If anyone was in any doubt that the Irish job won’t mean a lot to new manager Martin O’Neill, just listen to his moving and inspirational speech on what it means to be Irish from five years ago.
While he was manager of Aston Villa in December 2008, O’Neill accepted an invitation from then President Mary McAleese to Áras an Uachtaráin to speak to an audience about what being Irish meant to him.
Although O’Neill played international football for Northern Ireland, he has a strong GAA background and grew up in a nationalist household in Derry and it was clear from those topics and others aspects of Irishness he addressed in a long but moving speech that his Irish identity remained intact long after he made a career in professional football in England.
Now that he’s accepted the manager’s job and brought Roy Keane in as his assistant, O’Neill is hopefully about to revive the fortunes of the Irish team and embark on a successful period as Irish manager and it’s good to know that Ireland and O’Neill’s Irishness is something close to his heart.
It’s a bit of lengthy one (Part 1 is above, Parts 2,3,4 are below) but still worth the listen so put the kettle on, sit back and listen to O’Neill delivering a rousing oratory that should make you even more excited about the prospects for the Boys in Green under his watch.
Videos via YouTube/GerryDisthename
Hat-tip: Second Captains
