Kerr McInroy, a former Celtic youth academy player, has expressed his devastation at being ruled out of Tuesday's friendly clash against the Scottish Premiership champions at Tolka Park due to an injury. The 25-year-old Shelbourne midfielder spent 10 years with Celtic's youth setup before moving on to Kilmarnock in a permanent deal in 2022.
Celtic Education and Fond Memories
McInroy joined Celtic at the age of 12 in 2012 and credits the club for his development both as a player and as a person. Speaking to the Irish Mirror, he said: "I was a Celtic fan growing up and I joined the club when I was 12, so that’s where I got my education. We all went to school there as well. Celtic put us through school. We used to train in the morning and then again after school. My full team, we all went to the same school. It’s just constant football."
He added: "Then as you get older you are moving up to reserves and training with the first-team. I can’t thank them enough for the education they gave me."
Working with Shaun Maloney
During his time at Celtic, McInroy had the opportunity to work with current Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney, who was his reserve team coach for about a year. McInroy praised Maloney's coaching abilities, saying: "He was a brilliant coach. He actually left us to go to Belgium and be assistant manager there. That showed the level he was at. He was a great coach, I had a really good relationship with him and I learned a lot from him."
McInroy also recalled watching Maloney play for Scotland: "I remember him from watching Scotland when I was younger. I loved watching him play for Scotland. He was a really good player."
Missed Opportunity and Celtic's Success
McInroy, who joined Shelbourne on a permanent deal 12 months ago after a loan stint with Partick Thistle, is gutted to miss the friendly. "I’m a bit gutted that I’ll miss the game. It will be nice to see a few people from when I was younger," he said.
He also followed Celtic's title race closely last season, describing it as "crazy." He said: "They were down and out and then came back and went on that mad run. Then the last week was just incredible with the three games. It was a special title race. The Scottish Cup the week after was the icing on the cake."
