Ireland: I’d rather shoot myself than live in Cork

STEPHEN IRELAND is at the centre of another controversy today after allegedly declaring he would rather “shoot himself” than return and live in his native Cork.

In another no-holds-barred interview, this time for a French magazine, the Newcastle player hasalso ruled out a return to the Irish national set-up, declaring the Ireland set-up as “amateurish” and Giovanni Trapattoni as “arrogant”.

The midfielder, who has just moved on loan to Newcastle, also hit out Roberto Mancini, Manchester City and Gerard Houllier in the interview, published in So Foot magazine in France today. Ireland revisited the lies he told about his grandmothers having died back in September 2007 and claimed they were “a pretext”.