Kevin Moran: The 'codebreaker' who did it all

It's the soft-spoken, unassuming nature of Kevin Moran that initially catches you off-guard.

Listening to the former Dublin, Manchester United and Republic of Ireland player talk, you can easily forget that this is the same hard-tackling, fiercely competitive player who, over the course of just two seasons at Old Trafford, required 52 stitches in his head.

Rarely included on the lists of greatest Irish sportspeople, Moran enjoyed the kind of sporting career that now only seems possible in comics and fiction.

In a world where the likes of Conor McGregor can preen, shout, insult and brawl their way into the public consciousness and insist that they’re the best in the world, Moran’s quiet humility is refreshing.

It’s not that Moran has little to boast about, it’s more that he’s rather let his achievements speak for themselves.

Watching him speak and recall stories in the new documentary Kevin Moran: Codebreaker – RTÉ One on Monday at 9.35pm – the Dubliner displays a disarming level of humbleness that seen him coast under the radar, occasionally to his benefit.

There’s a striking scene in the documentary where Moran and United greats Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside reminisce over a beer. As the conservation flows Moran’s former team-mates are trying to work out how he got away with so much in the way of extra-curricular activity while at United when they didn’t.

"Can you understand how he never got a mention?" Robson asks Whiteside. "He got away with murder," Whiteside replies. "It was always me, you and McGrath who got into trouble and he was with us every time," Robson adds.

Moran’s explanation is typically self-effacing. "You only talk about the three great players, you don’t mention anyone else," he laughs.

It's a subtle