a young age. He considers himself to be 'a working class Irish Catholic'. Playing career Early career In 1987, he received his start in higher-level football with Irish club Turlough O'Connor's Dundalk. Whilst with the club he played in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in a highly successful period in the club's history. During his spell at the club they did the Irish double, winning both the FAI Cup and topping the League of Ireland Premier Division in 1987–88. His performances for Dundalk earned him a £70,000 move to Sheffield United in April 1989. However, he was unable to break into the first team at Bramall Lane. He spent a brief time in 1989–90 on loan at struggling Halifax Town, making two appearances for the "Shaymen". Stockport County In 1990, he moved to Stockport County, who paid United between £40,000 and £75,000 for his services. He remained at the club for ten years, during which the club would win promotion on two occasions, and make four Wembley appearances. On 10 March 1993, Gannon verbally abused Stoke City player Mark Stein, who reacted by assaulting Gannon. Gannon made a formal complaint to the police and as a result Stein was later required to appear in court for the attack. The two players' confrontation continued the following month after Gannon's then-girlfriend spat at Stein in a post-match interview. Stein was given a conditional discharge after the court accepted he was under "extreme provocation" from what he claimed was racial abuse. During his early days at the club Gannon was criticised by supporters for his performances, but he soon won them over after moving from centre-half to become a goalscoring midfielder. Stockport fans named him 'The Ghost', due to his knack of 'ghosting' in at the back of the box to score from crosses. He was also nicknamed 'Big Jimbo'. In 1990–91, County achieved promotion from the Fourth Division as runners-up. In 1992 he made his first trip to Wembley Stadium, as Stockport lost 1–0 to Stoke City in the League Trophy final. During the same season, Stockport also reached the Third Division play-off Final, but were defeated at Wembley. The following year, County again reached the League Trophy Final, but lost 2–1 to Port Vale. In January 1994 Gannon joined Notts County on a brief loan spell to help him overcome some personal problems. Returning to Stockport,