Dion Fanning: Irish football’s tortured soul has never been further from salvation

Irish football exists in a perpetual crisis of confidence. The League of Ireland offers some hope that there is a new energy but there is a long way to go.

Heimir Hallgrimsson seemed to spend the build up to Ireland’s two Nations League play off games against Bulgaria apologising. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

In the late spring of 1986, the new Ireland manager Jack Charlton went to watch the League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers at Glenmalure Park. Rovers were on their way to winning a third championship in a row under Jim McLaughlin. They had a team of accomplished League of Ireland players but there was one many hoped would catch the eye of the new Ireland manager.

Charlton was as impressed by the performance of Liam O’Brien in the Rovers midfield as those spectators had hoped. O’Brien was selected for the Ireland squad for a friendly against Uruguay and would be part of the Ireland set up at the European Championships two years later.