Irish Declaration

[kingeric]

personally, i'd prefer to have a team of first/ second generation irish playing for the country, lads that if asked the question about their nationality would respond " Irish". I don't think clinton morrison or matt holland etc would respond this way and therefore i think we are better off without.

it is shame that we would miss out on some fantastic footballers though if the above were the case.

[janeymac]

personally, i'd prefer to have a team of first/ second generation irish playing for the country, lads that if asked the question about their nationality would respond " Irish". I don't think clinton morrison or matt holland etc would respond this way and therefore i think we are better off without.

it is shame that we would miss out on some fantastic footballers though if the above were the case.

Recently, I bumped into a group of lads in a pub in Dublin from Wigan and got talking to one bloke (in his 40s) who more or less whispered to me that he considered himself Irish (both parents were Irish), but was afraid to say it as it only opened himself up to ridicule because of his accent from both his English mates and Irish people he met. I think that is a shame.

Also heard David McWilliams talking about meeting Wayne Rooney's granny in a pub - she referred to herself as 'we Irish" etc. She was born in Liverpool and I don't think she has ever even been in Ireland. He said it was amazing.

Being judgemental is another British trait I hope we don't pick up! Who are we to say that Clinton or Matt, because of the circumstances of their birth, are not good enough to represent us.

[paul_oshea]

ha, being judgemental has been an irish tradition for generations!!

[geysir]

When you see the amount of people switching nationalities in football these days, I feel it devalues the national identity aspect. Think of the great players that have switched nationality: Puskas, Di Stefano, Vieira, Desailly, Camoranesi, et al. For me, national footballing sides are there to display the best available players, like club sides but they simply have bigger support.

You need to select better examples to support your points
Puskas defected from Hungary after 1956 and was banned for 2 years for his troubles he only played a few games for Spain late in his career.
Di Stefano had to become a Spanish citizen at that time to play in the Spanish league.
Viera's family moved to France when he was 7 or 8yo.
Desailly was adopted by a french family and moved to France when he was 4yo.
Camoranesi? you should know better what his story is.

[cornerflag]

Next weekend will be full of irish declaration.