Duff Shels exit almost derailed Boyd's wedding plans

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

Damien Duff's abrupt departure from Shelbourne almost scuppered Seán Boyd's engagement plans but he's thankful to the legend for guiding him towards funding the wedding.
Boyd hit double-figures as Shels won the league for the first time in 18 years last season but his mentor Duff sensationally quit last month just a fortnight before their Champions League campaign was to kick-off.
Duff's assistant Joey O'Brien stepped up to steer the Reds through the first round against Linfield, completing a 2-1 aggregate victory over Linfield on Wednesday in Belfast.
That swelled their prize-money from Uefa to €1.71m. Double that is on offer if they win one of the three ties they've secured by navigating the first hurdle of the champions path.
Players and staff will receive a slice of that windfall in bonuses – typically 25% shared equally – and Boyd has joked that his new fiancé Kristin has earmarked it for their nuptials.
His proposal plans were almost derailed when Duff quit on Sunday, June 22, three days before he'd booked a stayover at the plush K-Club to pop the question.
'When he left, I was like, 'That fucker, what am I supposed to do here?',' he said jokingly after the Duffer departure.
'It was a mad time so I was all over the place and it kind of distracted me a little bit. I love my partner to bits so it was the next step.'
Wage levels in LOI have risen in tandem with the popularity growth but are still modest by comparison with other similar sized countries. Where players can scoop windfalls is through the bonuses accrued from progression in Europe.
That seemed an avenue for Boyd when he was emerging as a teen star at Shamrock Rovers but injuries punctuated his career while many of his friends enjoyed the fruits of advancing through European competition.
One of those is his teammate since last year, Seán Gannon. His substitute appearance at Windsor Park was his 58th in Europe, taking him to within five of Ronan Finn's all-time record for a League of Ireland player. He could surpass that in the six upcoming games, starting with next week's second round first leg against Qarabag at Tolka Park.
Gannon was part of the Dundalk squad which qualified for the 2016 Europa League group stages as well as the Conference with Rovers two years ago.
'Ganno had been saying all week that there'll be a decent bonus from getting through a couple of European rounds,' explained Boyd. 'Some lads were able to use it as a house deposit.
'It's another incentive. I had said to her (Kristin) that potentially, if we get through rounds, we get this. And she's like, 'oh, lovely, that will pay for the wedding'.
'She's already spent everything but we've to buy a house as well. It is mad talking about those things but there's only one way in this league to maybe do that.
'Not many players get to do that, so we're delighted to win the first round.'
Before their European adventure resumes, there's an occasion of a different sporting code dominating the family discussion.
Boyd was at Tipperary's semi-final win over Kilkenny but snaffling tickets for this Sunday's All-Ireland decider at Croke Park is a whole other ball game.
'She's from Tipp and brought me to my first hurling match at Croke Park,' said the Dub.
'I felt like a blow-in, you know but it was brilliant.
'I don't know if I'll be able to get tickets for Sunday. I'd feel too bad. Her uncles and everything would be like mad for it, and if I was to get tickets off someone I'd know now or something, I'd have to get them away. We'll see.'