Former United Class of 92 member involved in dramatic career switch

Former Manchester United midfielder Phil Mulryne has made a dramatic career change. United career The Belfast-born Mulryne was part of Manchester United’s youth team from 1992 until 1999. Nonetheless, he only played five senior games for Manchester United before leaving the club. He was also at the club during the famed Class of ’92 era, which saw the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs break through into the senior team. He went on to play over 160 games for Norwich City before retiring in 2008 at only 31 years old. The Irishman also represented Northern Ireland 27 times, scoring three goals between 1997 and 2007. Post-football career It is safe to say that Mulryne did not take the traditional route followed by most professionals, however. The Manchester Evening News reports that, “Philip Mulryne is now a respected figure in the Catholic community after swapping the football pitch for the priesthood.” In 2009, at the age of 31, Mulryne began formation for the Catholic priesthood. The former footballer studied philosophy for two years at Queen’s University Belfast and the Maryvale Institute. He then moved to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome and studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. It was during his studies that he decided to enter the Catholic Church. Mulryne became a Dominican friar at St Saviour’s Priory, Dublin, in 2016, and then he was ordained a deacon by Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, in October of the same year. Speaking to Norwich City’s official website, he claimed that there was not an exact moment when he decided his life should be dedicated to religion. Nonetheless, he did claim that, “we have a wonderful life as a footballer and I was very privileged, but I found with all the surrounding stuff that eventually there was a kind of emptiness with it. I was quite shocked – why am I not happy when I have everything that young men want?” He continued to state, “it started me on a journey towards exploring my faith again, the faith that I had as a young man. I took a decision to come home for a year and it was really during that year that everything turned upside down.” Mulryne claimed that volunteering at a homeless shelter gave him the regular fulfilment he could never find on a football pitch and helped convince him to dedicate his life to religion. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.