Jack Grealish

**DeLorean** · 21/04/2015, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by TrapAPony

Absolutely. Lads like Grealish I'm sure like to be going to tournaments not staying at home watching them.

Jack likes watching them too, supporting us but wanting England to win.

**Ol� Ol�** · 21/04/2015, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Deckydee

Excellent Article: http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/s...ne-325159.html

I'm completely perplexed about Grealish's background.

Some sources state his father was born in Dublin. This article states he's actually English-born: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...-10190769.html#
The Examiner article above states that his mother has brothers who live on Pearse Street in Dublin.
That Independent.co.uk article also states that his great-grandfather has a cap for England- Billy Garratty.
We have seen his paternal grandmother is from Sneem- Margaret Grealish. She was mentioned by Tony O'Donoghue at the FAI awards.
That Independent.co.uk article states he has "a set" of Irish grandparents. How many is a set? 2? Well, if his great-grandfather was English, we can assume that the grandparent born to Garratty was English also. And that has to have been on the maternal side because his paternal grandfather was named Grealish and his grandmother is from Kerry. But, what of the uncles living on Pearse Street?

**TrapAPony** · 21/04/2015, 1:10 PM

His father and mother were born in England. His father's parents are from Kerry and Galway & his mother's father is from Dublin. Jack has 3/4 grandparents that are Irish. Kevin Grealish said it on TALKSPORT this morning. Can be heard here :

http://talksport.com/football/exclus...-claims-father

**Ol� Ol�** · 21/04/2015, 1:49 PM

Originally Posted by TrapAPony

His father and mother were born in England. His father's parents are from Kerry and Galway & his mother's father is from Dublin. Jack has 3/4 grandparents that are Irish. Kevin Grealish said it on TALKSPORT this morning. Can be heard here :

http://talksport.com/football/exclus...-claims-father

Thanks for clearing that up. So I would assume that his mother's father married the daughter of Billy Garratty. Other than that, the rest are Irish. Hard to tell whether the Examiner's assertion that his mother's brothers are living on Pearse Street is correct but was hardly made up. They may have moved back.

Pretty steeped in Irishness, regardless. It's odd that his father appears to be quite flippant about the situation when making that joke about 45mins for each, given that he was born to two Irish parents.

**Bungle** · 21/04/2015, 1:57 PM

Originally Posted by Ol� Ol�

Thanks for clearing that up. So I would assume that his mother's father married the daughter of Billy Garratty. Other than that, the rest are Irish. Hard to tell whether the Examiner's assertion that his mother's brothers are living on Pearse Street is correct but was hardly made up. They may have moved back.

Pretty steeped in Irishness, regardless. It's odd that his father appears to be quite flippant about the situation when making that joke about 45mins for each, given that he was born to two Irish parents.

To be fair, Jack may feel very undecided about who he wants to play for. His dad may understand that and is trying to make a joke of it rather than nailing his colours to the mast. Hopefully, he ends up playing for us. He's certainly a player.

**shakermaker1982** · 21/04/2015, 5:19 PM

I didn't see the game on Sunday but everybody seems to be raving about him.

I did see him last season at County and he looked a player then. The only way of finding out if he wants to play for us is calling him up for the games in June!

I did read MO'N comments about him not being ready for the Scotland game but I'd argue that bossing a semi final at Wembley is a bigger occasion than a qualifier vs Scotland. If he can cope with Wembley he can cope with anything.

I do really hope the lad stays with us. Hopefully he appreciates the fact that the current management set up have been patient with him and gave him a bit of breathing space when he needed it. He'd have been hounded to death by the press over here and branded a traitor to St George if England had called him up and he said he wanted to concentrate on club football.

**Stuttgart88** · 21/04/2015, 5:20 PM

Sam Wallace, in an otherwise fair article in the Indy, pointed to his Irish grandparents' parents being English, and every other bit of his family being English. He overlooked the clearly Irish upbringing the lad had with his GAA heritage etc.

**Ol� Ol�** · 21/04/2015, 5:35 PM

Originally Posted by TrapAPony

His father and mother were born in England. His father's parents are from Kerry and Galway & his mother's father is from Dublin. Jack has 3/4 grandparents that are Irish. Kevin Grealish said it on TALKSPORT this morning. Can be heard here :

http://talksport.com/football/exclus...-claims-father

Had a listen to that there. The father didn't really get drawn on the matter really. His wording is also very ambiguous and the main thing is he states it's up to Jack. His nervous laugh after 'the half each' comment does indeed suggest it was a nervous joke to relieve a little bit of tension.

**DannyInvincible** · 21/04/2015, 6:26 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Sam Wallace, in an otherwise fair article in the Indy, pointed to his Irish grandparents' parents being English, and every other bit of his family being English. He overlooked the clearly Irish upbringing the lad had with his GAA heritage etc.

The parents of Jack's Irish grandparents (the ones from Kerry and Galway?) are English?

**TrapAPony** · 21/04/2015, 6:39 PM

Basically Sam hasn't a clue what he's talking about.

**TheOneWhoKnocks** · 21/04/2015, 7:02 PM

I don't know how anything that happened at the FAI awards changes circumstances.

Do they honestly expect the boy to say "thanks for the award and oh yeah i am playing for England if they want me".

His body language, what he said.... it wasn't a firm committal. It was politeness. We are still in the hunt. No need to go running to the hills.

They were singing along to The Dubliners were they? That's what everyone does when they go to Ireland. The amount of American celebrities I seen singing along and enjoying themselves at trad sessions when i was a barman in a well known tourist town.

**Charlie Darwin** · 21/04/2015, 7:09 PM

Well he could have asked to be withdrawn from the running for the award, like Stephen Ireland did.

**TheOneWhoKnocks** · 21/04/2015, 7:09 PM

And what Dunphy is saying is, frankly, moronic.

The boy was called up to at least two senior squads and declined.

What are O'Neill & Keane supposed to do? Don't put this on them. He is a grown man and can make his own decision.

Frankly, I would probably start him against Scotland but who is to say he would accept a call up?

Early next season is the earliest he
Will make a decision, isn't it?

And another thing. Grealish "confirmed that he would be taking a year out with King". Nobody must have had the courtesy to tell O'Neill & Keane so judging by all of their media comments.

**Stuttgart88** · 21/04/2015, 7:42 PM

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

The parents of Jack's Irish grandparents (the ones from Kerry and Galway?) are English?

That's what he said. Great grandfather played for Villa.

**TrapAPony** · 21/04/2015, 7:50 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

That's what he said. Great grandfather played for Villa.

Jack's great-great grandfather played for Villa and he is related on his mother's side obviously through his mother's mother.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spor...fa-cup-9067929

**SkStu** · 21/04/2015, 7:58 PM

reminds me of Damien Duff in this one...

**DeLorean** · 21/04/2015, 9:41 PM

JACK GREALISH.. THE STORY THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED

Daniel McDonnell - Aviva Soccer Writer

It is the story that cannot be ignored.

Last September, this writer argued that Jack Grealish needed time and space to consider his international future. Putting pressure on him risked a fatigue that can be counterproductive.

When the teenager drew attention to the Irish situation himself with a couple of vague shamrock-laden tweets and later hinted via social media that he was none too impressed with Paul Lambert�s selection policy, it bred the suspicion that the eminently marketable poster boy enjoyed a bit of publicity. This polarised opinions with a number of current and ex pros giving the impression they were a bit unsure about the Aston Villa teenager.

The comments of Martin O�Neill over the past year would suggest he was in that category, most recently last Thursday when he argued that the player wouldn�t be ready for the rigours of June�s Euro 2016 qualifier with Scotland if he made himself available. Remember, as it stands, Grealish is on a self imposed international break until September.

Then, Sunday happened, a composed performance at Wembley with a role in the two goals that booked Aston Villa�s place in the FA Cup final at the expense of Liverpool. Instantly, it has altered a perception.

Tim Sherwood�s arrival in Birmingham has given Grealish the platform he desired � he responded with a cheeky �About time� when he was told his full debut was imminent � and crucially the player has demonstrated that the hype existed for a reason.

One game does not make a career, but the attributes he showcased backed up the belief that he could be a special talent.

Inevitably, it brought his international intentions back to the top of the agenda, with the English media now intrigued by an individual that has generated massive column inches in these parts because so few talented cubs are knocking on the door.

The Daily Mail wrote that the FA needed to get on the case as it had �emerged� that Grealish had met with Martin O�Neill; this news had emerged in Ireland last August so it was not a new development. What we do know is that England have made advances to Grealish and his father and are desperately trying to get him to switch his allegiance.

The crucial word here is switch. As it stands, Grealish is an Irish player. He�s worn the green jersey through the underage ranks and said last month that he was hoping to come back in September after three generations of the family were present at the FAI awards in Donnybrook.

The winger with a playmaking streak has made friends in the Irish set-up and it is too simplistic to assume that a call from England would make him drop everything and defect; that�s actually quite insulting and underestimates the fact that he�s rejected approaches before now.

He did pass up an opportunity to train with the Irish senior group last year, a decision that illustrated that he was mulling over his options and caused panic and indeed outrage in certain quarters.

The melodrama is unfair as it appears that Grealish is genuinely confused about his next move; his colleague Shay Given said as much on Newstalk on Monday night. Given painted a picture of a young man who is in two minds about a big decision that will have a major impact on the rest of his career.

One school of thought is that O�Neill should force the issue by calling the 19-year-old into his squad for the summer but the fact that the first game of the June double header is against England complicates that scenario; the Derryman would have to name his squad in the middle of May during the run-up to the FA Cup final and Aston Villa wouldn�t be best pleased about the circus that would create. That�s understandable.

Behind the scenes, Ireland have work to do but this would be an inappropriate juncture for an over the top public gesture. It�s hard to preach calm after such an exciting display, but the FAI still have reason to be confident they will get their man even if they have to wait a while. And what is abundantly clear is that Grealish is worth waiting for.

**Ol� Ol�** · 21/04/2015, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by TrapAPony

Jack's great-great grandfather played for Villa and he is related on his mother's side obviously through his mother's mother.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spor...fa-cup-9067929

So, yeah- 3 Irish grandparents out of 4. And to complicate matters further, the one strand of English blood he has (his maternal grandmother, Sylvia) directly descends from a former England international!

Miguel Delaney spoke well on the Second Captains podcast from Monday. He spoke about the complexity of the dual-national's identity that DI often refers to, stating that Grealish may be struggling to figure out whether he feels more English or Irish and he may even feel equally English and Irish.

Just on an aside, on the basis of the performance against Liverpool, I'd love to see him in the squad to face Scotland. It would add an extra spark. The reception he'd get off us in the Aviva would be immense also. Some may argue it's unfair to parachute him in and MON did state that he wouldn't be ready. But MON stated that before Grealish was instrumental in his club winning an FA Cup semi-final and before it was likely that Grealish would be starting an FA Cup final in a, possibly, full house in Wembley.