Michael Joseph "Mick" Fairclough (born October 22, 1952 in Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

) was a former 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,...

 professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 footballer who played as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 for Drogheda United, Dundalk

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...

 and Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

.

Mick started his football career with Drogheda Youths and won an FAI Youths Cup medal in 1970 scoring in the replay of the final. At age 18 he played in the 1971 Senior FAI Cup Final with Drogheda who lost to Limerick after a replay.

Mick was bought by Huddersfield Town (who were then in the old 1st Division) in August 1971 and made his 1st team debut against Wolves in October 1971. He made 20 appearances in the 1971/72 season including games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Spurs & Wolves.

He won a full International cap for the Republic of Ireland

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....

 in 1972 in the Mini World Cup in Brazil and also won two full caps in 1982 after his successful comeback from injury.

Serious Knee Injury

Mick received a serious leg injury in 1973 and this ultimately ended his career prematurely in 1975. He was out of football for 5 years and then made a comeback in the League of Ireland with Dundalk after receiving treatment from Bobby McGregor the renowned Northern Ireland Physio. Mick played for Dundalk for a further 4 years where he was top scorer for 3 consecutive seasons during which time he won FAI Cup

FAI Cup

The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...

 and League medals. He scored in the 1981 Cup Final against Sligo Rovers and also scored against Tottenham Hotspur in the 1982 UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 European Cup Winners' Cup 1st leg, in the 1-1 draw in Oriel Park.

In 1984 he left Oriel Park

Oriel Park

Oriel Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Dundalk F.C. Its current capacity is about 4,500 with 3,000 seats. The ground was opened in 1919.-History:...

 to return to Drogheda United where he started his career and finished playing there in 1986.

This was a truly remarkable comeback after his career was ended with a very serious leg injury in 1975.

After Football

Following his early retirement from professional football Mick returned to college and then progressed into the I.T. Business where he has been very successful in his career. He has held senior management positions in a number of multi-national companies and is currently working in the Software Division of the IBM Company in Ireland.

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...
  
  
  • Dundalk F.C. 1981-82

• FAI Cup
  • Dundalk F.C. 1981

• League of Ireland Cup
  • Dundalk F.C. 1980-81

• President's Cup: 2
  • Dundalk F.C. 1980-81, 1981–82