Brian Kerr
Encyclopedia
Brian Kerr, is an Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 manager, most noted for managing the Republic of Ireland national side
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

. He was most recently the manager for the Faroe Islands national football team
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...

.

Early days

Kerr grew up in Drimnagh
Drimnagh
Drimnagh is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the Southside of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordering the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12.-Early to Medieval:...

, a suburb in south west Dublin. He began playing football for noted schoolboy side Crumlin United along with future world champion athlete Eamonn Coghlan
Eamonn Coghlan
Eamonn Christopher Coghlan is an Irish Senator and former athlete, who specialised in middle distance track events and the 5000 metres...

. He also boxed
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 with Drimnagh Boxing Club as his father was a coach there. At age 13, Kerr took his first coaching role when appointed to the Crumlin United under 11 side. He gained employment in U.C.D as a trainee technician , while following his football interests. Kerr, although playing for Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....

 B team, realised he did not possess enough talent to make it to the top as a footballer and at an early age decided to concentrate on coaching.

He was then invited by Liam Tuohy
Liam Tuohy (footballer)
Liam Tuohy is a former Irish footballer and manager. During the 1950s and 1960s. Tuohy played as an outside left for Shamrock Rovers, Newcastle United, and the Republic of Ireland. In 1959 while playing for Ireland, Tuohy scored the first ever goal in the history of the European Championship...

 to manage Shamrock Rovers B side in 1974.

He was reserve team manager at Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....

 in 1978 and after a stint playing for Bluebell United he was appointed assistant manager at Shels in 1983. The following season he moved to Home Farm
Home Farm F.C.
Home Farm Football Club is an Irish football club based in Whitehall, Dublin. Originally founded in 1928, the club joined the League of Ireland in 1972 after merging with Drumcondra. Following this merger they were briefly known as Home Farm Drumcondra...

 where he was involved in a bizarre incident in November 1984.

He coached under Liam Tuohy
Liam Tuohy (footballer)
Liam Tuohy is a former Irish footballer and manager. During the 1950s and 1960s. Tuohy played as an outside left for Shamrock Rovers, Newcastle United, and the Republic of Ireland. In 1959 while playing for Ireland, Tuohy scored the first ever goal in the history of the European Championship...

 with the Irish Youth side that reached the World Cup finals in 1985. He resigned in April 1986.

Soon after he was appointed assistant manager at Drogheda United
Drogheda United
Drogheda United Football Club is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1979, plays its home matches at Hunky Dorys Park....

 under Mick Lawlor (footballer)
Mick Lawlor (footballer)
Mick Lawlor is a former Irish football player who played as a forward.Son of Kit Lawlor he joined Shamrock Rovers F.C. in 1966 and made a scoring debut on the 20th of April 1966...

 but left following Lawlor's resignation in November.

St. Patrick's Athletic

In December 1986 Kerr was appointed manager of League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 side St Patrick's Athletic. Kerr told reporters that as a fan of St. Pats, this appointment was a "dream come true". Within 3 weeks Kerr had won his first senior trophy as St. Pats won the Leinster Senior Cup
Leinster Senior Cup (football)
The Leinster Senior Cup is an association football cup competition organised by the Leinster Football Association. It contested by the top League of Ireland sides based in the province in Leinster along with four Leinster Senior League sides and the two Leinster Junior Cup finalists. The Cup was...

. It was the Inchicore
Inchicore
-Location and access:Located five kilometres due west of the city centre, Inchicore lies south of the River Liffey, west of Kilmainham, north of Drimnagh and east of Ballyfermot. The majority of Inchicore is in the Dublin 8 postal district...

 side's first trophy in a decade. Traditionally one of Ireland's poorer clubs, Kerr immediately set about rebuilding the squad on a shoe string budget. He acquired several players from junior and schoolboy football (such as future international Curtis Fleming
Curtis Fleming
Curtis Fleming is an english born Irish former international footballer. Fleming played his youth football at the famous Belvedere F.C.. Fleming played right back and won international honours for the Republic of Ireland at under-21, under-23 , and senior level. He started his career with St...

) and rescued others from reserve leagues. This included John McDonnell
John McDonnell (footballer)
John McDonnell is an Irish football former manager and player and current assistant manager of the Faroe Islands national football team....

, who went on to become manager of the club himself. St. Pats drew 1-1 with Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...

 in the last game of the 1987/88 season when a win would have seen St. Pats gain their first league title since 1956. In 1990, Kerr led St. Pats to that long cherished league championship.

As financial troubles hit St. Pats, Kerr was forced to offload his star players and all bar John Treacy left by 1993. In 1992, with the club facing liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...

, Kerr was among a group of investors (many of whom re-mortgaged their houses) who raised IR£82,000 which helped save the club from extinction. Once again Kerr was left the job of rebuilding a totally new squad and once again he showed he was more than capable as St. Pats won the league again 1996. In December 1996 he shocked St. Pats by quitting to become technical director of the Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...

. Kerr is still idolised by fans of St Patrick's Athletic and most commentators attribute the further success the club have had largely down to work started by Kerr.

Republic of Ireland Youth coach

As part of his technical director remit, Kerr was manager of Republic of Ireland sides from Under-16 to Under-20 level. His first major tournament was the 1997 World Youth Championships. Kerr surprised many commentators by bringing 3 players from the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 but was proved correct when Republic of Ireland won bronze medals by finishing third. The undoubted star of the Irish team was Damien Duff
Damien Duff
Damien Anthony Duff is an Irish footballer who plays for Premier League team Fulham and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he has participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012...

.

The following year Kerr guided Republic of Ireland to an unprecedented double by winning both the Under-16 and Under-18 European Championships. No Irish team had ever won a major trophy before (and none have won since). A number of the players involved would go on to win full international caps, such as John O'Shea
John O'Shea
John O'Shea can refer to:*John O'Shea, Irish footballer with Sunderland*John O'Shea , New Zealand film director*John O'Shea *John O'Shea , Wales international rugby union footballer*John O'Shea...

 and Robbie Keane
Robbie Keane
Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....

. In 1999 Republic of Ireland were knocked out of the World Youth Championships
1999 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between April 3 and April 24, 1999. The 1999 championship was the 12th contested.- Qualification :The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.-Squads:...

  by hosts Nigeria on penalties in the quarter final. He again qualified Ireland for the 2003 World Youth Championships
2003 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in United Arab Emirates between November 27 and December 19, 2003. The 2003 championship was the 14th contested...

  before taking up the position of manager of the senior national side.

Republic of Ireland Senior Side

After two defeats in the opening two qualifying games for Euro 2004, national manager Mick McCarthy
Mick McCarthy
Michael Joseph "Mick" McCarthy is an English-born former Irish international footballer who is currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has been in charge since July 2006....

 resigned from his post. On 26 January 2003, Kerr was appointed as the new full time manager. This was welcomed by most sections of the media and fans alike. He was, however, left a huge challenge to achieve qualification. Following a draw at home to Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

, and a defeat in Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...

, Republic of Ireland finished 3rd, and were out of the competition.

In qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 Kerr managed Ireland to only one defeat. However late goals conceded to Israel
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...

, at home and away, saw the Republic of Ireland finish in 4th place, in a very tight group. Thus for a second time Kerr's squad had failed to qualify. Kerr came in for heavy criticism from sections of the media, who saw his tactics as negative. Kerr himself felt that the media were being excessively intrusive and unhelpful, in his efforts to perform his job. Kerr responded by refusing to entertain media questioning concerning his decision making. As a result many journalists withdrew their support for Kerr, and became even more critical of his role, against the backdrop of a dramatic decline of the Irish soccer team in the FIFA world ranking.

Other commentators pointed to a perceived lack of talent in the squad as being the most important factor, due to Kerr's successes in his previous managerial appointements. In October 2005 Kerr's contract was not renewed by the FAI. Kerr was personally disappointed. He was replaced by Steve Staunton
Steve Staunton
Stephen "Steve" Staunton is an Irish association football manager and former professional footballer, who was most recently manager of Darlington...

. In 2006 Kerr became a director of Sport against Racism Ireland (SARI). Kerr is a regular contributor on radio, television and to newspapers (including the Irish Times) as a soccer pundit.

After failing to have his contract renewed by the FAI, Brian Kerr was linked with a number of management positions, most notably with the national team of India
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...

 however after a preliminary trip there he decided he was not interested in this position.

St. Patrick's Athletic Director of Football

In March 2007 Kerr returned to St. Patrick's Athletic football club, this time taking a position as Director of Football, a role to which he was appointed by new club owner Garrett Kelleher
Garrett Kelleher
Garrett Kelleher is the founder and Executive Chairman of Shelbourne Development, a Dublin development and real estate firm, and is acknowledged as one of Ireland’s most innovative property entrepreneurs...

. His duties at the club included technical support to the management team, as well as scouting of youth players. On 19 May 2008 Kerr announced his resignation from his role as director of football at St Pat's with immediate effect. Despite being strongly linked with a vacant managerial position at Cork City a number of months later, a return to Irish club management for Kerr was not to materialise.

Coach of Faroe Islands

On 6 April 2009, Brian Kerr was confirmed as head coach of the Faroe Islands national football team
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...

.
He stated on Tubridy Tonight
Tubridy Tonight
Tubridy Tonight is an Irish chat show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired for five series on RTÉ One between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews , audience participation and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...

 (an Irish talk show) that the Faroese language was '50% Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...

, 50% Gaeilge'.
His first game as manager was on 10 June 2009 against Serbia
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...

 in Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...

, in which they lost 0-2.

Brian's assessment of his squad:
Apart from four players who play full-time in Denmark and another in Iceland the rest of Kerr’s 22-man squad is made up of part-time players who are either working or studying.
“We have four carpenters, at least six full-time students – one of them had to fly to Copenhagen and back for an exam this week – two policemen, an accountant, one fella works in a sports shop, two teachers, Andreas works in a bowling alley, and he’s doing a bit of carpentry as well. Simun is full-time in Iceland, Suni works in a fish factory, I think Frodi’s a builder, Jakup is a teacher but he’s on the town council as well, he’s like a TD. That’s kind of the run of it. The pool is quite limited, there’s no one at Milan we’ve missed out on. The Granny Rule isn’t much help either, the Faroese haven’t been huge at emigration.”
On 9 September 2009, the Faroe Islands won 2-1 against Lithuania
Lithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...

 in a 2010 World Cup qualifying game
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7
The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 7 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania, Austria and Faroe Islands....

, their first World Cup qualifying win since September 2001.
On 17 November 2009, a documentary aired on RTE
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...

 called 'Away with the Faroes', about Kerr taking over as the Faroes boss.
On 12 October 2010, the Faroe Islands draw 1-1 against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier for their first point of the qualifying campaign. This point was built upon win a 2-0 win over Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....

 on the 7th June 2011. The win still left Faroe Islands bottom of the table but with 4 points.

On the 30th of July 2011, Faroe Islands were drawn against Kerr's former employers, the Republic of Ireland in Group C for the 2014 World Cup Qualifying.

Honours

  • League of Ireland
    League of Ireland
    The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

    : 2
    • St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
      St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
      St Patrick's Athletic Football Club is a football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in 1929, they are based in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore and play their home matches at Richmond Park. They have won the League of Ireland title 7 times and...

       1989–90, 1995–96
  • FIFA U-20 World Cup
    FIFA U-20 World Cup
    The FIFA U-20 World Cup, until 2005 known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association...

     Third Place
    • Republic of Ireland 1997
  • European Under-16 Football Championship Winners
    • Republic of Ireland
      Republic of Ireland national under-17 football team
      The Republic of Ireland national under-17 football team, is the national under-17 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship....

       1998
  • European Under-18 Football Championship Winners
    • Republic of Ireland
      Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team
      The Republic of Ireland national under-19 football team, is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland and competes in the biennial European Under-19 Football Championship....

       1998
  • SWAI Personality of the Year
    • St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
      St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
      St Patrick's Athletic Football Club is a football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in 1929, they are based in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore and play their home matches at Richmond Park. They have won the League of Ireland title 7 times and...

      - 1995-96
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