Inducted to the John McCredy McAlery Hall of Fame in May 2019, Brendan McGuckin made 190 appearances over two spells at Solitude.
Formerly with Banbridge Town, Brendan arrived at Solitude in 1975 and quickly established a reputation as a marauding full-back, playing a key role in the iconic 1978/79 season that saw him feature in 46 of the Reds’ 47 fixtures across all competitions – with illness keeping him out of the team’s last game, the County Antrim Shield Final defeat of Crusaders.
Part of the first Reds line-up to play in Europe when French giants FC Nantes Atlantique visited for a Cup Winners’ Cup clash a few months after that famous Cup victory over Portadown, McGuckin moved to Glenavon the following year but demonstrated his true colours when he joined the Red Army on the Windsor Park Kop to watch his former team-mates overcome Linfield in the Gold Cup Final.
After suffering a broken leg with the Lurgan Blues, he was brought back to Solitude by Billy Sinclair but made just a single appearance in a North Belfast Derby with Crusaders before departing for Carrick Rangers, however his contribution for the Reds has never been forgotten, culminating in his admission to our Hall of Fame.