Former Manchester United and Norwich City midfielder Philip Mulryne has revealed that his football career left him feeling 'unhappy' and 'empty', prompting him to leave the game and become a Catholic priest. Now known as Friar Philip Mulryne, the 46-year-old is an ordained priest of the Dominican Order, assigned to St Mary's Priory in Cork.
Mulryne, who was spotted by a Manchester United scout playing in his native Belfast at age 14, signed a schoolboy contract and turned professional in 1994. He was part of the United side that won the FA Youth Cup in 1995 but made only one Premier League appearance for the club, on the final day of the 1997/98 season against Barnsley. He then moved to Norwich City for £500,000, where he made 172 appearances and scored 20 goals over six years, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League in 2004.
After leaving Norwich, Mulryne's career drifted with stints at Cardiff City and Leyton Orient, as well as trials at several clubs. He eventually fell out of love with the game and returned to Belfast in 2009 at age 29. Speaking about his decision to become a priest, Mulryne said: 'I returned to the practice of my faith, through the example of my sister, started to read about the faith and take it very personally for the first time – and that led me on a discovery of the faith for the first time in a very deep way and to make the decision to leave my football career, return to Belfast and pursue a vocation.'
Mulryne studied philosophy at Queen's University Belfast and theology in Rome before being ordained as a priest in July 2017. Reflecting on his journey, he told the Norwich club website: 'I started to get dissatisfied with the whole lifestyle. 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 added that volunteering at a homeless shelter and returning to regular prayer gave him a 'real sense of fulfilment' and a 'steady sense of contentment'.
Mulryne also noted that the discipline he learned in football has helped him in his religious life, saying: 'One of the greatest discoveries for me over the years is the similarities with both of them that are not obvious on the surface and one of those is working together as a team, living with brothers, pursuing a similar goal.'
