Tag Archives: ireland international football

With 2016 drawing to a close, a number of Irish players will be hoping to break into Martin O’Neill’s plans. This time last year very few would have anticipated Shane Duffy becoming an automatic starter or Callum O’Dowda making the grade at senior level. Here we take a look at some players hoping to establish themselves in the squad and …

With Munster set to tackle Leinster in Thomond Park on Monday and with Ulster having beaten Connacht on Friday, we look at what Ireland’s provinces might look like when it comes to football.  Ireland is a country that thrives on provincial and inter-county rivalry. This hasn’t always transferred to football, but these lineups could certainly make for some interesting games. _______ …

It was inevitable really that Daryl Horgan would find the pull factor of plying his trade in England too much at one point or another, and it was always a matter of when rather than if he would go given the season he’s had this year.  The first time I saw Horgan play was in the Under-16 National Cup final …

Goal of the season contender, anyone? It certainly is up there with the best. The Republic of Ireland international midfielder netted a stunning volley to give Burnley an early lead against Bournemouth at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon. Hendrick joined Burnley at the end of the transfer window from Championship side Derby County for a club record fee of £10.5 million, …

Dundalk went into Thursday’s Europa League game against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar with qualification to the later stages of the tournament still an achievable goal. Zenit St. Petersburg were the group’s runaway leaders leaving second place a possibility for the other three teams. Ireland manager Martin O’Neill and his assistant, Roy Keane, were both in attendance and rumours had been …

Kevin McHugh started his League of Ireland career in 1998, making his debut for Finn Harps against local side Fanad United. Since then, he has gone on to score over 170 goals for the Donegal club and has carved out a reputation as a cult hero in Ballybofey. However, with just three weeks left in the season, his long career came to …

Since Martin O’Neill took charge of the Ireland team there have been far more ups than downs. RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue has been there to cover them all. The pair’s post-match interviews have ranged from spiky disagreement to mutual jubilation. There is, though, an underlying mutual respect throughout. The RTÉ man isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions and O’Neill doesn’t hold …

Criticism when he’s out of the team and no praise when he’s in it. Martin O’Neill is getting hammered for a perceived lack of trust in playmaker Wes Hoolahan. But, the stats don’t back it up. Can we really summarise the Irish manager’s philosophy in the treatment of one player? Proof that Ireland are more than brute-strength and aggression, diminutive Hoolahan …

How many of us envy the life of a footballer? Getting to play the game for vast amounts of money sounds like the perfect scenario for millions of us who spent the majority of our childhood kicking a ball around. A few hours training and having a laugh with your mates each day before playing a match at the weekend. …

Venture capitalist and Angel investor Chris Sacca, who became a billionaire after investing in tech companies like Twitter, Uber and Instagram, is a big name in California’s famed tech hub Silicon Valley. Located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, the valley is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world and it’s a place where start-up companies …

When we think back to USA ’94, it’s hard to look past that astonishing victory over Italy. We often reminisce joyously about McGrath frustrating Roberto Baggio, Ray Houghton confounding Gianluca Pagliuca and Jack Charlton berating every nearby FIFA official. It’s quite easy to forget whatever else occurred during that tournament. We prefer to envisage the team as heroes and the …

“I would like him to be with us, if that’s at all possible.” These were Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill’s words on John O’Shea and Russia 2018, when appearing on TV3’s coverage of the Euro 2016 final. I’m a huge fan of O’Shea. I mean, what man can claim to have scored a last minute equaliser against the world …

The last weekend of June was supposed to be a momentous weekend for Irish sport. Ireland were going to clinch their first ever win over the Springboks and win the Junior World Cup in the rugby, they were going to eliminate host nation France at Euro 2016 in the football, and Meath were going to give it to Dublin in Croke Park and deny Jim Gavin’s …

The events of 18th November 2009 are well known to those who consider themselves fans of the French or, more pertinently, the Republic of Ireland national team. Sunday’s rematch between these two sides in the second round of the European Championships has been billed in most quarters as a chance for the Irish to finally exact their revenge upon their …

Midfield magicians have made the difference in the opening round of group games at Euro 2016. One such example is Dimitri Payet, who struck a stunning goal to get France off to a winning start against a dogged Romania side. Everything good that France created came through the West Ham playmaker, who could be one of the stars of the …

Republic of Ireland defender Richard Keogh wants to test himself against the very best players at Euro 2016 after holding his own against Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski during the qualifying campaign.  After starting on the fringes of Martin O’Neill’s squad at the beginning of the qualifying campaign, Keogh became an integral part of the side towards the end of the qualifiers – forming …

The Republic of Ireland shared the spoils with their Slovakian visitors on a night that was overshadowed by what looks like a season-ending injury to Newcastle Untied goalkeeper Rob Elliot and denting his chances of a place in the Irish squad heading to France this summer. The Slovakians kept the hosts busy throughout the game. However, star player Marek Hamšík had a …

On a night commemorating revolutionary leaders of 100 years ago, the Republic of Ireland football team may have identified a leader of their own as Blackburn Rovers defender Shane Duffy was outstanding during Ireland’s 1-0 win over Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.  Much of the pre-match focus centred around commemorating the likes of Padraig Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, James Connolly …