Following the sad news that Gerry Ryan has passed away, in amongst the tributes have been countless stories from Brighton fans and ex-players about what a fantastic bloke the Republic of Ireland winger was to go with his supreme footballing ability.
Well, here is another… Gerry Ryan turned up at my parent’s wedding on Saturday 12th June 1986. As dyed-in-the-wool Albion fans, they had managed to convince the club to lend them the corner flags from the Goldstone Ground to be held aloft, creating an arch for them to walk through as they left the church. Totally normal wedding behaviour, of course.
Things would get even more surreal when Ryan turned up too to pass on his congratulations. Here was one of the greatest players in Brighton history, a man with 199 appearances for the Albion to his name, taking the time out of his day to pop along to celebrate the wedding of two supporters.
That though was Gerry Ryan. And he got to watch Northern Ireland v Brazil at the reception, after my parents decided football from the World Cup finals in Mexico was the perfect early evening entertainment. Again, totally normal wedding behaviour.
Losing Gerry Ryan at the age of 68 has hit so many Brighton fans hard because he was more than a mere footballer.
Whether it was attending nuptials, giving fans lifts in his car or always having the time for a chat in retirement as the landlord of The Witch in Lindfield, there was a connection between Ryan and Seagulls supporters which went beyond what happened on the pitch.
Which is impressive, because his footballing ability alone marks him out as a great. In virtually all the key moments of Brighton’s first rise and stint in the top division during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ryan was involved.
He scored away at Newcastle United on the day the Albion secured their place in Division One. He got the only goal of the game when Brighton became the first visiting side to win a league fixture at Nottingham Forest for over two years.
A few months later and Ryan scored one of the greatest individual goals in Albion history, slaloming his way 75 yards up the pitch through the entire Manchester City side before finishing beyond future Brighton teammate Joe Corrigan.
The Seagulls became synonymous with the FA Cup in both the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons. Needless to say, Ryan was at the heart of all that success.
He opened the scoring when Brighton won at Anfield on their way to the 1983 final. In the first game against Manchester United at Wembley, he came off the bench to give a magnificent performance out-of-position at right back when Chris Ramsay was forced off injured.
The following season and Gerry Ryan scored again past Liverpool in the FA Cup, this time at the Goldstone as Brighton eliminated the side who would go onto be crowned English and European champions five months later.
A professional football career in Sussex was never on the cards for a 16-year-old Gerry Ryan growing up in Dublin. He actually represented his country at hurling as a schoolboy and was also a keen Gaelic footballer before taking up association football with Bohemians.
Ryan was a part-time professional at Bohs also working for the city government when Derby County came calling in September 1977. After one year and 30 appearances at the Baseball Ground, Alan Mullery brought him to the Goldstone for £80,000.
Fate almost took Ryan on a different path. It was a 50-50 call between deciding to join the Albion or moving to Stoke City.
But once Gerry Ryan had visited Brighton, the deal was done. “I went to Brighton that weekend and absolutely loved it,” Gerry told The Argus in 2016.
“We drove over the top of Waterhall and you could see the seaside. It was a gorgeous day. I thought ‘This will do for me’, I decided there and then as we came over the hill and saw the view.”
The 22-year-old looked instantly at home in the stripes. He scored 10 times in the 1978-79 season to help fire the Albion to promotion, including a goal on his home debut against Preston North End and in the aforementioned famous victory at St James’ Park on the final day.
Despite his obvious talent, Ryan found himself in-and-out of the side during the Albion’s four years in Division One on account of inconsistent form – a trait most flamboyant and exciting wingers like him suffer from.
He became more of a regular once Brighton were relegated back to the second tier, remaining loyal to the club whilst others left to remain in Division One or earn more money elsewhere.
Ryan would have gone onto make many more than his final total of 199 appearances had his career not been cut short at the age of 29 by a terrible tackle from Henry Hughton of Crystal Palace in April 1985.
To his immense credit, Ryan never blamed Hughton for the double leg break. Others might have been tempted to lash out or even sue, but that was just not in the nature of the genteel Dubliner.
Once it was established that recovery was impossible and his retirement confirmed, Ryan was awarded a testimonial against Spurs in August 1986.
A crowd of 10,759 turned out; the third highest of the entire 1986-87 season as attendances at the Goldstone dwindled. A sign of just how popular he was.
His Brighton story was not done there, either. After becoming landlord of The Witch, Gerry Ryan played an important part in convincing his former Ireland teammate Liam Brady to become Brighton manager in December 1993.
Brady duly appointed Ryan as his assistant manager. The duo did a fine job in impossible circumstances, dealing with Bill Archer, David Bellotti and Greg Stanley, who were at the beginning of their plan to kill off the Albion and pocket the profits from the sale of the Goldstone.
Ryan even took a wage cut so as to facilitate the signing of new players. He was rewarded by being sacked by Archer, Bellotti and Stanley when Brady finally had enough and handed in his resignation.
Gerry Ryan returned to The Witch, continuing to support Brighton. If there were a bucket collection do with the Albion when finances were tight, he would always stick his hand in.
He was immensely proud when his son, Darragh, went onto play for the Albion during the Gillingham years. Even after moving back to Ireland to look after his month, Gerry Ryan still kept Brighton close his heart.
RIP Gerry. And thanks for coming to my parent’s wedding all those years ago. A Brighton player unlike any other.
