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Michael has been publicly trying to recruit Northern Irish Catholics who have previously rejected the notion of playing for the ‘North.’ The fundamental problem he has is that this would require them to renounce their sense of identity. Everton’s Shane Duffy, for example, was brought up in Derry City and played Gaelic football for Doire Colmcille. He is an Irishman, not a Northerner. Which is why he has repeatedly stated he will never play for Northern Ireland.
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The reality is that the two cultures remain firmly segregated.
Nigel Worthington, during his tenure as Northern Ireland manager, described the notion of a citizen from the ‘north’ declaring for the ‘south’ as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘a loophole.’
Graham Luney, an influential journalist who writes for the largely protestant Belfast Telegraph wrote: ‘We cannot afford to carry passengers who are dreaming of wearing the colours of another national team. Let players chase other countries if they want to.’
His newspaper routinely refers to the ‘Londonderry-born McClean’ and the ‘Londonderry-born Duffy!’
Michael O’Neill’s crusade is futile. Some follow the green, white and gold. Some the red, white and blue.
It is far more than a flag.
