FA Ireland in America

[Stuttgart88]

THE first result of the FAI's search for new players in America will be seen this week when the Irish U-17s take part in the Nordic Cup.

Among Sean McCaffrey's 18-man squad for the tournament in Reykjavik is 15-year-old American-born defender Conor Murphy from Wallingford, Connecticut.

Murphy, whose maternal grandparents hail from Dundalk, has been tracked for the past six months by McCaffrey after the Irish manager was tipped off about his eligibility and eagerness to play for Ireland by an Irish-based cousin.

Ireland will face Denmark and Iceland in their group after tomorrow's first game against Norway.

IRISH U-17: Shane Redmond (Nottingham Forest), Andrew Callaghan (Millwall), Lorcan Fitzgerald (West Ham United), Chris Day (MK Dons), Garry Breen (Manchester City), Gavin Donoghue (Sunderland), Corie Tracey (St Josephs Boys), Mark O'Toole (Tottenham Hotspur), Stephen Lawless (Cherry Orchard), Shane Duggan (Fairview), Conor Murphy (South Central Connecticut), Michael Daly (Cherry Orchard), Donal McDermott (Manchester City), Karl Byrne (Belvedere), Killian Sheridan (Belvedere), Vincent Whelan (Wrexham), Terry Dixon (Tottenham Hotspur), Tom Lyons (Crystal Palace).

I wonder how mnay more American-born Irish will emerge over the years?

The US senior team has a Donovan, O'Brien, Conor Casey. Dempsey, Thornton & McBride!

PS: Looks like the building of a team of Gary Breens is gathering momentum :)

[thejollyrodger]

another defender , yipee :rolleyes:

[Fergie's Son]

America would be a great source of players for us. Interesting one this. I'll keep an eye out for him. You'd think we'd have loads out there, though I have to say, in recent years I think Irish-America and Ireland have moved further apart.
Or is that just me?

Short answer: It depends. I left Ireland in 1996 as a 21 year old and I still have trouble adjusting to the changes (I'm from the northside of Dublin for what it is worth). Ireland has gotten wealthier but decidely more cynical. There is an arrogance about the place that is both good and bad. Good because it drives the country towards greater development and improvement and bad because it's obnoxious and rather...dare I say it...American.

There is also a profound anti-Americanism in Ireland and a sense that Irish people are somehow "smarter" then Americans. This is also a good and bad thing. It's good to be cynical and question the US. Someone needs to hold it accountable. It is bad, however, to be so wildly misinformed (which so many Irish people are) as to assume that the actions of someone from the Bayou in Louisiana equate to the thoughts and opinions of a New Yorker. It would be like comparing Greece and Ireland. I get home several times a year and I'm getting a little tired of hearing how "stupid' Americans are. Ireland's economy would not survive but for the stupid Americans. These very same "stupid people" have created one of the greatest civilizations in human history. They are not perfect but they are a damn sight better than the alternative.

Ahhh, rant over. So yes, there is a divide but I don't think it is going to permenantly affect the relationship between the two countries.

[strangeirish]

Short answer: It depends. I left Ireland in 1996 as a 21 year old and I still have trouble adjusting to the changes (I'm from the northside of Dublin for what it is worth). Ireland has gotten wealthier but decidely more cynical. There is an arrogance about the place that is both good and bad. Good because it drives the country towards greater development and improvement and bad because it's obnoxious and rather...dare I say it...American.

There is also a profound anti-Americanism in Ireland and a sense that Irish people are somehow "smarter" then Americans. This is also a good and bad thing. It's good to be cynical and question the US. Someone needs to hold it accountable. It is bad, however, to be so wildly misinformed (which so many Irish people are) as to assume that the actions of someone from the Bayou in Louisiana equate to the thoughts and opinions of a New Yorker. It would be like comparing Greece and Ireland. I get home several times a year and I'm getting a little tired of hearing how "stupid' Americans are. Ireland's economy would not survive but for the stupid Americans. These very same "stupid people" have created one of the greatest civilizations in human history. They are not perfect but they are a damn sight better than the alternative.

Ahhh, rant over. So yes, there is a divide but I don't think it is going to permenantly affect the relationship between the two countries.

Nice post. I have lived here since '86 and have noticed a lot of what you have said. I'm not so sure that the Irish have become anti-American, but more so anti-Bush. In my mind, Bush has basically told Europe to go stuff it when it comes to US foreign policy and that in itself has created huge resentment over the years. Bush has turned a great Country upsidedown with his narrow mindedness and when he got re-elected, the 'stupid American' term became more prevalent. Land of the free and home of the insulated till Bush is gone! Rant eile over.

[thejollyrodger]

Bush and USA should be seperated. Of course Irish people dont hate americans, they hate USA because of Bush. When clinton was in power Ireland and irish people were in love with the USA. After guiantaeno bay , afganistan, iraq , etc no wonder people have become cynical. Once the democrats get back into power it will all change.


more importantly back to football !! we need to find an out and out striker in the usa. possibly find him when he is like 10 so he can come over and play with our underage setup.

[Colbert Report]

possibly find him when he is like 10

uh.........this IS the FAI we're talking about here. You know, the same people that didn't see Roy Keane, perhaps one of the greatest football players of all time in the world, until he was in what - 22?

[The Legend]

[QUOTE=vega007]uh......... Roy Keane, perhaps one of the greatest football players of all time in the world QUOTE]

errr... if you're not from Cork, I don't know who is... :D

[Colbert Report]

for Christs sake, I might be from Cork but that doesn't matter. The guy has been the anchor pin holding that team together for the past ten years or more. I'm not a Man U fan but I think it's indisputable that they have been one of the greatest dynastys in sports history....worldwide.

Keane is the captain and most important player on that dynasty.

[Superhoops]

uh.........this IS the FAI we're talking about here. You know, the same people that didn't see Roy Keane, perhaps one of the greatest football players of all time in the world, until he was in what - 22?
That is crap. Roy Keane was selected for Ireland's U-15, U-16 and Youth Team squads. He also won 4 caps for the U-21's and was captain of that team when he was 19. He was first capped at senior level against Chile in May 1991 when he was still 19.

[Qwerty]

Bush and USA should be seperated. Of course Irish people dont hate americans, they hate USA because of Bush. When clinton was in power Ireland and irish people were in love with the USA. After guiantaeno bay , afganistan, iraq , etc no wonder people have become cynical. Once the democrats get back into power it will all change.


more importantly back to football !! we need to find an out and out striker in the usa. possibly find him when he is like 10 so he can come over and play with our underage setup.



I live in the states and the only difference between US foreign policy under Bush versus Clinton is style and not substance, Clinton was statesmanlike but he could pull the odd 'let's bomb someplace foreign to get me outta the headlines' type of thing. It is ironic that Bush wanted to take an isolatioist position but 9-11 changed everything. As far as I can tell about 70% of Americans prefer the Bush approach of unambiguous unlilateralism versus true international co-operation. Most Americans hold the EU and UN in contempt, especially the French. The Democrats will have a more polished approach but I really don't see any significant change coming. The US holds the power and they don't need to share it with anyone.

Back to football and there is definitely a large pool of players available who could play for Ireland but I'm not sure we will see significant results.

Are we really doing all we can to develop soccer at grass roots level in Ireland? Couldn't the FAI try and help the kidswho go to England be more successful? Scoring the US for 'ready made' talent seems pretty cynical to me.

[Metrostars]

The USSF (US Soccer Fed) has a pretty good youth level set up.

They have the ODP (Olympic Development Program) which allows the best youth players within a particular state or region to be coached and play together.

The best players out of the ODP then go to the Bradenton Academy in Florida which is a special program for kids 14-17 yo(I think thats the age limit), they live on-site at that campus and receive accelerated high school teaching e.g. Freddie Adu graduated college last year at 15. The better known young americans have come through Bradenton such as Adu, Landon Donovan and Damarcus Beasley.

The ODP does have its problems though such as having to be well known or sometimes having to be in a certain click to get in. It's also been thought that a lot of hispanic kids have slipped through the cracks throughout the years mainly because their poor immigrant parents have not been able to pay whatever ODP fees or tuition that occur. But that has changed in the last few years.

Then there is also the college program where the non Bradenton kids can get a scholership at a college that has a good soccer program. Colleges such as UCLA, Virginia and Penn have a good track record. Even a few kids from Ireland have gone to US colleges on a soccer scholership.

[tetsujin1979]

I see Ronnie O'Brien scored against Fulham for the All Stars, any chance of him getting a call up?

[Metrostars]

I see Ronnie O'Brien scored against Fulham for the All Stars, any chance of him getting a call up?

O'Brien is well loved over here in the US and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the league. While I don't know much of his exploits prior to coming here, he certainly has performed great for Dallas. He's gotten a few nice goals this season :
http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/MLS/sights/index.jsp?club=fcd

[Dotsy]

O'Brien is well loved over here in the US and is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the league. While I don't know much of his exploits prior to coming here, he certainly has performed great for Dallas. He's gotten a few nice goals this season :
http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/MLS/sights/index.jsp?club=fcd

Good article in the SundayTimes on Ronnie O'Brien. It wouldn't be any harm for Kerr to give him a call up for a friendly.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1715042,00.html

[Plastic Paddy]

In order to avoid the recycling of debate surrounding Ronnie O'Brien, here's proof positive that we've done it all before...

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=14397

:ball: PP

[Stuttgart88]

The Dave Hannigan article suggests the previous relationship between Kerr & O'Brien could be a factor behind his ommission. Who can tell if this is true or not? I don't think many of us can objectively comment on how good O'Brien is so I reckon we've just got to trust Kerr's judgment.

There have been a lot of occasions where Kerr has omitted players from squads even when they've had good claims to a place. Dunne, Delap, S. Reid & Harte spring to mind whereas, in my opinion, players like Barrett, Maybury & Colgan have been very fortunate to have made the cut. In such cases I hope it's just Kerr exercising his judgment rather than due to any ingrained favouritism or grudges being harboured.

I'd love to see Kerr being more transparent in his squad selections but it ain't gonna happen.

[drinkfeckarse]

It's a decent article. It wouldn't do any harm to have him involved in the upcoming friendly to get a look at him. It sounds as if he's in the form of his life and we're not so well blessed with creative midfielders that we should write him off I think.

Nothing to lose at all.