Irish Football Fans

I'm joined on the show by Mark O'Brien to discuss his life in football, from moving to Derby at 15, winning Ireland U16 Player of the Year, making his senior debut, and being diagnosed with a leaking aorta (all in the space of 12 months!) the recovery from that, and another serious injury, to playing in Scotland, non-league, and scoring one of the most important goals in Newport County history.You can order Mark's book, A Game Of Two Hearts from Morgan Lawrence here: https://www.morganlawrence.co.uk/product/game-of-two-hearts-mark-obrien/

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick, Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football, and James Carew of pogmogoal to discuss the two Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and the Netherlands, and what the results mean for the manager Stephen Kenny - how close are we now to the end of his reign, and who will take over after him?Also, James learns the forfeit he has to pay after guaranteeing that Josh Cullen would be sold by Burnley in the summer transfer window...

I'm joined by Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football to discuss the senior mens squad announced by Stephen Kenny to face France and the Netherlands, both ranked in the top ten in the world by FIFA, and the U21 squad announced by Jim Crawford to face Turkiye and San MarinoAnd we haven't forgotten what James Carew said when he joined us in June...

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to review the performances of the Republic of Ireland's Women's team in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. What did we think of how the side played against co-hosts Australia, Olympic Champions Canada, and African Cup of Nations semi finalists Nigeria, and who did we think excelled from the squad? We also review the group stage as a whole and look forward to the round of 16(note this was recorded before the final fixtures of the group stages, and contains speculation on Germany's performance in the knock out stages)

I'm joined again by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to discuss Group B in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup - what can Ireland expect in the three group games against co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada, and African Cup of Nations semi finalists Nigeria? We make our predictions for each group, and how we expect the tournament to go.(Note this was recorded after the abandoned friendly against Colombia, but before the extent of Denise O'Sullivan's injury was known)

Myself, Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick, and Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football are joined by James Carew of pogmogoal to discuss the loss in Greece and victory against Gibraltar. After the discussion in our previous episode on what a draw would mean for our qualification hopes, not to mind Stephen Kenny's time in charge of the national side, what does the result in Athens mean for the manager, and did the response against Gibraltar change anything?We discuss the final 23 players, as well as those who missed out, after Vera Pauw had to make the most difficult decisions of her career when selecting the squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup - the countdown to Australia is almost complete!And what statement is going to come back and haunt our guest??

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick and Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football to discuss the highs and lows for Irish players during the 2022/23 season. In the past 12 months, we've seen record lows for players numbers in the Premier League, players emerged across European leagues, and one player was the highest highlight(note this episode was recorded before the two qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar)

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick and Philip Flanagan of the Bottomless Pit of Football to discuss the 25 players called up by Stephen Kenny to face Greece and Gibraltar in two Euro 2024 qualifier. The squad is settled, but can the team find consistency between performances, and what lessons have been learned from the four games in June 2022? The Ireland Men's U17 2023 European Championship campaign came to an end in the quarter finals against Spain, we look at the players who impressed us, and what the future holds for Irish football at this level.

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick to review the Republic of Ireland's women's friendlies against the US in Austin and Missouri, discuss the group draw for the UEFA Under 17 Championship, and announce our initiative to encourage fans of the women's team to update the wikipedia page for each member of the squad before the World Cup kicks off in July