Liam Whelan at 90 – Dublin’s legendary Busby Babe is fondly remembered
Today marks the 90th birthday of Ireland’s ‘Busby Babe’ Liam Whelan – the Dubliner who perished in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, a tragedy in which eight members of Matt Busby’s Manchester United team lost their lives. Liam is fondly remembered here in a piece originally written in 2023 by Seán O’Connor
Liam Whelan, in action (right) for Manchester United before his untimely death in the Munich Air Disaster
Among some newspaper clippings and old match programmes, there is a photograph lying on the table in John Whelan’s home. It’s a portrait of his late brother Liam, Cabra’s beloved Busby Babe.
The date is stamped January 7, 1954 and the inscription on the back reads, ‘To Mammy. Best wishes. From your loving son, Liam’.