New boys ensure Highbury resounds to lilt of the Irish

IT’S 30 years since the famed halls at Highbury resounded so unmistakably to the tones of the Irish.

The era of Brady, O’Leary, Stapleton turned North London into the green quarter of the old Division One - John Devine, and Northern Ireland trio, Pat Jennings, Pat Rice and Sammy Nelson added to the conviction that Arsenal had usurped Manchester United’s role as football’s Irish home from home. However, George Graham took the club in a different direction, and though the arrival of Arsene Wenger in 1996 switched the focus to mainland Europe, the appointment of Liam Brady as director of youth development may have been the catalyst for a quiet Irish revolution at the home of the Premiership champions.

Brady has cultivated a scouring network around Europe, but his presence at Arsenal has clearly had the effect of luring the best young Irish prospects to North London.