What do these English-born Irishmen make of Jack Grealish’s fear of commitment?
England’s football team make their return to Lansdowne Road for the first time in over 20 years this Sunday when they take on Ireland in an international friendly.
That infamous night in 1995 has been one of the big talking points in the run-up to the game as has the future of Jack Grealish.
The 19-year-old refused to join the Irish senior setup for the game, with a potential England call up on the cards next season.
To get a sense of what the game means and the position the Villa man is in, we spoke to ten men born in England of Irish descent about Irishness, pride and what Grealish should do.
Name: Darragh Alder.
Born: Islington, London.
The Irish connection: Both parents are Irish; Dad – Ballinasloe, Mum – Sligo.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: Growing up immersed in the Irish community in London and spending my entire summer holidays on my uncle’s farm in Sligo, I don’t ever remember a moment in my life when I didn’t consider myself Irish.
What does being Irish mean to you: I love how no matter where a person you meet is from in the world once they find out you’re Irish they immediately warm to you which makes those initial ice-breaking conversations a little less awkward.
Do you ever support England too? I only ever remember rooting for England once when I was nine during the 1990 World Cup semi-final, but I also remember not caring about the England results until Schillaci broke my heart in the quarters.
What should Jack Grealish do? You can definitely see both sides of it, likely to see more success in terms of qualifying for World Cups and Euros with England with the flip-side being he’d be more disposable in that set up.
Plenty of promising young footballers only ever got a handful of caps for England. However, being that I never really considered myself English growing up anyway I’d probably never be happy playing in the England jersey even if Ireland didn’t want me.
When you think about it it’s kind of what happened my own international career once you ignore the fact that England weren’t looking to cap a dynamic bench-warmer who peaked in the Forty Hill Youth Under 15s either.
Name: Shane Gavin.
Born: London.
The Irish connection: Both parents are Irish.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: My dad told me in the summer of 1988, as he handed me a full Irish kit, not to ever grace his door with the St George’s Cross. As a 6-year-old you listen to your father or else.
What does being Irish mean to you: Long summers jumping over bails.
Do you ever support England too? Yeah, I support the England rugby team.
What should Jack Grealish do? He should play for Ireland and ask for the number 10 jersey and the captain’s armband.
Name: Andrew Hutchinson
Born: London.
The Irish connection: Mother and Father are both from Dublin.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: World Cup 1994 when Ray Houghton scored his wonder goal and it was also the first time I got drunk thanks to Md 20/20.
What does being Irish mean to you: Being me.
Do you ever support England too? I watch them and follow them out of interest and due to the media hype but there’s no emotion given towards them. Just because I was born in England doesn’t make me English. 100% Irish.
What should Jack Grealish do? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion so however he feels good luck to him. He should just be aware of the English hype in the media.
Name: Brian Foley.
Born: Cork.
The Irish connection: Irish born, bred in London.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: I was never aware of anything else other than being Irish, most kids at school were of Irish descent and I always thought of myself as Irish.
The 1990 World Cup really injected me with the bug of following Ireland and I’ve been to many Ireland games across the globe since.
Do you ever support England too? I never support England, I’ve no malice towards them but I just don’t feel anything emotional towards their team.
What should Jack Grealish do? He should be flattered by the interest the Irish have given him which hasn’t been matched by the English in terms of public/media. He should play for the country that’s helped him develop into the player he is today – Ireland.
Name: Liam Og Burke.
Born: London.
The Irish connection: My parents are from Donegal and Clare.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: It was when I was age 14 and being sent on summer holidays to Ireland, specifically where my parents were from, Donegal and Clare.
Do you ever support England too? Ireland all the way. However, paying taxes in England I will support England as long as it’s not against Ireland.
What should Jack Grealish do? He should trust his instincts and the opinions of people who are close to him, his friends and family, and then go with the heart. Ireland Abú.
Name: Liam Moriarty.
Born: London.
The Irish connection: My dad’s from Kerry and my mum’s from Galway.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: I can’t pinpoint a particular moment. I went to a Catholic school, the majority of students were of Irish descent.
I got into Irish history/Irish politics at an early age and I played Gaelic football and hurling before I played for a soccer team.
What does being Irish mean to you: It’s changed because I’ve lived in Donegal for 20 years. My children are Irish born. I care more about them than my sense of Irishness.
Do you ever support England too? In my youth, I would try to prove my Irishness by shouting for whoever were playing England at anything. This has mellowed a great deal.
However, I thought I might give them some moral support in last year’s World Cup but I just couldn’t bring myself to do.
What should Jack Grealish do? Jack Grealish obviously doesn’t have the same strong feeling towards his Irish ancestors as many second and even third generation.
Having said that it’s his choice and it should be respected. I have two sisters who are proud of their Irish blood but class themselves as English first. Like I’ve said I’ve mellowed.
Name: Daniel Foley.
Born: Cork.
The Irish connection: I was born in Ireland to an Irish father and English mother, I was raised in the Irish community in London.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: When I moved out of London at age of 18 and met proper English people. Also when subjected to British patriotism, the Olympics being an example.
What does being Irish mean to you: To have an identity to be proud of that enables you to go to anywhere in the world and find a connection and a home. I love the boom-bust and survival mentality that the Brits can’t comprehend.
Do you ever support England too? I follow English sport out of familiarity more than anything but I don’t support them, it does bug me when they are successful.
What should Jack Grealish do? Personally, Ireland without a doubt. I fear he may be put off however due to the grief he has got from some strands of Irish supporters.
It’s a tough decision for those who understandably have allegiances to both side of the water.
Name: Tomas Farrell.
Born: London.
The Irish connection: Both parents are Irish.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: World Cup ’90, Packie Bonner, David O’Leary and all that.
Also seeing our English friends driving around to our house cheering out the car window waving an English flag while me and my dad hung a tricolour from our house.
What does being Irish mean to you: Nothing really – it’s just who I am.
Do you ever support England too? No, never. Not because I hate England (I’m a proud Londoner), just because I hate their sports teams.
What should Jack Grealish do? Play for Ireland.
Name: Aidan Foley
Born: London
The Irish connection: My parents came to London from Kerry (Mum) and Mayo in the late ’50s and both their families had lived in Ireland for many generations.
The moment you first realised you were Irish: I always thought of myself as Irish; I spent every summer back in Ireland throughout my childhood and have never thought anything else.
What does being Irish mean to you: I take great pride in saying I’m Irish but unfortunately given my London accent it’s often met with a derisory smile or a flat out ‘no you’re not.’
I’ve given up defending my nationality to be honest, I used to go down the lines of ‘my family has lived, worked and died in Ireland for hundreds of years (my cousin put together a family tree a few years back and got back to the 1700s) but I rarely bother going to such lengths now.
I do find it offensive that people feel that they can freely question MY nationality.
Do you ever support England too? I have never supported England but do like to see them win, if for no other reason than it makes the general mood so much better. There is a huge emotional tie between the English public and the state of the national side.
I remember England playing Argentina when I was about 16 and on the day the whole county was alive, everyone smiling, people being polite to one another; the moment they lost it was if the world was due to end. I’ve never experienced such a sea change in such a short space of time.
What should Jack Grealish do? I think Jack probably knows who he should play for already. I understand having an affiliation for two nations as I do with England and Ireland, but you can only ever love one.
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