Talk:Republic of Ireland national football team/Archive 1

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'football association of the Irish Free State' in 1921?

"Following the initial political upheavals surrounding Partition, a Dublin-based organisation calling itself the Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS) split from the IFA in 1921 and began organising its own league and national football team."

Question: How could a 'football association of the Irish Free State' have been established in 1921 when the Irish Free State itself didn't come into existence until December 1922? I would be interested to know if anyone has an explanation for this. I've even contacted the FAI and they have acknowledged the apparent incongruity but declined to furnish an answer. OscarD (talk) 19:14, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was move. —Nightstallion (?) 13:09, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Republic of Ireland national soccer team → Republic of Ireland national football team – Page moved when no clear consensus to do so. The Category:European national football teams uses the term “football” rather than “soccer” in all except the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland articles, both which where recently moved even though their is no consensus to do so. Djegan 00:24, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Voting

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Discussion

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Move

I propose to move this article to Republic of Ireland soccer team. There is more than one type of football played in the Republic, and "national" is redundant.

Lapsed Pacifist 14:31, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

All of the teams under Category:European national football teams are in the style "country national football team" so this maybe worth baring in mind. Djegan 19:29, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
Agree with Djegan, also considering that the org that supports the team is also know as Fotball Assn. of Ireland.--Boothy443 | trácht ar 02:40, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

Given the popularity of the GAA, to talk of football as if there were only one kind being played in Ireland is insulting.

Lapsed Pacifist 16:54, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

At this point their is no need to reiterate what I said at Talk:Northern Ireland national football team, as it is equally valid. Djegan 16:57, 4 February 2006 (UTC)


Ditto.

Lapsed Pacifist 21:04, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Steve Staunton

does anybody agree with me that Steve Staunton was in fact poor at football ? I don't think he makes the list.Palx 00:35, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

  • He's more than notable enough - Staunton received more caps than any other player, was captain and is now coach. --Kwekubo 02:54, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
He was quite an accomplished defender whilst at Liverpool. So good in fact that after Souness left Liverpool purchased him back from Aston Villa. --Lochdale 21:57, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
Souness didn buy him back off Villa, it was Houllier

Granny Rule

I do not believe that other national sides' pages have such a defamatory section, and propose that it should be removed from here. A player has entitlement to represent any national team for which he has legal entitlement to a passport, so long as he has not previously represented another nation at U21 or full international level. The England team has featured players who have less claim to be English than sons of the diaspora have claim to be Irish (John Barnes, Graeme LeSaux, Matt LeTissier among others); there were many cases of interchangeable nationality between Spain/Italy and Argentina Uruguay in the past. Kevin McE 11:33, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Nobody having argued to the contrary iin the month since I posted this, I have removed the defamatory section. If a player is eligible for citizenship, and has not represented any other nation at senior level, why apply a derogatory label to his selection? Kevin McE 13:38, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

I think there should be some mention of the "Granny rule" as Ireland was infamous for shamelessly exploiting this ridiculous rule. They have been MANY players who have represented Ireland who in my opinion should not have done, the only reason why was mainly because they were not good enough (or deemed not to be) to play for England and so it was their only chance to play international football. It really was pathetic to see Jack Charlton resort to researching family trees to see if the players had a grand parent born on the emerald isle. Some of those players no doubt had never even visited Ireland prior to playing for them! There was even the amusing story of the US Immigration staff during the 1994 World Cup who were surprised that many of the "Irish" players travelled on British passports! Regarding Graham LeSaux and Matt LeTissier - they are both British and, as such can play for any of the FA's of the UK and at least John Barnes grew up in the country he went on to represent!Duarcain (talk) 22:40, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Well Duarcain, if there is to be a section on it in this article, there will have to be one in the England article as well, for players such as John Barnes, Owen Hargreaves et al. No doubt other national football sides will also require sections about this rule, not least France. Rules are rules I'm afraid, and just because you don't like them doesn't hold much water when it comes to discrediting them I'm afraid. Dan K (talk) 00:34, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
FIFA's eligibility rules are, inexplicably, based not on Duarcain's sense of the pathetic or ridiculous, but on legal criteria estalishing the right to citizenship, and these laws are applied/exploited by every national side. I am sure that FIFA would face serious legal consequences if it were to prevent a player representing a team representing a country of which he is a passport holding citizen, except on the grounds that he has previously represented another country. Maybe they should try it and cite Duarcain's opinion as their legal defence. Kevin McE (talk) 07:34, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
I'm fairly sure there's more to FIFA's rule than Kevin McE suggests. Some degree of connection to the relevant nation is now required to prevent the likes of Qatar handing out passports to second-string Brazilians. The "granny rule" is named not from the legal requirement for getting an Irish passport but from the FIFA requirement for international eligibility introduced c.1964/5 (and amended in the last ten years). There is a need for an article on FIFA regulations regarding international matches -- what counts as a "full" international, who is eligible to play for a team, how the rules have evolved, etc. Currently the only info is a bit at cap (sport). The granny rule does deserve a mention in the Ireland article (sourced and NPOV of course) as it was the focus of sustained media attention and is described in the authoritative books (Sean Ryan, Peter Byrne). For comparison, we have a whole article on oriundi -- the Italian poaching of Latin Americans is what prompted the introduction of the granny rule to begin with. -- jnestorius(talk) 12:48, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
Irish law allows anyone who has a grandparent who was born in Ireland (or Northern Ireland before 1921) to apply for an Irish passport. That is what made those players eligible to play football for Ireland. Many countries allow those who have been resident for a set period of time to apply for citizenship, and footballers thereby become eligible for that national team: that is what John Barnes used, and presumably what Qataris of Brazilian birth use. FIFA might have other grounds for allowing participation for another team (non nation state teams such as the home nations evidently have other stipulations), but my point is that if a player has, or is eligible for a passport from a given country, FIFA cannot deny that player the opportunity to opt for that country. Kevin McE (talk) 18:27, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
Your point is quite plausible; it just happens to be wrong. From the FIFA website:
The Brazilian/Qatar players had referred to article 15, paragraph 1 of the regulations governing the application of the FIFA statutes, which states that if a player has never represented an association, he may assume another nationality and play for the national team of the new country.
However, the Emergency Committee’s clarification adjudges such practices to be in contravention of the aim and object of the FIFA statutes. To protect the aim and object of the above-mentioned statutory provision, the FIFA Emergency Committee has ruled that for a player to be eligible to play for another national team, he must fulfil at least one of the following conditions:
a) the player was born on the territory of the relevant association;
b) his biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association;
c) his grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association;
d) he has lived continuously for at least two years on the territory of the relevant association.
The Brazilians had not been in Qatar for two years, so were ineligible. Point (c) is the latest incarnation of the granny rule. jnestorius(talk) 22:35, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Either way, what is the value of a section describing how a team selects players, unless something notable happened because of it (as is the case with Oriundi). As pointed out, there's no section in the England article about it, or Scotland, so why Ireland? Do it here, you have to do it everywhere. Dan K (talk) 18:01, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

The Reps???

Has anybody heard this nickname? I certainly haven't, and I suspect it might be no more that a shorthand reference used among an editor's circle. But I won't delete it yet, incase anyone knows otherwise... Kevin McE 23:03, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Never heard that nickname before. The 'boys in green' is the closest thing I have ever heard to a nickname for the national team. --Lochdale 21:59, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
Never heard that in my lifebefore - no one in Ireland refers to the country the Republic - it must be a British media term —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.104.110.99 (talk) 15:51, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
I've never heard this term used in the British media either. User:Lord Cornwallis 01:01 19 Febuary 2008

I think it is used by NI fans. Not a true nickname then. Donek (talk) 13:10, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Fifa Rankings

The Republic of Ireland's current Fifa Ranking is 31. Does anyone know what their best, and worst, rankings have ever been? Shouldn't this information be recorded for all International teams?

6th (August 1993: the first set of rankings published) and 57th (November 1998). The info is available at http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statistics/rank/compare.html?static=5 and changes could be made to the infobox to include them for each country, but I can't see me going through all that... Kevin McE 15:25, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
...but I made a start on it. If the original enquirer or Lochdale, or any one else, thinks its worthwhile, please pop over to Talk:FIFA World Rankings#Help please to give a hand Kevin McE 00:34, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Good question. Personally, I think the rankings are a joke and I think it's a view shared by a number of football commentators. I would not include the rankings in this article. If anything, the bookies odds are a more accurate indicator of the quality of a team (though I would not advocate putting them in this article either). --Lochdale 22:00, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
The current ratings system has been in place for less than a month, so it is somewhat precipitate to call them a joke. Besides, as discussed on the international teams infobox talk pages, this ramking is official and encyclopedic, whether or not you consider it accurate. Kevin McE 14:47, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
So the fact that they are widley disregarded by fans, pundits and teams alike is meaningless? That they are as much about promotion and advertisement as about actual rankings doesn't mean anything? Feel free to add the rankings though I will also add the caveat that they aren't considered to be particularly accurate or decisive. --Lochdale 15:21, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
. I did not say that the criticisms were meaningless (I have added detail to the criticisms on the relevant article), but their existence is a fact, and their official status makes them encyclopedic. I am unclear as to how a ranking is ever "decisive", of intended to be: their accuracy I believe to have been greatly improved by recent substantial changes in the calculation. Kevin McE 00:40, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Well I'm not sure what you are basing that on. For example, the US was ranked higher than both Italy and Ghana in the last world cup (all of 6 weeks ago) yet not one bookie had them favourite to win either game. That's an improvement? The rankings are questionable, at best. --Lochdale 02:47, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Of course rankings are questionable: but that does not mean that they are invalid. The rankngs are a calculation based on historic performance, not a predictor of specific match outcomes. As to your saying that you do not know what I am basing my opinion that the new formula is an improvement upon, I have stated twice that the formula for the rankings has now changed. You have clearly not even taken the trouble to look at FIFA World Rankings to inform yourself as to the date or nature of these changes, and yet you continue to argue your point here. The purpose of an encyclopedia is to provide information, and to do that you need to do your research before you contribute. Kevin McE 10:09, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
  • Of course they should be included. As Kevin McE said they are factual and this is supposed to be an encyclopedia. It doesn't matter what your opinion is of them. --Dodge 10:28, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
It is, however, important that it is noted that the rankings are not considered dispositive and are not given much weight in the football community. --Lochdale 17:14, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Its not important on this page. It maybe important on the Main article on the rankings buiut on the Republic Of Ireland page, the numbers should be noted and nothing else --Dodge 18:49, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Agreed. Lochdale 17:26, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Here is how the fifa rankings are fixed.When Ireland drew 2-2 with Isreal when their keeper spent half the game on the floor Ireland dropped from 11th to 22nd.When England lost to Northern Ireland they went up one place.Now ,no offence to Norther Irish people,but losing to northern ireland is much worse than draw against isreal.(if anybody could get me the correct amount of time the isreali keeper spent on the ground 'injured' that would be a great help.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by -the-muffin-man- (talkcontribs) 21:04, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Asst Manager

After reviewing the almost painful efforts of an anonymous editor over the last few days to include Bobby Robson's role, I have done this by editing the infobox. Although I recognise that his title and job scope are not strictly defined by assistant manager, trying to change this will introduce an inappropriate box on many other international team articles, so please let this slight inaccuracy ride. Kevin McE 14:44, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Nice job. Lochdale 07:40, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I've tried a different way of incorporating both Robson's role, and that of Kevin McDonald who is actually assistant coach.Johnny Magorey 16:52, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Additional Links

Would it make sense to include a link to an Irish soccer website such as www.eleven-a-side.com or an Irish soccer discussion board such as foot.ie? I have no connection to either site but just curious to see what people think. Lochdale 07:40, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Gary Breen and some additions

I have removed Gary Breen from the team list as he recently announced his retirement. I have also added Dayrl Murphy to the Strikers list as he was called up and should get a run out on Wednesday against Holland. Lochdale 01:43, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I can't even bring myself to discuss Saturday's match. Don't want to add Jay Tabb or any else to the squad. Lochdale 16:16, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

Terry Dixon

Can somebodywith a bit more knowledge on Spurs/the underage sides do a page on Terry Dixon. I understand it'll be short at the moment, just think that little bit of red looks bad on the squad section Dodge 15:05, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

I'll try and do some research on the Spurs home page as they have a decent reserves/juniors section. I agree though, we need a little more on Mr. Dixon...assuming he ends up playing for Ireland! Lochdale 18:51, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Squad section

Does anybody else think the squad section has far too much whitespace? Also due to changing nature of the squad, it could be updated almost monthly. I'd much prefer to see a situation like the Northern Ireland national football team squad section. Any thoughts? Dodge 15:19, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Trivia Section

Should there be one at all? If there is to be one, surely we can get more interesting titbits than the one there now? My own preference is for removal. Thoughts? Dodge 13:44, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I've removed it now Dodge 00:57, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
Possible item of information worth including in such a section: Although not used currently, I believe that the colour of Germany's common green away top (see the 1990 and 1994 World Cups for recent use) was chosen as Ireland were the first nation to play the Germans in a friendly after World War II. I've been looking for some sort of verification of this on the web but am not having much luck. The best I can find is on a chat-site, here.--Danny Invincible 06:09, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • To the best of my knowledge the story about Germany wearing green as an away shirt because of Ireland is untrue. RedsIndependent.com 17:08, 24 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Ronnie Whelan said that why Germany wear the green jersey as an away jersey is because it's apparantley an apology for when Ireland was accidentally bombed during WW2.

That bit about Ireland only beating three teams that have qualified for major competitions in away games is nonsense... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 194.125.86.198 (talk) 22:35, August 22, 2007 (UTC)

Famous/Infamous games

No other national football team page attempts such a section, and although it might contain anecdotes that are of interest, and even noteworthy in an encyclopedia, I would suggest that the title, at lease, cannot be anything but POV. If I were Brazilian, I would not think that match infamous: far from it. It is infamous only from an Irish supporter's point of view, ergo it is POV. Kevin McE 21:36, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Agree completely. I think it should be removed. Dodge 22:19, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

The England game should be removed anyway.It was English fans who started the riots,probally because they losing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by -the-muffin-man- (talkcontribs) 21:06, 14 November 2006 (UTC) Somebody put in a lot of time adding those paragraphs, but they have not come here to defend them. I propose to delete them in a week unless discussion here takes a different turn than the statements above.Kevin McE 10:43, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Kevin, I vote to keep the famous/infamous games list, as it adds some historical context to past performances. They are key moments in the history of the team, after all. BrianO'H 11:44, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
It seems that recently, every game is either a "famous" or "infamous" game. The Cyprus game was certainly a poor showing, and the San Marino game was certainly better, but both games will likely be forgotten in a couple of years. It would seem that some standard for a famous/infamous game should be created or a time delay before a game may be added. Having said all this, I really like the section and think it should stay, I just don't want it diluted with recent games that aren't that noteworthy. Captkrob 22:14, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
To be frank, I doubt the Cyprus game will be forgotten. It was an utter debacle. Also, we still remember the 0-0 match with Lichenstein. Lochdale 03:53, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Surely the one-nil win against holland to qualify for 2002 should be listed? not only did we qualify unexpectedly, we knocked one of the giants of world soccer out in the process.plokt

KEEP. This info is difficult to source on the web PalX 09:34, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Remove them, There is a section in the top-right of the article for notable games and alot of the games mentioned need not be featured. Adzer 23:44, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

National Football Team

Eog1916 22:06, 24 January 2007 (UTC)eog1916

The 'Republic of Ireland' is not a 'Nation' nor is 'Northern Ireland'.

The old pre partition 'Irish League' formed the national football team. One could argue therefore that there is no national football team because the 'League of Ireland' and the 'Irish League' are seperate associations and until they unite we are left without a national team. Why either of them qualify as national teams at international level is somewhat of a puzzle!


The people of the Republic of Ireland have a shared culture. This defines them as being a nation. It is therefore correct to say Republic of Ireland national football team.
Northern Ireland debatedly does not have this status. PalX 13:00, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

What constitutes a "current squad"?

Until recently, 45 players were listed as being in the current squad. This at a time immediately before 2 international matches when there was a group of c. 25 at a national team gathering. Does it actually make any sense to describe anybody as being in a "current" squad when the next match is several weeks away, and the issue of what players might be selected is a matter of speculation? Is the "current" squad actually encyclopedic, or is it recentism to want to list it? Maybe these are questions that should be considered more widely as they affect all international teams, but opinions of those visiting this article would be interesting as a starting point. In the meanwhile, can we please call a halt on adding players who we remember were in a squad not long ago/think might have been in the most recent if they had not been injured/should be in the squad if the manager had a clue etc etc etc. Kevin McE 00:50, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

This is one for Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Football/National teams. I note that the template Wikipedia:WikiProject Football/National teams/Template doen't include a "current squad" section at all. Which doesn't necessarily mean there should be none; probably it means there's a lot that hasn't been standardised or agreed on. jnestorius(talk) 01:02, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Selected Former Players

What is the criteria for inclusion? Secondly, as they all played for Ireland is there any point in having the flag beside their name?--Vintagekits 15:51, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't think there is one, although I may be wrong. Hopefully we can sort something out, with criteria something along the lines of a minimum number of goals/caps and inclusion in the finals of tournaments. Dan K (talk) 19:41, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Peter Murphy

Is listed as unattached on his wiki and yet at Carlisle United on the current squad please sort out

Current squad

Anyone getting sick of the "current squad" bit being changed for each game. I propose that if a player has played or been chosen to play in the team for any game (including frendlies during a campaign should be included in the squad for the remaining duration of that campaign. agree? disagree?--Vintagekits 00:27, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

I would refer you to my comments above under "what constitutes a current squad?". Accumulation of players as you suggest would lead back to the situation of 45+ being listed at once: no side has a squad of that size, and if there is a squad gathered together, then listing others as being in the squad is simply untrue. My preference would be to remove such sections altogether: they encourage use of Wikipedia as a news source rather than as an encyclopedia, and by definition they fail the 10-year-test to avoid recentism. I would also suggest that any squad listed other than in the time between announcement of a squad and completion of that set of matches is either supposition or anachronistic. It was not true, for example, last week to say that Robbie Keane was in the squad, as the squad was in USA and RK was on his holidays somewhere; it is supposition to put him in the squad for the next game against Denmark, because no-one here knows what Staunton's plans for that game are. I have invited discussion here but no-one has bitten yet. Kevin McE 10:20, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
Not a bad suggestion Kevin. I would be open to listening to all solutions - but I think we both recognise that the current state isnt satisfactory.--Vintagekits 10:29, 29 May 2007 (UTC)
Instead of a list of current squad members, why not have something like a list currently active players with more than 10 caps? Dan K 07:39, 23 August 2007 (UTC)


It's ridiculous having "Current Squad" as whoever happened to be picked for the last game. It gives a misleading representation of things. Without coming to this talk page, and if I didn't know better, from that list I would think the likes of Given & Kilbane had retired from international football. Maybe the title should be changed from "Current Squad", but it would be more useful, IMO, to include a list of all capped Irish players who haven't retired from international football – i.e. the active international players. That could be set at a minimum if wanted as Dan K says above, +1. Dave (talk) 14:04, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ireland FA.gif

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Page has been vandelised —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.96.114.68 (talk) 19:35, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Introduction

I've been trying to improve the intro so it gives a brief summary of the whole article without bogging down in detail which is mentioned later on, while improving some of the language used, but someone doesn't seem to like it at all. I was hoping if we could please ascertain exactly what information we want in the introduction rather than just relegating this to an edit war. Dan K (talk) 19:31, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Irish Players Abroad

I would like to see a section similar to that of the Scotland team which lists Irish players who play abroad even players with dual nationality and ones who can represent Ireland through the parents / grandparents. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.254.234.251 (talk) 13:32, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Inter-regnum

So who is regarded as the Manager until May? I know there are no matches, but is anybody minding the shop? And if Trappatoni does not take the job until May, is it (a) false, or (b)Crystal balling, to include him in the infobox and table. I would rather have a prose line stating that he is due to take on the post at such and such a date. Kevin McE (talk) 16:12, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Jordan Anderson

Who is he? Says he plays for an amateur club in Northern Ireland and he already has 5 caps for the Republic. I find this extremely unlikely because a google search turns up nothing about him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sexyeamo (talkcontribs) 03:59, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Some creative commons images

Here, squad numbers here. Maybe someone wants to crop some player images out and upload them to commons. JACOPLANE • 2008-06-2 14:04

History: from the "Association football in the Republic of Ireland" article

Following a discussion on Talk:Association football in the Republic of Ireland, I have cut most of the history of the national team from the History section there. Since it is well-written, and may contain material that is worth adding here, I am posting it below. Scolaire (talk) 09:51, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

History

In 1923 the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State [1] and at the 1924 Olympics, the Irish Free State made their international debut. On May 28 at the Stade Olympique, they beat Bulgaria 1-0, with Paddy Duncan scoring the team's first ever goal. As a result of this they qualified for the quarter-finals. [2] [3] On June 14 1924, the Irish Free State made their home debut against the United States, who had embarked on a brief European tour after competing in the same Olympics. Ed Brookes scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 home win at Dalymount Park. [4] The Irish Free State did not play their next game until March 21 1926. This was an away game against Italy which they lost 3-0. In subsequent years the status of the Olympic Games football competition was downgraded and as a result this game is widely regarded as the Irish Free State's first official game.

Ireland's first World Cup campaign in 1934 was a short-lived event, as a 4-4 draw with Belgium at Dalymount Park was followed by a 5-2 defeat by Holland. The qualifying campaign for the 1938 World Cup also lasted just two matches. The Second World War curtailed international matches between 1939 and 1946. England won a match at Dalymount Park 1-0, but Ireland got their revenge three years later when they became the first 'foreign' side to defeat England on English soil. Ireland won the Goodison Park encounter 2-0.

Ireland again missed out on World Cup participation in 1950 after losing to Sweden in the qualifiers, but were later asked to compete by FIFA but declined the invitation because of a lack of time to prepare. In 1950, also, FIFA directed both the FAI and IFA to only pick players from within their own boundaries rather than picking players from all over the island. FIFA also ruled that the FAI's team would be known as the Republic of Ireland with the IFA's side being called Northern Ireland. Up to that point, both Associations referred to their teams as 'Ireland'. A last minute goal by England at Dalymount Park was enough for the Republic of Ireland miss out on qualification for the 1958 World Cup. The Republic of Ireland also entered the newly created European Championships. However, it was a short-lived experience as they went out in the first qualifying round to Czechoslovakia.

The 1960s started disastrously for the international side as they lost all four of their qualifiers for the 1962 World Cup, including a record 7-1 defeat by Czechoslovakia. Things improved in the European Championship qualifiers, as the Republic beat Iceland and Austria before losing to eventual tournament winners Spain. Spain also eliminated them in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. In the 1968 European Championship qualifiers, Spain again knocked Ireland out. In 1969 the FAI decided to appoint a team manager instead of a team of selectors and so Mick Meagan became the first manager of the Republic of Ireland international side. They still failed to win any of their qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup. Republic of Ireland finished bottom of their qualification group for the 1972 European Championship, ending Meagan's tenure as manager. Liam Tuohy replaced him, and having gone five years without recording a victory, optimism was low. However, the Republic again failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup.

John Giles became the Republic of Ireland's first ever player-manager before the 1976 European Championship qualifiers, but the side again failed to qualify. In 1978 World Cup qualifiers the curse was to strike again, as the Republic failed to qualify after losing in Sofia against Bulgaria. John Giles' reign as manager ended after the 1980 European Championship qualifiers. During the qualifiers, the Republic of Ireland took on Northern Ireland in an historic first ever meeting between the two sides. A 0-0 draw at Dalymount Park was marred by rioting in Dublin on the day of the match. In the return leg the Republic were beaten 1-0 which ensured Ireland would not be going to the finals.

Eoin Hand took over as manager of the international side before the qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup but, once again, the Irish failed to qualify. They lost two of their eight matches and missed out on qualification on goal difference. The 1984 European Championship qualifiers didn't go much better, as Ireland lost to both Spain and Holland and so missed out once more. The 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign was to be Eoin Hand's last in charge after Ireland again failed to qualify.

Jack Charlton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland in February 1986. He guided Ireland to victory in the Icelandic tournament against Czechoslovakia and the host nation. It was the first tournament they had ever won. Things got even better as they also qualified for the 1988 European Championship - their first ever major finals. The Republic won their first game 1-0 against England and this was followed by a 1-1 draw with the Soviet Union. In the final group match against Holland, only needed a draw was needed to progress to the semi-finals but a late goal meant the Irish returned home. The Republic of Ireland then qualified for 1990 World Cup in Italy, where they progressed to the quarter-finals. After drawing all three of their opening group matches they faced Romania in the second round and emerged victorious 5-4 in a penalty shoot out. In the quarter-finals, they faced the hosts, Italy, in Rome where they were beaten 1-0. The Republic only finished second in their group in the qualifiers for the 1992 European Championships and so failed to qualify. They qualified for their second World Cup finals in succession in 1994, however, as they edged out European champions Denmark, by virtue of having scored more goals. Ireland got revenge on Italy in their opening match in the finals with Ray Houghton grabbing an early goal, though that turned out to be their only win of the tournament. A defeat by Mexico was followed by a goal less draw with Norway. It was enough for Ireland to progress to the second phase, where they were beaten 2-0 by Holland.

The Euro 96 qualification series was to be Jack Charlton's last campaign in charge as Ireland missed out on qualification after a play-off match with Holland in Liverpool. Charlton resigned just after Christmas to be replaced by his captain Mick McCarthy. Under McCarthy they progressed to a 1998 World Cup play-off match with Belgium. After drawing 1-1 at Lansdowne Road, their hopes of qualifying for a third successive World Cup were ended by a 2-1 defeat in Brussels. The side again missed out on qualification for a major finals, this time Euro 2000, after an away goals play-off defeat by Turkey. Ireland were on course for automatic qualification in their group until the Republic of Macedonia equalised in the final minute of their last group match which consigned them to the playoffs.

In the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign Ireland finished unbeaten throughout the group but finished second in the group behind Portugal to set up a play-off date with Iran. After beating the Asians 2-0 at Lansdowne Road, Ireland progressed 2-1 on aggregate to qualify for their first World Cup finals in eight years. The World Cup started controversially with captain Roy Keane being sent home after an argument with McCarthy, but Ireland then went on to reach the second round but drew 1-1 with Spain before going out on penalties. The start of the Euro 2004 qualifiers was disappointing with Ireland losing the opening two games which soon resulted in McCarthy's resignation. His successor as senior manager was Brian Kerr. He had a perfect start as Ireland won 2-0 against Scotland. He then set about turning around Ireland's fortunes in the Euro 2004 qualifiers and after a promising start as Ireland took ten points from four matches against Georgia and Albania, but a draw at home to Russia meant Ireland went into the final game in Switzerland needing a victory but they lost 2-0. Ireland then missed out on qualification for the 2006 World Cup. Going into their last match a win would guarantee a playoff berth but a goalless draw at home to Switzerland eliminated them. Brian Kerr was removed from his post as a result.

Steve Staunton became the manager in 2006. After a difficult start to his reign where he lost four of his opening six games, he had the side playing well for a time, with an eight-game unbeaten streak including a four-game winning streak in Euro 2008 qualifying. This left Ireland in contention in their group at just one point behind then second-placed Czech Republic, which went on to win the qualifying group. However, Ireland closed their campaign with four draws and a loss in their last five qualifiers, eventually finishing in third place in the group 10 points adrift of second-placed Germany. Staunton was sacked shortly after the end of the failed Euro 2008 campaign.

During Staunton's reign, Ireland played their first matches at Croke Park after Lansdowne Road was closed for redevelopment. Shelbourne had dominated the game domestically during this period, but after winning the league in 2006 they were demoted to the First Division for financial irregularities.

In February 2008, Giovanni Trapattoni was named as the new manager. Beginning on 1 May, he will take over the team as they begin qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup.

  1. ^ Byrne, Peter (1996). Football Asssociation of Ireland: 75 years. Dublin: Sportsworld. p. 22. ISBN 1-900110-06-7.
  2. ^ 1924 Olympic Games at Rsssf
  3. ^ History of Irish Football
  4. ^ United States results at Rsssf

Formation Stub Proposal

Might I suggest a formation section for each national and club team that would list the most recent formation and starting XI of a side and therefore the most likely formation and squad for future games. It would almost certainly be a first for any soccer database and would prove invaluable for sports journalists, especially those with no knowledge of the team in question. The only site where I have seen something similar is on the BBC website with the pick your fantasy team section. Also might I further suggest more descriptive and specific information on player articles. For example most articles are quite non specific in their description of players positions eg defender, midfielder. Very few articles mention the exact playing position of a player for either club or country, eg left back wing back defensive half etc. Also the preferred foot of the player. Perhaps someone with a good grasp of programming (not me! lol) could create a template of a starting XI on a pitch that others could paste and use for other teams. (posted, but unsigned, by Maitredeconnaissance on 8 Sept 2008)

This is, almost by definition, WP:Recentism. It would be a very unimaginative, and tactically unaware manager whose future tactics can confidently be assumed on the basis of one recent game. If you wish to propose a wholesale change to articles, bring it up on the WP:Footy project page.

Image copyright problem with Image:FAIreland logo.png

The image Image:FAIreland logo.png is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

  • That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
  • That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --00:51, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Ireland

As per WP:COMMONNAME, WP:VERIFY, WP:IMOS AND WP:NCON the name is Ireland, not ROI. Using ROI as the name of the country is a British POV. The accepted and official name of the state/country is Ireland according to its constitution and the UN. As per the talk page at Talk:Republic of Ireland the consensus is to pipe to Ireland to show the correct name of the country.Watchlistac (talk) 17:59, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

There *must* be consensus before reverting a stable version. Djegan (talk) 18:06, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
Consenses already changed at Talk:Republic of Ireland. It was the stable accepted version up until then and now its time to implement consensus.Watchlistac (talk) 18:09, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
When and were on that page? Have you edited outside this user account today? What IP if so? Djegan (talk) 18:13, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
It's there, read it. I may have edited outside of my user account, I'm not sure, my internet is dodgy so I am logged out automatically alot.Watchlistac (talk) 20:50, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

FAI Player of the Year Awards

I've removed this section because it is probably more appropriate to have it on the Football Association of Ireland article and not the national team article.

Aaron carass (talk) 14:48, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

New Away Jersey

Is anyone any good at doing jerseys? Ireland now have a new away jersey as seen here. If someone could update the infobox with the new one that would be great.MusicInTheHouse (talk) 16:49, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Team Shirt for Cyprus Game

Just noticed that the Team Shirt for the Cyprus game had "Cyprus Vs Éire" and the date written on it. I also noticed that the FAI logo on the shirt had the word "Ireland" on it. Anyone else notice this? --HighKing (talk) 13:16, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes - it's the FAI's attempts at getting around being forced to use the name Republic of Ireland.TintoDeSerrano (talk) 14:11, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
Does the FAI have a problem with the name? Any articles or references? --HighKing (talk) 15:06, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
No, it is not an attempt to avoid the use of "Republic of Ireland", they are just promoting the Irish language, they had a meeting with members of the Irish government when they made that announcement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MacsearraigBhoy (talkcontribs) 13:27, 22 February 2010 (UTC)
I've looked online (googled) for any references to this meeting, but I can't find anything. Where did you hear about the meeting and the desire to promote the Irish language? And it doesn't explain why they also used "Ireland" on the jersey... --HighKing (talk) 14:48, 29 May 2010 (UTC)

Move...?

I appreciate that there was some discussion on this some time ago though it seems long enough ago to allow for discussion to be re-opened. Basically, a large amount of people in Ireland do not use the word 'football' to refer to Assocciation Football. Gaelic Football is the most widespread sport in the country. This situation is akin to that in Australia and in the US and neither of the articles on their national teams use solely the word 'football'. Why should Ireland be any different? Fionnsci (talk) 00:33, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

no afro players??

no wonder uefa would punish them...... remember the lesson.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.229.14.38 (talk) 18:13, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Dab needed

As per United States men's national soccer team and Association football in the Republic of Ireland as dab is required. There are 2 other codes called football in Ireland Gnevin (talk) 21:21, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Requested move 2

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: not moved. There's not enough support, this might be unnecessary precision, and the other "football" teams aren't called "Republic of Ireland". Fences&Windows 23:21, 29 July 2010 (UTC)



Republic of Ireland national football teamRepublic of Ireland national association football teamRelisted. Vegaswikian (talk) 21:10, 16 July 2010 (UTC) Per the reasons at Association football in the Republic of Ireland. Football is ambiguous and others are at DAB'd names such as United States men's national soccer team Gnevin (talk) 14:13, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

In this instance, football is not ambiguous. There is no national Gaelic football team. There is one Republic of Ireland national football team which is run by the Football Association of Ireland. Onetonycousins (talk) 22:12, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

There's an Ireland International rules football side run by Gaelic football, though that is probably an all-Ireland team. LunarLander // talk // 15:04, 7 July 2010 (UTC)
There is a Ireland national rugby union team too. For those unfamiliar with Irish football codes this current name is ambiguous Gnevin (talk) 15:11, 12 July 2010 (UTC)
I'm unconvinced but don't oppose. If it was moved would this page then become a dab page? If so, I suppose it would link to the following:
Now, while each of those sports are codes of "football", only one of them is commonly called "football" in Ireland. The only games commonly called "football" in Ireland are soccer and Gaelic football. Since there is no national Gaelic football team, there does not seem to be any need to dab.
This is in contrast to the USA example that you point to where American football is commonly known as "football" there. Thus there is a need to dab between the national soccer team and the national American football team.
I don't oppose a move but if it is moved then (until such time as there is a national Gaelic football team) this page should redirect there. --RA (talk) 17:13, 12 July 2010 (UTC)
Rugby is called football often enough per Football (word)#Ireland but a redirect is fine Gnevin (talk) 17:16, 12 July 2010 (UTC)
RA, you've listed Ireland international rules football team above but then said there is no national Gaelic football team. They play under compromise rules but the team is filled with Gaelic footballers and run by the Gaelic football's governing body, the GAA. What are your thoughts on this? LunarLander // talk // 13:41, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
I oppose the move. The other sports use "Ireland", since "Republic of Ireland" is the name of the team as dictated by FIFA. Now, if we were talking about a page entitled [[Ireland national football team" as a dab, that'd be a different story. --HighKing (talk) 16:14, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
  • Oppose unnecessary precision. -- PBS (talk) 09:59, 28 July 2010 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Mick McCarthy

My understanding is that Mick McCarthy is English. Any objections to changing his nationality to British?

He was born in Barnsley and currently holds a British passport —Preceding unsigned comment added by Factocop (talkcontribs) 12:07, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

His article makes not mention of his nationality and do you have a WP:RS for the claim he has a British Passport? Could also sign your comments using four of these ~ . Thanks. Bjmullan (talk) 12:12, 13 September 2010 (UTC)


Article: ROY'S RANT; Who the f**k do you think you are having meetings about me? You were a crap player & you are a crap manager. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country & you're not even Irish you English c**t. You can stick it up your b******s WHAT KEANE SAID TO MICK McCARTHY.

If Roy Keane says he is English and the Wolves fans forum say he is English, by general consensus, he is ENGLISH!

also,

I remember that he was unable to attend a pre season tournament with Sunderland yrs ago because his british passport had expired...just can't find the article.Factocop (talk) 13:33, 13 September 2010 (UTC)


Mick McCarthy is a very proud Yorkshire man. He may of held an Irish passport in the past inorder to play for the Republic national team but it is unlikely he still has an Irish passport. The Wolves tend to agree that he is english.Factocop (talk) 14:42, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

This is a football page, his footballing nationality is Irish. O Fenian (talk) 15:06, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

There is no such thing as Footballing nationality. His current nationality is British.Factocop (talk) 15:36, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

Yes there is, ask FIFA. O Fenian (talk) 15:42, 13 September 2010 (UTC)
  • Until you have a reliable source for this, stop making the change, Factocop. Lithistman (talk) 15:43, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

The Wolves Fans forum say he is english, Roy Keane says he is English, he is born in Barnsley. General consensus suggests he is english. Can you prove that he still has an Irish passport? If not please stop making the changes —Preceding unsigned comment added by Factocop (talkcontribs) 15:51, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

Per WP:MOSICON Flags should never indicate the player's nationality in a non-sporting sense; flags should only indicate the sportsperson's national squad/team or representative nationality.. Mo ainm~Talk 18:43, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

can we have that section changed to 'country represented' rather than 'nationality' as Mick McCarthy is more than likely a british national? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Factocop (talkcontribs) 09:17, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

"More than likely" is not an encyclopaedic standard: fact of having represented a country is. What section needs re-titling? The only place where McCarthy is presented with a description of nationality is in a table where the column is headed "Manager". Kevin McE (talk) 11:28, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

No one can prove that he is an Irish Passport holder or a British passport holder. Thats why I suggest the tri colour be removed in assoication with Mick McCarthy. I have seen in the debate of Derry/Londonderry that general consensus out weighs fact so wikipedia has become more of a forum than an encylopedia.Factocop (talk) 11:49, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

That is why nationality is not reported according to any assumptions about passport ownership. As Mo ainm has pointed out to you above, for sporting figures, nationality is determined by the person's representative history, not place of birth, current residence, accent, or anything else. If you think that this is inappropriate or ill-judged, then you should raise it at the appropriate level of discussion rather than trying to force a handful of articles to be inconsistent. If on the other hand you do not accept the principle of consensus reached by intelligent discussion, then you would be better off not trying to act as an editor here. And your request above was not for a change of flag, but alteration of a non-existent heading. Kevin McE (talk) 13:09, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Kevin, just chill. I read the responses but that doesn't mean i have to agree with them. On Mick McCarthy's personal page says that he represent ROI but it doesn't say that he is irish. we will agree to disagree. ill leave it at that.Factocop (talk) 14:16, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

You don't have to agree with them, but you make no effort to progress your case if you ignore them. I agree with you that the lead paragraph at Mick McCarthy is appropriate (indeed, I cited it in another discussion that you have been party to today), but that does not change the principles of MOS:ICON. Kevin McE (talk) 15:09, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Why don't we simply remove the Flag icons? Are they even relevant except to show where the respective manager was from (which ironically in this case it does not). Do they add any details that are overly relevant, other than corresponding to other national team pages? If that is the only reasoning, then surely ALL association football pages should be the same in every aspect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.1.150.66 (talk) 20:18, 16 November 2010 (UTC)

Aviva or Lansdowne Road

An IP is removing the name of the home ground Aviva Stadium and replacing it with Lansdowne Road what do other editors feel about this? Mo ainm~Talk 18:05, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Hi there. I am the 'IP' in question. I am not a vandal, and I believe I have worded my edits carefully. The Lansdowne stadium is not necessarily Aviva Stadium, although that is the name by which IRFU and FAI, having sold the naming rights, would prefer it to be known. (It may well change in the future when the rights come up for renewal, or indeed revert back to Lansdowne Road if the rights are not sold).
I believe this page should refer to both, but 'favour' the historical name. 'Aviva Stadium' is a corporate creation.
What do others think? Surely I'm not alone on this. I know lots of people who do not, and will not, use the term "Aviva Stadium".
If you go to the discussion page for Lansdowne Road you will see similar points raised.
(post crossed with above)
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.255.17.2 (talk) 18:07, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
I think you should find a reference that states that the stadium is still referred to as Landsdowne from a {{WP:RS|reliable source]]. If you find one, bring it here and we can take a look. Otherwise, your tendentious editing will result in a block. --HighKing (talk) 18:20, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
The IP has also linked to the wrong stadium in the lead, I removed the wikilink but the IP reverted also. They are not the same stadium only thing they have in common is their location they are completely separate entities. Mo ainm~Talk 18:22, 17 September 2010 (UTC)
What you think, frankly, is irrelevant. This is an encyclopaedia, and so we go by what reliable published sources say. In future we might indeed need to say things like "at the Aviva Stadium, as it was then known": we'll deal with that when we get to it. But for the present, I do not believe that any mainstream source will claim that the forthcoming game against Russia is to be held at Lansdowne Road. We are not "contractually obliged" to call it the Aviva Stadium, and you can call it whatever you like talking to your mates, but as encyclopaedic editors we are obliged to avoid presenting opinion as fact, and to eschew Original Reseasrch. And please be informed that you are in breach of 3RR in this today, and that it is bad etiquette to simply reimpose a change that had previously had good reason given against it, as happened to the same change on when you tried it on Saturday. Kevin McE (talk) 18:34, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

This is a valid point from the IP, and as far as I can determine there is no evidence of "vandalism" in his/her posts, all of which seem to have been quickly undone, often without due justification. It seems to me that the posts are motivated by a real and justifiable concern. But at the same time the IP has had difficulty finding external verification for his/her concern. Unfortunately the 'reference' s/he provided seemd to just express a similar beef about the whole Aviva issue. The IP will probably be hard pressed to verify his/her contribution because media sources everywhere will usually row in with the general sentiment which seems to have formed behind the Aviva name. Food for thought though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Extopia (talkcontribs) 00:56, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

If it can be established that reluctance to use the sponsored name is more deeply founded than guys at the bar grumbling that "there's no way I'm going to call it that", then a suitably referenced section may be valid at the Aviva stadium article. Maybe the groundswell at that article will eventually be so great as to force a WPCOMMONNAME change to theat article, a change that would result in changes to this page. But the name of the stadium has nothing to do with the national team, and changing every reference to the name of the ground in this article was wp:pointy to the point of vandalism. Kevin McE (talk) 08:00, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Controversies section

I have removed this section which is clear driven from a single POV and needs to be re-written in a more balanced way. The first reference does not mention "controversial" and there is no evidence that the FAI did contact any players. The article makes no mention of the fact that the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against the Irish FA regarding players right to choose. The second reference cannot be verified without a subscriptions and the third states that "In Northern Ireland it is seen by supporters" when in fact it's the opinion of one fan group. It also misses out the main reason that this is happening. Bjmullan (talk) 13:35, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Indented line I have updated section to provide references for: "controversial", evidence from players that FAI contacted players and the Brian Kerr 'unfair, predatory' quote. The CAS judgement is not being disputed hence it is not a relevant part of the section. I have also amended the wording on NI supporters. It is an obvious & important issue not covered thus far for some reason on wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.40.196.227 (talk) 14:56, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Undid revision 496811172 by 92.28.224.239 (talk)(Elaborated on. - →‎Controversies)Which certainly did elaborate turning this section into a FAI history lesson. Also no-one is disputing that anyone born in Northern Ireland can claim Irish citizenship if they wish. Nothing controversial about that.31.52.246.137 (talk) 18:49, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

The CAS ruling and fact that Northern Irish people can obtain Irish citizenship if they so wish are undisputed so are not controversial

The reasons that selection of Northern Ireland born players is controversial is that 1. - They have already represented Northern Ireland and there is no compensation to IFA for their development 2. - The tapping up of current young NI players into ROI squads is immoral, predatory and certainly controversial 3. - The FAI are pursuing a divisive sectarian apartheid policy in Northern Ireland targeting Nationalist and Catholic players

This has to be represented in the article. No one disputes the fact that they are entitled to Irish citizenship or they can play under the CAS ruling. If they didnt declare for NI youth teams in the first place and waste IFA resources or take the place of another NI born young lad and deny him the chance to play for his country no one would care31.52.246.137 (talk) 19:27, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

Kit?

hi, this may sound kind of stupid, but do you know how to put a green vertical band on the away kit? it should look like this - republic of ireland football kits 2010-2019 (the bottom kits, change 2012)or a green version of the band on the Torquay F.C. home kit, but in green instead of blue. if u could tell me how to do it, it would be great and i would be most greatful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ryantheking (talkcontribs) 21:40, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Black armbands controversy

The football team's decision to don black armbands to commemorate the Loughinisland massacre victims at the Ireland-Italy match on 18 June is attracting a lot of controversy. It should be mentioned in the article.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:32, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

Add it next year I'd say. We'll see if it still feels noteworthy then. (Maybe it will, but it's best to let the WP:DUST settle first.) Gronky (talk) 21:08, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

What does #IRLFRO mean?

What does the hashtag #IRLFRO mean at Twitter? It's the FRO part I don't understand. — O'Dea (talk) 23:29, 7 June 2013 (UTC)