Under-15 Squad

[elatedscum]

Both of Stephen Ireland’s kids shared congrats to Heffernan. I wonder was that a connection made in Cork? Can’t imagine it was international. I guess Josh would be a year older than him and Jacob would be younger? Both are considered very promising and so far, Josh has played for England...

[tetsujin1979]

Ireland has had a hand in organising the trial apparently - https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/15-year-old-son-of-olympians-rob-and-marian-heffernan-set-to-train-with-juventus-and-ac-milan-40171877.html

It's understood that former Ireland international Stephen Ireland has become involved in trying to open doors to Europe and Heffernan is one of the players he has been putting forward.
I think I read before that he had started a scouting company, or possibly a football agency?

[Eirambler]

You'd have to think there's an opening here for an English club to partner with an Irish side and fund a decent level academy somewhere on the island to get around the Brexit rules. It would need an outlay of a few million to set it all up but the team that did it would have first pick on all the best 16 and 17 year old kids in the country - obviously for parents of kids in the Republic it would be preferable to having to travel to the continent after Brexit and they could stay in the Irish education system but it would potentially attract the best young NI kids as well if it was in Dublin or somewhere along the M1 like Dundalk.

Just a thought. Having 15 and 16 year olds like Heffernan and Zefi heading out to Italy is far from ideal.

[Olé Olé]

You'd have to think there's an opening here for an English club to partner with an Irish side and fund a decent level academy somewhere on the island to get around the Brexit rules. It would need an outlay of a few million to set it all up but the team that did it would have first pick on all the best 16 and 17 year old kids in the country - obviously for parents of kids in the Republic it would be preferable to having to travel to the continent after Brexit and they could stay in the Irish education system but it would potentially attract the best young NI kids as well if it was in Dublin or somewhere along the M1 like Dundalk.

Just a thought. Having 15 and 16 year olds like Heffernan and Zefi heading out to Italy is far from ideal.

Why do you think that? Do you mean as an alternative to Ireland or England or both? With regards to England, obviously there is a language barrier and it is further away than England but the language barrier can be overcome, there is likely to be a lot of lads there that don't speak Italian and the flights will not be an issue I would imagine. In comparison to Ireland, I would assume (happy to be corrected) that the coaching at these Italian clubs is ahead of those at our LOI clubs and the LOI clubs are playing catch up on that front.

[Eirambler]

No question the coaching in Italy will be ahead of League of Ireland clubs as things stand. This is why these lads are looking at leaving, it's their best shot of a career in the game.

But countless talented Irish players have failed in the game because they couldn't settle in the UK at a young age, even with the same language and a lot of cultural similarities. It's going to be even worse now that the UK is off limits for under 18s. While some will obviously settle just fine in a new environment in mainland Europe, more players than ever will fail and end up back home at 20 or 21 with no football career prospects and no education qualifications to their name either.

We might have a weak senior team at the moment but we do produce a fair amount of talent overall. I'd say we'd produce even more if there was a realistic route to making it in the game without needing to leave the country at 16.

[tetsujin1979]

Cathal Heffernan going to Italy for trials with Atalanta, Juventus, Milan, and Roma
Heffernan signed his first professional contract with cork city today: https://www.corkcityfc.ie/home/2021/06/16/cathal-heffernan-signs-professional-contract/

Mentions in the article that Liam Kearney is head of the academy at Cork City, there's a real blast from the past

[CSAD]

Surprised he hasn’t signed for one of the Italian clubs, probably one of the top prospects at the club.

I wonder what’s taking so long for Zefi to be announced by Inter (or wherever he ends up goin).

[tommy_c12000]

Can someone comment on the recent trend of 16 year olds signing professional contracts with LOI clubs please? (Or maybe they always did this except it was never highlighted or I was ignorant?!) Are clubs doing this to protect their assets and does it permit them to command a higher fee in future or still a developmental fee, and how does age factor in with this fee? And is it a direct result of Brexit with 16 year olds now signing professional contracts with LOI and staying put until 18?

So with Cathal, will the plan be to stay at Cork City until 18 and move to England…so perhaps no Italian offers or even he’s decided the continental pathway isn’t the right one for him at this time?

[Charlie Darwin]

I wonder what’s taking so long for Zefi to be announced by Inter (or wherever he ends up goin).
He's only been legally allowed to sign a contract for a couple of months.

[pineapple stu]

Can someone comment on the recent trend of 16 year olds signing professional contracts with LOI clubs please?
The U17s league only came in a few years ago, so prior to that you'd really only have had an U19/U20 team at LoI clubs, and the 15-year-olds would have been with the top schoolboy clubs.

But in line with UEFA requirements, all LoI clubs now have teams down to U13, so I presume that's what you're seeing.

[CSAD]

How do the contracts work though because im seeing that Zefi is only allowed sign a contract for a couple of months yet you then get players like David Okagbue who played a full season at Stoke last season.

[Charlie Darwin]

How do the contracts work though because im seeing that Zefi is only allowed sign a contract for a couple of months yet you then get players like David Okagbue who played a full season at Stoke last season.
I don't know what age he is but the rules changed on January 1st, 2021, where players had to be 18 before signing a contract there. FIFA would probably prefer to have 18 as the hard and fast rule worldwide but free movement means they're not able to place the same restrictions on people moving between two EU countries.

[tetsujin1979]

Caden McLoughlin was part of the Villareal side that won the regional championship: https://villarrealcf.es/en/news/item/30972-the-u16s-are-crowned-champions

[elatedscum]

How do the contracts work though because im seeing that Zefi is only allowed sign a contract for a couple of months yet you then get players like David Okagbue who played a full season at Stoke last season.

This is my basic understanding. You can sign transfer from one EU country to the other once you turn 16. Different countries have different rules regarding signing pro-deals within the EU.

UK clubs can't sign EU players till 18, perhaps with the exception of Irish players due to the common travel area. That was certainly unclear.

In the UK, you've got Academy scholarships, which are almost always 2-year commitments, where the player finishes education with the club and plays for the academy. Those are at u17 and u18, culminating with the FA Youth Cup. 3rd year scholars do exist, but they're very rare. Up to u16, players are only allowed play for a team within a certain distance of where they live, so u17 tends to be an age group where clubs shuffle the deck a lot, because they'll lose players to clubs further afield and they can target players from anywhere in the country. Obviously, there's other stuff which is pretty common, where a family are 'encouraged' to move to an area, making them eligible to sign at u16 or younger, but going by the rules that's the change. In terms of how much time is spent training and how seriously things are taken, u17 is really the big change there, partly because of what we said above and partly because partly because about half of an academy side's players will be released after u16 (because basically two teams are morphing into one at academy level, as in, you've got 14s, 15s, 16s, 18s. So you need half your players to progress at that point to have a full squad). Also till recently, you would have had all the EU players arriving at u17, so they'd take up some academy u17 spots.

As an academy player, you can sign a pro-deal once you turn 17. But it's not uncommon for players to progress without signing a pro deal, because they've basically agreed a commitment for another year anyway. Arsenal and City have had players who progressed without a deal. Jadon Sancho refused a contract at 17 and that ultimately led to him leaving for Dortmund.

There are rules regarding that minimum and maximum length of contracts for young players. I remember Gareth Barry (or possibly Lee Hendry but I'm pretty sure Barry) signed a 7 year contract as a teenager, which might have contributed to the change. There used to be a minimum 2 years on a pro deal or a pro deal renewal under 20, but I'm pretty sure that's now gone and it's now 1 year minimum.

[tetsujin1979]

This is my basic understanding. You can sign transfer from one EU country to the other once you turn 16. Different countries have different rules regarding signing pro-deals within the EU.

UK clubs can't sign EU players till 18, perhaps with the exception of Irish players due to the common travel area. That was certainly unclear.
This was clarified a few months ago, the exception only applies to Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh, and English players: https://www.the42.ie/irish-football-brexit-5289379-Dec2020/


As an academy player, you can sign a pro-deal once you turn 17. But it's not uncommon for players to progress without signing a pro deal, because they've basically agreed a commitment for another year anyway. Arsenal and City have had players who progressed without a deal. Jadon Sancho refused a contract at 17 and that ultimately led to him leaving for Dortmund.There was a bit more to it, Sancho refused to appear at training without guarantees about playing for the first team, so the club decided to sell him.

[CSAD]

I heard somewhere that a Irish player could potentially sign for an English club if they are located within 100km of their ground or something like that.

Could be another loophole.

[tetsujin1979]

I heard somewhere that a Irish player could potentially sign for an English club if they are located within 100km of their ground or something like that.

Could be another loophole.
I think that only applies if their family moves to the country for non-footballing reasons. So, say a parent gets a job in the university in Liverpool, their child could sign for Liverpool, Everton, or Tranmere. The difficulty is proving that the move was for non-footballing reasons, and not to sign for the club.

[elatedscum]

This was clarified a few months ago, the exception only applies to Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh, and English players: https://www.the42.ie/irish-football-brexit-5289379-Dec2020/

I wonder though, given we have a travel area, could a player’s family freely move to the uk and bypass that ruling in a way that way, in a way another EU citizen couldn’t? Or could I move to live with my London based uncle at 16? There have been a few moves announced which might suggest there’s some form of workaround possible.


There was a bit more to it, Sancho refused to appear at training without guarantees about playing for the first team, so the club decided to sell him.

I think there was even more to it, in that the club forced him to train alone until he signed and then he stopped showing up, which isn’t really how it’s portrayed today.

He also could have moved for next to nothing due to moving abroad and not having signed a pro deal, but Dortmund were happy to pay £8m (a relative bargain) to avoid a long-drawn out legal situation and to get the deal done, where City accused the player, the agent and club of plenty...

[elatedscum]

I heard somewhere that a Irish player could potentially sign for an English club if they are located within 100km of their ground or something like that.

Could be another loophole.

That’s true of land borders anyway. Not sure if it’s 50 or 100 but I guess 100. Basically players can’t sign for clubs within another country below 16/18 (EU/non-EU) - but if you live within 100km of a club, you can play for them even if they cross a national border. That’s how Laporte and Griezmann ended up playing for Basque clubs while living in France (although I think griezmann perhaps involved some creative attending of a boarding school or something).

The law is basically designed so that if you live right on the border, you’re not disadvantaged because of it and barred from playing for a team half an hour down the road from you, just because they cross a border. Really wasn’t designed for trips across the Irish Sea I don’t think - but perhaps the rule is written in such a way that it applies... I’d assume the fact the distance across the Irish Sea is over 100km makes it all moot

[tommy_c12000]

And how about the trend of 16 year olds signing professional contracts with LOI clubs. I know pineapple stu partly answered it with the adoption if the LOI underage leagues. But it seems like a big financial undertaking for LOI clubs for players who play minimally for their senior team (Johnny Kenny aside of course)…so assume it allows them to protect their assets a bit better? If a 16 or 17 year old on a professional contract transfers to Europe or UK (vía one of the loopholes), is it still just a developmental fee or can LOI hold out for worthy transfer amounts?

[CSAD]

That’s true of land borders anyway. Not sure if it’s 50 or 100 but I guess 100. Basically players can’t sign for clubs within another country below 16/18 (EU/non-EU) - but if you live within 100km of a club, you can play for them even if they cross a national border. That’s how Laporte and Griezmann ended up playing for Basque clubs while living in France (although I think griezmann perhaps involved some creative attending of a boarding school or something).

The law is basically designed so that if you live right on the border, you’re not disadvantaged because of it and barred from playing for a team half an hour down the road from you, just because they cross a border. Really wasn’t designed for trips across the Irish Sea I don’t think - but perhaps the rule is written in such a way that it applies... I’d assume the fact the distance across the Irish Sea is over 100km makes it all moot

That’s the thing, let’s say a player is wanted by an English club they could get the parent of a player a job in the city, then after that they can sign the player. I’ve heard that’s a way it can be done.

[tetsujin1979]

Interview with Kevin Zefi ahead of his move to Inter: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/21426a5a-f225-11eb-85a3-e343ea3487e6?shareToken=ae4f0e68e1bba0ee6ca4004f8c 3a9dcc

[livehead1]

Interview with Kevin Zefi ahead of his move to Inter: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/21426a5a-f225-11eb-85a3-e343ea3487e6?shareToken=ae4f0e68e1bba0ee6ca4004f8c 3a9dcc

The prevalence of the "I am keeping my options open" internationally is one of the main reasons I care so much less about international football than 10 years ago.

[tetsujin1979]

U15s V Montenegro is being stream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5I8_koheRM

[tetsujin1979]

Under 15s played a friendly against Mexico today, Brandon Finn on the subs bench is John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa's brother
1466380070747049985

[tetsujin1979]

U15s playing two friendlies against Poland this week, first game kicking off at 11.
Line up below, and a link to a stream on YouTube
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[JR89]

Jay McEvoy is the younger brother of Rio McEvoy who was in training camps for both us and NI last year. Has three caps for us at U18s level. Jaden Umeh is the younger brother of U19s player Franco Umeh.

[MylesNotMiley]

Anyone know more about Ramon Martos from Almeria and how he's eligible for us?

[elatedscum]

Not sure how he’s eligible but read something in Spanish saying he was very good (possibly playing a level above himself and captaining the side at club level?). Here he is here:

https://www.udalmeriasad.com/en/notice/uda-u16-b-youngsters-ruben-liduena-and-ramon-martos-receive-calls-ups-to-national-teams

And he was mentioned as our biggest threat in the report of the game against Cyprus u15s.

Haven’t seen any of them play a full game but have heard good things about Grady McDonnell (born in Vancouver), Ade Solanke and Brody Lee from Rovers, Jayden Umeh, Michael Noonan and the back up keeper Luke Cullen.

[tetsujin1979]

second game against Poland just kicked off, stream on YouTube
1591007829921603586

[Olé Olé]

Jay McEvoy is the younger brother of Rio McEvoy who was in training camps for both us and NI last year. Has three caps for us at U18s level. Jaden Umeh is the younger brother of U19s player Franco Umeh.

Not sure what the craic is with Rio. Sounds like he has been hedging his bets a little and we have a lot of options at his age. His mother is from Newry which is how he qualifies for the North but his father is Dundalk so you'd have to think there's not much affinity towards NI.

There's a third brother, Kai, in the Man United academy. Some going that all three have spent or are spending time there.

[Olé Olé]

U15s playing two friendlies against Poland this week, first game kicking off at 11.
Line up below, and a link to a stream on YouTube
1589920675170598912

Glenn McCourt and Oli Devlin of Derry are on the bench and fresh from playing with NI a couple of weeks back. Jay McEvoy was playing too:

https://www.irishfa.com/news/2022/october/northern-ireland-u15s-suffer-defeat-to-slovenia

Was scanning through that NI side. They have a lad called Noah McDonnell who is attending an Irish speaking school in Belfast and captained the side:
https://www.irishnews.com/sport/footballsoccer/2021/04/12/news/joe-noah-mcdonnell-father-and-son-dusting-themselves-down-from-lockdown-2284647/

[elatedscum]

i was at the latvia u15 game today. some interesting names in the squad:
https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/mu15-squad-named-for-latvia-friendlies-in-dublin

Ali Topcu who was an unused sub and is a keeper for Shels, he's the younger brother of Emre Topcu who is a Turkey u18 who plays for Drogheda.
Christian Coyle of Bohs is in the link above that Ole posted, on the bench for NI. He played right back and was good and composed. Think he might be Robbie Coyle's kid.


First time seeing these lads in person. Ramon Martos was the best footballer on the pitch - reminded me of Ferizaj. Dictated the game, first half at number 10, second half in centre midfield and a few minutes at centre back. Really good.

In some respects, it's hard to judge because the opposition were so so poor or Ireland were so dominant but it easily could have been 12-0.

Jaydon Umeh impressed, very good first half in particular, curious to see which brother will be the better one, him or Franco.

Ade Solanke captained the side at left back and was good. Nothing extravagant but a good polished footballer.

Don't think either of the keepers (Cullen and Noonan) had a save to make.

The centre halves weren't tested at all defensively but looked good: Sam Stewart of Pats was the taller of the pair and both him and Oisin McDonagh carried the ball well and passed well and won their headers - but hard to judge against that quality of opposition.

The remainder of the starts had good moments and bad moments. Chukwu took his goal well and showed real pace at times but still a work in progress. Akinrintayo up top scored two as well - a tap in to open the scoring and a penalty, which he won well - but equally there were times he was waiting for the pass and was robbed, Oladiti and Ogbonna in midfield the same - curious to see them against better opposition cause it's still a work in progress.

There were some really interesting lads off the bench: Aaron Heaney was about 4'8 and looked physically like a 12 year old, skinny as anything - but jesus he could play. Could be outstanding once he matures and grows. Really great close control, and passing. He could struggle against better opposition currently just cause of his stature but he was the real surprise.

Also off the bench, all of Grady McDonnell, Billy O'Neill and Michael Noonan took their goals well and in their own ways looked really impressive. McDonnell showed an impressive range of passing. Michael Noonan was a physical unit and had two or three really impressive moments and Billy O'Neill was really bright and full of energy and spark.

Disappointed not to have seen Brody Lee involved as I've heard good things but possibly he'll play in the second game. Kian McMahon Brown of Burnley and Rory Finneran of Blackburn were also used, Finneran in midfield until Brown came on - and then he moved to centre half. Neither really had enough time in midfield to make a real judgement.

[elatedscum]

I saw the squad for the tournament in Italy was announced today, in that context, never got the chance to say I went to the second 15s game against Latvia as well. Brody Lee was very impressive as expected. Also there were a few players playing in different positions who really stood out.

Solanke, who played the previous game at left back, was in centre back and looked really good. Similarly, Oladiti who played the previous game in midfield and struggled a little, he looked really good at right back. Similarly, Goodness Ogbana who previously played in midfield, came on on the left wing. All three went up in my estimation playing in those positions.


Ali Topcu was in goal for 60 mins, didn't have a save to make - but looked excellent with his feet - not the tallest at this age. Ramon Matos still the best player on the pitch. Positive displays across the pitch really - was an overall better display than the previous game - the lads from Blackburn (McMahon Brown) and Burnley (Finneran) looked better - the kid Grady McDonnell from Vancouver also looked good.


There was a young lad Sam Rooney who came off the bench and scored a peach but not really enough time to see him in action. I’d love to see them against a better side. Latvia probably only had 3 players who were anywhere near the same calibre as the irish kids.

[tetsujin1979]

Squad announced for an end of season tournament in Italy: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/mu15-ireland-head-to-italy-for-end-of-season-tournament

Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-15 Squad
Goalkeepers: Alex Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Ali Topcu (Shelbourne)

Defenders: Christian Coyle (Bohemians), Tayo Dunne (U.S Cap d’Ail Monaco), Oisin McDonagh (Shamrock Rovers), Cead McGrath (Finn Harps), Muhammad Oladiti (Shamrock Rovers), Ade Solanke (Shamrock Rovers), Sam Steward (St.Patrick’s Athletic)

Midfielders: Daniel Costello (Bohemians), Rory Finneran (Blackburn Rovers), Ramon Martos (Almeria), Grady McDonnell (Vancouver Whitecaps), Goodness Ogbonna (Shamrock Rovers), Oskar Schubo Keeley (Bohemians), Finn Sherlock (Shelbourne)

Forwards: Billy Hayes (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Max Kovalevskis (Shamrock Rovers), Brody Lee (Shamrock Rovers), Michael Noonan (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Billy O'Neill (Bray Wanderers), Jayden Umeh (Cork City)


Tayo Dunne is Richard Dunne's son.
Is Alan Kelly Jnr the last son of a former international to play for Ireland at senior level?

[tetsujin1979]

first game just kicked off, live on facebook
1650882339117907973

[JR89]

You just love to see it. Finished 3-1 with the other two goals coming from St Pat's Michael Noonan who plays the ball in behind for Lee, and Cork City's Jaden Umeh whose the younger brother of U19s player Franco Umeh.

1651130645211389952

[tetsujin1979]

https://media4.giphy.com/media/XfQDOtD76NF3wPatC0/giphy.gif

Brody Lee.

Fun fact, the guy getting ragdolled in that gif is the son of actor Luke Perry(Dylan from Beverly Hills 90210)

[JR89]

https://media4.giphy.com/media/XfQDOtD76NF3wPatC0/giphy.gif

Brody Lee.

Fun fact, the guy getting ragdolled in that gif is Luke Perry's son

He's also the first guy I think of everytime I see Brody Lee mentioned for the U15s. You a wrestling fan Tets?

[tetsujin1979]

Yes, and no. During lockdown I got into the habit of watching wrestling videos on YouTube. I'm still working from home at the moment, and in the office once a week, so I usually watch the whatculture news with Adam Wilbourn and Andy H Murray on my lunchbreak.
I haven't watched Raw, or Smackdown, or AEW in months, but I did check out WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble. It's fun and pointless and passes the time.

[elatedscum]

won the tournament with a 2-1 win against the italians. the italians hit the post where they could have made it 2-1, then ireland went down the other end and should have scored an open goal, instead the attacker gets fouled and we miss the subsequent penalty

[tetsujin1979]

The U15s played Serbia earlier, game was streamed on YouTube
RGCoStFQ-24

[tetsujin1979]

U15s are defending their title in the Torneo Delle Nazioni this week. The won the group opener against the United Arab Emirates yesterday and face North Macedonia tomorrow, with two further fixtures depending on results in the other group
Squad: https://www.fai.ie/latest/mu15-squad-announced-italy-tournament/


Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-15

Goalkeepers: Darragh Brunton (St. Patrick’s Athletic), George Moloney (Southampton)

Defenders: Danny Burke (Shamrock Rovers), Ben Dumigan (Cork City) Ike Manjor (Treaty United), Tadhg Prizeman (Shamrock Rovers), Alan Sattell (Shamrock Rovers), Sean Spaight (Dundalk)

Midfielders: Joe Byrne (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Brody Collins (Shamrock Rovers), Richard Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers), Joel McPhail (Shamrock Rovers), Jason Spelman (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Niall Sullivan (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Kian Quigley (St. Patrick Athletic)

Forwards: Desmond Armstrong (Shamrock Rovers), David Dunne (Cork City), TJ Molloy (Dundalk), Victor Ozihianvuna (Shamrock Rovers), Samuel Ogungbe (St. Patrick’s Athletic)

Goals from the 4-0 win against UAE, second and fourth are really good
1783896321369284957

[tetsujin1979]

Lineup for today's game
1784238352599802283

[tetsujin1979]

4-1 win for the U15s, who will face Austria in the semi final tomorrow(Monday)
1784560696455242071

[tetsujin1979]

Squad announced for a tournament in Croatia
1835619648274120842
Aliyev plays for a club in Germany I've never heard of - https://www.sgf1903.de/

[tetsujin1979]

Friendly against Croatia today, streaming link in the team announcement below
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[tetsujin1979]

U15 squad named for the Torneo Delle Nazioni tournament, games will be streamed on the tournament's facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/gradiscacalciogiovanile
https://www.fai.ie/latest/bu15-ireland-squad-announced-torneo-delle-nazioni/

Goalkeepers: Alex Byrne (Shamrock Rovers), Charlie McGarvey (Sligo Rovers).

Defenders: Maxim Afonin (Shamrock Rovers), Rian Ennis ( Shamrock Rovers), Jayden Marshall (Shamrock Rovers), Kimson Kibaga (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Ben Nicholls (Bohemians), Charlie Nolan (Shamrock Rovers).

Midfielders: Aydin Aliyev (SpVgg Greuther Furth), Johnny Collins (Shamrock Rovers), Ciaran Daly (Shamrock Rovers), Blake Devereux Lynch (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Josh O’Dwyer (Shamrock Rovers), Adrian Rascau (Bohemians), Bobby Zeller (Shamrock Rovers).

Forwards: Jonathan Echefu (Galway United), Corey Fay (Shamrock Rovers), Ethan Kelly (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Daniel O’Halloran (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Archie Quinn (Shamrock Rovers).

[nigel-harps1954]

Republic of Dublin.

[seanfhear]

Republic of Dublin.The Pail in the Pale !