Mervue plan for life after Gaffney

Mervue United will travel to Finn Harps for their Airtricity First Division game on Saturday (7:45pm) without the influential Rory Gaffney, who has transferred to Limerick FC.

In recent times, Gaffney had been the attention of a plethora of club, including Scottish Premier Division side, St. Johnstone, but in the end it was Pat Scully’s Limerick FC that won the race for his signature.

Paying tribute to Gaffney, an attacking left sided midfielder who can also play as a striker, Mervue United boss Johnny Glynn says: “He is a great lad, very talented.

“It was very disappointing though to lose him to another club in our division; there is that aspect to it. We have 11 games to go and we would have liked to have had him for those games. Rory was an integral part in the development of this club, in particular since we joined the League of Ireland.

“He had made great progress, but, to be honest, I don’t think Limerick was the right move for him; I don’t think it was the right stepping stone for him. Again, though, we do wish him well, and we hope it goes well for him,” says Glynn.

Indeed, Gaffney’s loss to Limerick is a significant blow to the League of Ireland side. The Tuam native had come through the underage system at Mervue and made his League of Ireland debut in the club’s historic first game against Athlone Town in March 2009. He scored four goals that season.

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