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Whelan was a much loved local hero in old Cabra who left for Manchester United at 17 years of age. He was with Home Farm before he joined United. He was a devoted catholic and was very homesick in Manchester. His bother said he would get back to Cabra as much as he could as he was from a very close family. It speaks volumes about the man that when he came home he would walk around his city and would chat with anyone.
His record of 52 goals in 96 games for United is incredible and that from an inside right position. He would be something like a Stephen Gerrard today but could tackle,defend,set up goals and score them amongst his other attributes. He was in a Manchester United team that had won back to back titles and were on for a 3rd when the crash wiped out such a talenjted team. He sadly only appeared for the Republic of Ireland four times.
He only played four times for his country but in those days there very few International matches. I heard this story about him. When he wasn't picked to play against Germany in 1956 (because he had played for Man Utd the previous day) he walked down from Cabra paid in and stood on the terraces with his brothers to cheer on the team.
A man of only 22 but several team-mates who survived the crash have told his family that his last words were "If this is the end, then I'm ready for it".