Eamon Dunphy pulled out of tackles for Ireland, says former team-mate

Former Ireland international Paddy Mulligan lost respect for Eamon Dunphy when he saw him shirk challenges in a green shirt.

In an interview with Liam Mackey which appears in Saturday’s Examiner Sport, Mulligan confirmed that he doesn’t get on with his fellow Dub.

“No, I don’t get on with Dunphy. I wouldn’t like him. And I never did. He was a wonderful schoolboy footballer but he pulled out of an awful lot of tackles playing for Ireland. And I don’t like that.

“And then he pontificates about how hard people should be, moralises about all that, and yet I saw him pull out of tackles. You can’t do that.”

Mulligan, who played for several club including Shamrock Rovers, Chelsea and West Brom, admitted his difficulties with Dunphy extend back to the pair’s youths.

“I would never have gotten on with him. I would have played against him when I was with Home Farm and he was playing with Stella (Maris). And he had this chip on his shoulder even then that Home Farm were this, that and the other, a privileged club.

“Far from it. It’s just that we had good habits at Home Farm and were taught how to behave yourself on and off the pitch. I was in St Pat’s school with him in Drumcondra as well so I’ve known his carry-on for years.”