NI-born players have been opting for ROI for some time now, esp at lower age groups, so this is nothing new.
I take more comfort from the example of Tony Kane and Michael O'Connor (players more advanced in their careers, btw), who have come back into the fold.
The likes of Folan, Best and Bruce are different from e.g. Gibson in two crucial respects.
First, Gibson learned his football in NI and was a product of our youth system etc.
Second, his recruitment followed the unilateral tearing up by the FAI of the Gentleman's Agreement between the FAI and IFA whereby neither would select players from each other's territory.
Neither applies to Folan, Best and Bruce who, having been born and developed outside of Ireland, are "fair game" for ROI, NI, Scotland or anyone else to try to attract.
Of course, the country of their birth (England) might consider that these players are being "poached" from them, except that such matters are subject to a voluntary agreement between the four 'home' countries, an agreement which is observed to the letter and the spirit by all four.
P.S. I don't know the exact ancestry of either Folan or Best, but Bruce "qualified" via a granny from Bangor, Co.Down. Which I guess you know is in NI...
Curiously, you omit to mention that he expressed no affiliation with either team, opting for ROI solely because he felt "they were a better team"! Oh how we laughed, as the ROI stumbled from embarrassment to crisis under Father Dougal Staunton...
Anyhow, it certainly helped his chances of gaining international caps, since NI have at least 6 Centre Backs* who are ahead of him in the queue!
* - Before you ask, Hughes, Evans, Craigan, Baird, McAuley and Duff. And Craig Cathcart will likely overtake him before long, plus George McCartney can easily fill in at CB if we're short, so that would make him our 9th choice...
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