Bannon, who passed away aged 59, had an illustrious playing career which included spells in the UK with Nottingham Forest, Carlisle United, Bristol Rovers and then spells in Holland with NAC Breda and in Greece with PAOK Salonika and Larissa. He returned to sign for Cork City in 1989 and finished his career in 1995 with Cobh Ramblers.
Initially a striker, Dublin-born, Bannon played in the 1992 FAI Cup Final for Cork City against Bohemians and scored the winning goal as Cork City won the league title in 1993 after a play-off victory over Shelbourne. The title had gone to a three-way play-off also involving Bohemians that season.
He spent 17 years working for the FAI between the FAI FAS courses in Cork and the Emerging Talent Programme before retiring in 2012 and was widely recognised for his contribution to the development of many talented young players in the Munster region including internationals such as Colin Healy, Liam Miller and Damien Delaney.
Paul is survived by wife was Helen and daughter Heather and mother Sally. His father Seamus was a celebrated hurler with Tipperary, winning three All-Ireland hurling titles in the 1950s.
FAI CEO John Delaney paid tribute to Paul Bannon today.
“It was with great sadness that I heard of Paul’s death. He was a great football man and was an outstanding player. His work for the FAI was greatly appreciated. He made a great contribution to the development of many players over the years and will always be remembered for doing so much for so many footballers through the years,” said Delaney.
FAI ETB Carrigaline coordinator Mick Conroy, who was a former club-mate of Bannon and worked alongside him with previous FAI FAS courses, added: “Paul was a great servant to Cork City, Cobh Ramblers, the FAI and football in the Munster region.
“He had great observation skills for players. He worked with the likes of Liam Miller, Colin Healy, Damien Delaney and played a part in their development.
“I’ve had lots of people around the country getting in touch as they had great time for him. He’d great experience in the game from playing in England, Holland and Greece. He was very strong centre-forward who developed into an excellent centre-back. He will be sadly missed.”