The Pitch: Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, and the FAI leak that set course of history
Jack Grealish playing for the Ireland U21s against Montenegro in 2014. Picture: Piaras Ă MĂdheach / SPORTSFILE
The day was May 11, 2015, and a quiet afternoon in the newsroom suddenly exploded into life.
A call had just come through from a trusted source close to the Republic of Ireland menâs team that on the following day Martin OâNeill would name Jack Grealish in his senior squad for upcoming games against England and Scotland.
While the news was long overdue the story was significant, confirmation that one of footballâs most prodigious talents was finally set to line out for the nation he represented through underage level.
The insider assured me that the story would not go anywhere else â I was with the , then media partner with the FAI â until OâNeill formally announced it the following day to the press.
The only request was that we would not contact Grealish or his club Aston Villa, which I was happy to abide by. A strategy was put in place to run the story in the following morningâs print edition before flipping it over to the website.
Our âdeep throatâ couldnât say if OâNeill had planned to use Grealish in the Scotland game, a competitive Euro 2016 qualifier, where an appearance would lock the player in as an Irish international - indeed the manager had previously stated Grealish wasnât yet ready.
That was before an FA Cup semi-final display at Wembley Stadium a month earlier when the 19-year-old devastated Liverpool, running rings around Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, and outshining Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling.
I was there that day as the Birmingham-born grandson of three Irish grandparents chipped in with two goal contributions for a famous Villa 2-1 win, announcing his arrival at the very top of the world game.
Four weeks later on May 12 our news broke in that morningâs papers to a frenzy of pick-up by other media, but most significantly by The FA in England.
Then, as football writers gathered for OâNeillâs press conference all hell broke loose.
The Athletic picked up the scenes that day - in an article published six years later, coinciding with Grealish and Declan Riceâs starring roles for England at Euro 2020 - under the headline: âEveryone can see now why we had to actâ: The fight for Grealish and Rice to play for England.
âThe press conference was running late. In the next room a commotion was going on. All of the talk was of Jack Grealish and several rows of journalists were starting to wonder what the hold-up was all about,â wrote Daniel Taylor and Gregg Evans.
âThe date was May 12, 2015 and the news had been broken by Ian Mallon, a football writer with close links to the Football Association of Ireland, in that morningâs Irish Independent.âÂ
The article told how journalists had become aware that âMartin OâNeill was in the next room and talking to someone on the phone, possibly Grealish himselfâ.
Someone involved with The FA had seen the article, which was subsequently carried by The Telegraph, and had gotten to the Grealish family with military-like stealth, forcing a major about-turn by the player.
Only 48 hours earlier, both Jack and his father Kevin had committed to Martin OâNeill, it was later reported.
But England had other ideas, after effectively having been tipped off by the FAI. The Athletic summed it up through a source close to the England set-up: âWe had to do everything we could to stop Jack playing in those games because that would have meant losing him forever.â
Instead Ireland lost Grealish forever, a move which would later prove a catalyst for another extraordinary change of allegiance after Declan Rice also declared for England after being in the grip of the FAI.
What is bizarre about the Grealish leak is why the FAI thought it was a good idea to get the news out early, thereby showing England its hand, and allowing that now infamous intervention.
Was it a simple calamity for which the association is renowned, or did the FAI underestimate the urgency with which The FA would act, moving as swiftly as it did?
Or was it all just a misguided kite-flying exercise in getting the news out early to see what the reaction would be?
This would make no sense - the Grealish announcement would be great news for fans - there was no jeopardy here, and no risk of bad PR around such a selection.
Nine years later there are still more questions than answers around the Grealish episode, but perhaps an even greater number of puzzles to solve around the Declan Rice issue.
The Rice situation is perhaps more frustrating given that Declan was effectively locked into an Ireland competitive squad preparing for a World Cup qualifier against Moldova, in 2017, having been called up from the U21s.
However, he never made the matchday squad and would have to wait until the following year, when he made his debut in a friendly against Turkey, going on to play two more non-competitive fixtures.
I was working with the FAI at the time and there was certainly enormous hope and some expectation that Rice would get minutes against Moldova, something OâNeill has since dismissed.
âMoldova, before we played Wales, where we were desperate to win the game? It is kind of crazy,â he said, almost a year later.
In other comments since then OâNeill said it would have been wrong to pick players to play for Ireland.
âYou cannot coerce players into becoming international players,â he told TalkSport during the last World Cup.
âYou cannot bring them into a competitive game, where the minute theyâve played a competitive match thatâs them announcing they're going to be playing there.âÂ
The point OâNeill refuses to accept is that he had a duty to Ireland and its fans, not to Declan or Jack, and that role is to get the very best for the nation and its team.
Rice wanted to be there, he came into the squad willingly, and is a highly intelligent, thoughtful man who could easily have refused.
Last year Mick McCarthy mulled over the duty-of-care idea, but concluded he would have selected Grealish and Rice to get some competitive minutes, given their extraordinary talents.
âIâd have to say I have given people caps, yes, I have,â McCarthy told the âQuickly Kevin, Will He Score?â podcast.
âIâve put them on to make sure they are going to play for us. I have done it. Iâm not going to lie about that.
âWe should have played them before we did. We never picked Jack or Declan to play in one of them, which is sad. Weâd be a much better team if those two were with us.âÂ
How much worse off are we now? Weâll see at teatime on Saturday when both Rice and Grealish will remind the FAI and Ireland fans about what should have been.
New online sports betting company, Tonybet, has been announced as sponsor of two races at the prestigious Irish Champions Festival in Leopardstown.
The races, which will now be known as The Tonybet Solonaway Stakes (Group 2) and The Tonybet âWeâre Here to Playâ Stakes (Group 3), will take place on day one of the two-day festival on September 14th.
"We are incredibly proud to partner with Leopardstown for our first ever race sponsorship in Ireland,â commented Mat Samolyk, Head of Brand and Activation at Tonybet.
âThis marks a significant milestone for us here and weâre thrilled to support and be part of Irelandâs booming racing industry. We look forward to engaging with the passionate racing community and making our mark. This is just the beginning of our journey in Ireland, and weâre excited about the opportunities ahead."
The festival will also feature the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes and the Group 1 Coolmore America âJustifyâ Matron Stakes, with Day Two taking place at The Curragh racecourse.
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The prestigious Ireland Golf Tour Operator Association (IGTOA) National Golf Tourism Conference and Gala Awards will take place in Sligo next month, showcasing some of the finest courses in the world.
Home to Rosses Point, Strandhill and Enniscrone, tourism providers and industry leaders will gather at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Sligo on October 20 and 21 to discuss industry trends and other business.
The Pitch estimates that the sector has now exceeded the âŹ0.5bn mark in value to the tourism segment alone.
Among those present in Sligo will be tour operators, golf course managers, accommodation providers, transport companies and tourism officials all involved in promoting Ireland as a premier golf destination.
The event, now in its 27th year, will feature the landmark gala awards, capping what will be Irelandâs most significant golfing gatherings, which includes a comprehensive program that includes insightful panel discussions and invaluable networking opportunities.
Barry Maye from IGTOA has extended a welcome to all golf tourism professionals and stakeholders in Ireland to the 2024 conference.
âWe know that getting the chance to meet up over the two days further fosters the essential collaboration amongst our industry colleagues facilitating vital personal networks to grow and evolve and weâre delighted to be able to do that this year in Sligo,â said Maye.
