Player Profile: Gus Gilligan

In the penultimate week of voting, you picked Gus Gilligan and Mick Leonard as Sligo Rovers Greatest strikers of All-Time. First of all we'll take a look at Gus Gilligan who played for Rovers during the early '80s.

Photo from homepage.eircom.net/~sligoroverssc/

Although born in England, his family were from Ballisodare, and Gus returned to Sligo in 1981 to play for The Bit O' Red. Gilligan was probably one of the smallest players in the squad at the time, but was known to cause plenty of problems for keepers with headers, and a number of his 23 goals were scored with his head.

His most memorable moment came in the third replay of the 1983 FAI Cup Semi-Final against Cobh Ramblers when he got on the end of a fine move between Tony Fagan and Harry McLoughlin. Harry delivered a cross into box and the striker rose highest to head the ball past the Cobh 'keeper to settle the exciting trilogy of games.

Gus also played in the 1983 Final which seen Rovers create history as they lifted the Cup for the first time. He didn't score on the day, but he will always be able to proudly say that it was his goal a month earlier that made that historic day possible.

His time at Sligo Rovers was brought to an abrupt end for all the wrong reasons when an incident involving both Gus Gilligan and John Skeffington on the way home from their European game against Valeakosken Haha of Finland saw both strikers Transfer Listed. He later joined Finn Harps. He also had stints with Galway United and Longford Town before he began playing Junior Football in Sligo, enjoying success with Corinthians F.C. and Strand Celtic. He also managed Coolaney United for a short time.