondary education in Dublin before later attending Thomond College in Limerick. Here Mullins completed a Bachelor of Arts in physical education and Irish.
Mullins subsequently returned to Dublin where he secured a teaching job in Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack on the north side of the city. Here he taught his degree subjects as well history and geography. In 1980 he took eighteen months leave of absence from Greendale to complete a Master of Arts in athletics administration at New York University.
When Mullins returned from the United States he resumed his teaching post at Greendale and stayed there until 1991. That year he was appointed Head Teacher of Carndonagh Community School in Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland.
Mullins returned to Dublin in 2000 to take up his role as UCD Director of Sport.
In May 2020, the Irish Independent named Mullins at number seven in its "Top 20 footballers in Ireland over the past 50 years".
His son, Nathan, holds an Ulster Senior Football Championship medal from 2018.
Playing career Club Mullins played his club football with the St Vincent's club in Dublin and had much success during a career that spanned three decades.
Mullins first came to prominence on the club scene as a member of the senior team in the early 1970s. In 1972, Mullins lined out in his first county championship decider. College side UCD provided the opposition on that occasion and a close game developed. Key goals by St Vincent's proved the difference as Mullins's side won by 2–8 to 0–9. It was his first county senior championship winners' medal. St Vincent's subsequently represented the county in the provincial club series of games and even reached the final. Westmeath champions the Downs were the opponents. The game turned into a complete rout as Mullins's side took complete control. A 6–10 to 2–5 score line gave St Vincent's a first Leinster club title. An All-Ireland final against Cork champions Nemo Rangers followed for Mullins. The sides were level six times in that game and a pointed free by Jimmy Keaveney secured a draw. The replay saw St. Vincent's being completely outclassed as Nemo won by 4–6 to 0–10.
St Vincent's lost out to UCD in the next two county finals; however, both sides met in the championship decider for a fourth consecutive year in 1975. Mullins's side were awarded the title after the collegians gave them a walkover due to the final clashing with the university exams. A second provincial championship decider quickly followed for Mullins. St Joseph's provided the opposition, however, the Laois county champions were easily accounted for by 3–9 to 1–8.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 204 It was Mullins's second Leinster club winners' medal. A second All-Ireland club final appearance followed with Roscommon Gaels lining out in opposition. The game was a complete mismatch as St Vincent's secured a huge 4–10 to 0–5 victory. It was Mullins's first All-Ireland club winners' medal.The GAA Book of Lists pp. 417–418
Mullins picked up a third county winners' medal in 1976, as St Vincent's retained their title after a narrow 3–12 to 1–15 victory over UCD. Their provincial run of success came to a halt in the early rounds of that series of games.
In 1977, St Vincent's made it three-in-a-row with another huge county final victory. It was Mullins's fourth county title. In spite of some great displays in the county champions, St Vincent's were later defeated by Summerhill of Meath in the Leinster final.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 177
St Vincent's went into decline for the next few years while Mullins missed the club's county final victory in 1981.
In 1984, Mullins was back in yet another county final. Na Fianna provided the opposition, however, St. Vincent's engineered a win and Mullins added a fifth winners' medal to his collection in that competition. He later collected a third Leinster club winners' medal following a ten-point win over Wicklow champions Tinahely.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 206 The subsequent All-Ireland club final pitted St. Vincent's against Castleisland Desmonds of Kerry. The game has gone down in history as one of the most tense championship deciders of all-time that featured a dramatic finish. With two minutes left Mullins's side had a 0–7 to 1–2 lead. A line ball by Castleisland's Willie O'Connor found Donie Buckley who sent the ball into the net. St Vincent's had no time to launch a comeback and the Kerrymen secured a remarkable 2–2 to 0–7 victory.The GAA Book of Lists p. 420
In 1991, Mullins captained St Vincent's to win their third Intermediate Football Championship, beating St Brigid's in the Final. This was his last competitive outing as he retired after the game.
Under-21 Mullins first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of a very good Dublin under-21 team in the early 1970s. In 1974 'the Dubs' reached the provincial decider in that grade for the first time ever. Wexford provided the opposition on that occasion, however, Mullins's side had a relatively easy victory. The 1–10 to 0–8 score line gave him a first Leinster under-21 title.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 162 Dublin were subsequently defeated in the All-Ireland semi-final.
In 1975 Mullins lined out in a second consecutive provincial under-21 final. 'The Dubs' retained their title on that occasion following a 0–12 to 1–6 defeat of Laois. An All-Ireland final appearance quickly followed for Mullins. Kerry, a team that he would later become very familiar with, were the opponents. The Munster men made no mistake and secured a 1–15 to 0–10 defeat of Mullins's side.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 156
Senior By this stage Mullins was carving out a reputation for himself as a midfielder of note on the Dublin senior team. In 1974 he played in his first Leinster final in that grade. Archrivals Meath set out to stop 'the Dubs' claiming a first provincial title since 1965. A new look Dublin under the stewardship of Kevin Heffernan made no mistake in securing a 1–14 to 1–9 victory.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 142 It was Mullins's first Leinster winners' medal in the senior grade. Dublin later surprisingly defeated All-Ireland title-holders Cork in the semi-final, thus booking a place in the All-Ireland final against Galway. The men from the west, who had been beaten in two of the previous three championship deciders, took a 1–4 to 0–5 lead at half-time, however, the real turning point of the game came in the 52nd minute. Galway were awarded a penalty which Liam Sammon stepped up to take. Goalkeeper Paddy Cullen made no mistake and saved the shot. 'The Dubs' later went on to take the lead as Galway collapsed. A 0–14 to 1–6 score line resulted in a first All-Ireland winners' medal for Mullins and a first for Dublin in eleven years.The GAA Book of Lists p. 403
Dublin proved that their success in 1974 was not a flash-in-the-pan by retaining the Leinster title in 1975 after an enormous 3–13 to 0–8 defeat of Kildare. Mullins's side were the red-hot favourites going into the All-Ireland final against one of the youngest Kerry teams of all time. On a rain-soaked day John Egan and substitute Ger O'Driscoll scored two goals for Kerry and 'the Dubs' were ambushed by 2–12 to 0–11. It was a bitter defeat for a Dublin team that had expected so much.
Dublin continued their dominance in 1976. After securing the National League title 'the Dubs' dominated the provincial championship once again.The GAA Book of Lists p. 179 A narrow 2–8 to 1–9 defeat of Meath gave Mullins a third consecutive Leinster winners' medal. Once again it was Kerry who provided the opposition, as one of the great rivalries of football entered a new chapter. Both sides were hoping for success, however, new 'Dub' Kevin Moran was causing havoc with the Kerry defence. Immediately after the game started he careered through the Kerry half-back and full-back lines, however, his shot at goal went wide. This set the pace for the rest of the match. John McCarthy finished a five-man move to score Dublin's first goal of the day. A converted penalty by Jimmy Keaveney was followed by a third goal from Mullins.The GAA Book of Lists pp. 403–404 A 3–8 to 0–10 score line gave Dublin the title and gave Mullins a second All-Ireland winners' medal. He capped off the year by collecting his first All-Star award.
The 1977 Leinster final was a replay of the previous year with the result being the same. Meath provided some stiff opposition but fell short, eventually losing the game by 1–9 to 0–8. It was Mullins's fourth consecutive Leinster title. Dublin later took on Kerry for the third consecutive year, however, this time it was in the All-Ireland semi-final. In one of the greatest games of football ever-played 'the Dubs' triumphed and booked a final spot against Armagh. An eight-goal thriller ensued, with Jimmy Keaveney scoring the first of the day after just ninety seconds. He ended the day with a record 2–6 from play. Bobby Doyle soon followed with the first of his two goals while John McCarthy got a fifth. Armagh were awarded two penalties, however, the northerners spurned some golden goal-scoring opportunities. A huge 5–12 to 3–6 victory gave Dublin a second consecutive title and gave Mullins a third All-Ireland winners' medal in four years.The GAA Book of Lists p. 404 He was later presented with a second All-Star award.
1978 saw Mullins add a second National League title to his collection.The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games p. 179 A fifth consecutive Leinster winners' medal soon followed as Dublin accounted for Kildare. The eleven-point victory in this game made Mullins's side the favourites to secure a remarkable third All-Ireland title in-a-row. While the game should have been an historic occasion, a rout ensued. The game is chiefly remembered for Mikey Sheehy's sensational goal. A free was awarded and the Kerry forward lobbed the ball over the head of Paddy Cullen, who was caught off his line arguing with the referee. New full-forward Eoin Liston entered the record books as he scored a hat-trick of goals. Pat Spillane played all over the field, including goalkeeper after Charlie Nelligan was sent off. At the full-time whistle Kerry were the winners by 5–11 to 0–9.
Dublin and Mullins secured an historic sixth Leinster title in 1979 after a narrow 1–8 to 0–9 victory over a resurgent Offaly team. A record sixth consecutive All-Ireland final appearance soon followed, with Kerry providing the opposition for the fourth time in those six years. The reigning champions, however, were handicapped throughout the game. Ger Power did not start, while John O'Keeffe got injured and Páidí Ó Sé was sent off during the encounter. Two goals by Mikey Sheehy and a third by John Egan helped 'the Kingdom' to another huge 3–13 to 1–8 defeat of Dublin.The GAA Book of Lists pp. 404–405