Liam Brady: The Irishman Abroad

Where were you when John Lennon was shot dead in New York in December 1980?

Liam Brady remembers hearing the devastating news on the local radio, five months into his Italian adventure, having signed for the world-renowned Juventus football club.

We join the former Ireland star driving back to his old club in Turin, 42 years on from those heady days in what was arguably, at that time, the most prestigious league in world football.

'Liam Brady: The Irishman Abroad' is a very enjoyable reminisce in the company of the former Arsenal star, and it airs on Monday evening on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.

"Some footballers wanted to be rock stars, and some rock stars wanted to be footballers," ponders Brady during the hour-long film, shot on location, primarily in Italy.

And while his love for music is particularly evident throughout, his vocal performance, singing along to John Lennon’s Just Like Starting Over, makes it clear that the correct career choice was considered when it came to making a living.

Signing for Arsenal as a schoolkid, the documentary takes you on Brady’s journey from Dublin to London, where he soon became a fan favourite, as the "bionic Irish man" helped the Gunners to FA Cup glory in 1979 at a time when a host of Irish - north men and south men - dominated the north London squad.

Brady would be named the Players' Player of the Year in 1979 but would spend just one more season at Highbury before jetting off to Serie A to become Juventus’ first foreign player to be signed under the new league rules.

The documentary understandably races through those early Brady years to focus on the time spent in Italy where he would play for Sampdoria, Inter Milan and Ascoli, as well as The Old Lady, over a seven-year spell in Italian