Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

“It’s the first time — which is ironic — that my young son Hudson is going to walk out with me and it’s my last time ever to play for Ireland. So it’s going to be a special moment and something I will certainly treasure.”

The record books will forever enshrine Mark Farren’s impact at Derry City as a golden boot for the ages. And since goals were his business, that’s how it should be.

It was a little like the first day at new school yesterday for the Ireland players, as they made their debut at the National Training Centre by FAI headquarters in Abbotstown.

Good evening. Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Roy Keane thinks it would be good for Irish football if Martin O’Neill were to remain as manager for the World Cup campaign but says there are "a few hurdles" to get over before he can offer clarity on his own future as the Derryman’s assistant.

While next month’s European Championship qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany might be just three days apart, the gulf in standard between Ireland’s opponents is about as wide as it gets in international football, running all the way from unranked minnows to the champions of the world.

Pitch perfect will be the order of the night for Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and, of course, Dalymount Park itself as the rescheduled Dublin derby – controversially postponed last month because of concerns about the playing surface – finally goes ahead.

Keeping things in perspective is what Fran Gavin does. Charged with running the SSE Airtricity League, he has mastered the art of standing back and looking at the big picture.

Martin O’Neill will seek a clear declaration of Stephen Ireland’s willingness to return to international duty before he considers recalling him to the Ireland squad.

Noel King has denied he once broke Eamon Dunphy’s nose back when their playing careers briefly overlapped at Shamrock Rovers.

With Giovanni Trapattoni having previously been warned by the FAI that he needed to put a stop to his media outbursts about Ireland players, apparent evidence of fresh tension between the association and the manager has surfaced in the wake of Stephen Kelly’s stinging response to the Italian’s claim that the player had issued a ‘play me or I go’ ultimatum.

Birmingham City manager Lee Clark has given Keith Fahey as much time off as he needs to deal with what the club have described as “personal and family” issues.

THE build-up to Ireland’s European Championship qualification play-offs against Estonia next month gets off to an early start today when Giovanni Trapattoni unveils his squad at 9am in FAI headquarters in Abbotstown.

The EA Sports Cup final has been confirmed to take place at Turner's Cross, Cork, on Saturday, September 24.

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI isn’t the only manager of an Irish international team who has problems getting hold of his players.

EA SPORTS Cup holders Sligo Rovers have been drawn against non-league surprise packets Cockhill Celtic in the Second Round of the competition.

NEVER mind the new era in Irish politics, we seem to have entered a new era in Irish football press conferences.

FAI President Paddy McCaul and 1992 cup-winning captain Paul Whelan this evening made the draw for the 2011 FAI Ford Senior Cup first and second rounds at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown.

GALWAY UNITED have expressed their relief at the 11th hour reprieve which has salvaged the club’s place in the Airtricity League Premier Division for another season.

Galway United have succeeded in their fight to preserve its Premier Division status in the Airtricity League.

AS the competing clubs in the Setanta Sports Cup gathered at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown yesterday for a pre-tournament media day, it was not the news anyone wanted to hear — Pat Fenlon saying that Bohemians might not be able to fulfil their opening fixture against Portadown at Dalymount Park on Monday, February 21. And it has been confirmed that, if the holders are forced to pull out, their place will be taken by UCD.

An FAI Disciplinary Committee's finding that the owner and Chairman of Cork City FC has brought the game into disrepute "has threatened and disrupted the financial viability and future stability of the League of Ireland club," the High Court heard today.

Cork City chairman Tom Coughlan was today banned from football-related activities for a year amid farcical scenes at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown, Dublin today.

IRELAND’S build-up to the World Cup qualifying play-off against France will begin to take real shape this afternoon when Giovanni Trapattoni names his squad at a press conference at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown.

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI is too smart to express a preference in terms of Ireland’s World Cup play-off opponents, although it’s a pretty safe bet that he wouldn’t be wholly in disagreement with Marco Tardelli’s choice of Greece.

CORK City boss Paul Doolin expressed concern for the future of his club – and the League of Ireland – at the Setanta Cup draw at FAI headquarters in Abbottstown, Dublin yesterday.

FEARS that Irish players are not covered by insurance in a war situation prompted yesterday’s move by the FAI to request their Group 8 World Cup qualifier against Georgia in Tbilisi next month be moved to a neutral venue.

AN historic week in Irish football didn’t begin and end with Marco Tardelli’s press conference at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown on Tuesday.

It may be six years since Roy Keane's Saipan World Cup walkout but the controversy that spawned a musical and divided a nation is still raising its head in FAI headquarters.

A limited number of tickets for Wednesday's Euro 2008 Qualifier between Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are being made available.

A limited number of tickets for next Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier between Ireland and Slovakia are due to go on sale today.

A man who barricaded himself into FAI headquarters earlier this afternoon has given himself up.

BEFORE we say hello to Steve Staunton the gaffer, we should bid farewell to Steve Staunton the player.

The meeting of the FAI to discuss the Government’s offer of IR£45m to join the national stadium project is underway at the FAI headquarters in Merrion Square.