Kasey McAteer, Northampton-born from Offaly and Belfast grandparents, is the latest in a long line of English footballers declaring for the Republic of Ireland, usually after the Three Lions scouting machine overlooked them at underage level.
The Leicester City winger could make his debut against England on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium, or Greece next Tuesday, having rejected an offer from Northern Ireland.
“Yes, there were a few conversations had [with the IFA] but not as much as I had with the Republic and I felt like here was the place for me to be,” said McAteer. “I felt really wanted here. I had a lot of connections with John O’Shea and people in the past who had called me. Definitely the place to be was here.”
The best Irish sides down the decades have been propped up by British-raised talent. Mainly English but some Scottish like Ray Houghton and even the Welsh-born Kevin Sheedy.
Take the most successful Ireland team ever assembled. At the World Cup in 1990, 12 of Jack Charlton’s 22-man squad were English-born and two, Houghton and Bernie Slaven, were Scots. In fact, only three Irish-born players – Packie Bonner, Kevin Moran and Steve Staunton – were on the Cagliari pitch for the 1-1 draw with England 34 years ago.
At the Euro 2016 defeat to France in Lyon, Ireland’s last outing at a major tournament, the starting line-up featured Essex native Richard Keogh and Glaswegian James McCarthy in the line-up, and another four English-born, Irishmen among Martin O’Neill’s squad.
The concern in recent years is the quality of player choosing the Granny Rule option. In fact, it has gone the other way with current England players Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Conor Gallagher and possibly Harry Kane owning Irish passports.
Rice and Grealish came through the Irish underage system before switching allegiances, with Rice winning three senior caps in 2018 before former England manager Gareth Southgate made a phone call.
Due to Brexit, Gallagher and Jude Bellingham are believed to have used family ties to gain an Irish passport, which in turn allowed Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid to avoid declaring them as one of five non-EU signings, under La Liga rules. Kane, the England captain, could have done something similar before joining Bayern Munich as his father Michael John Kane moved from Galway to London before starting a family.
None of these Anglo-Irish links are news, with McAteer on Stephen Kenny’s radar before the FAI chose not to extend his contract last year. Kenny did tap into the pool of Irish-qualified players by giving international debuts to CJ Hamilton, Will Keane and Will Smallbone, who is expected to start against the Lee Carsley-coached England on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
Carsley, born and raised in Birmingham, won 40 caps for Ireland between 1997 and 2008 thanks to his Cork grandmother.
Kenny also utilised nine more English-born players – Callum Robinson, Josh Cullen, Harry Arter, Scott Hogan, Ciaran Clark, David McGoldrick, Ronan Curtis, James Collins and Callum O’Dowda – previously capped by O’Neill and Mick McCarthy.
None of these names will be remembered in Irish sporting history like Houghton and Sheedy, who are immortalised for scoring against England, although the 22-year-old McAteer and Robinson still have time.
It was put to Robinson yesterday that his emotions could be tested at 5pm on Saturday as the 29-year-old Cardiff forward wore the England shirt from under-16 to under-20.
“No,” he replied, “I’ve played for Ireland now since 2018. I know why I wanted to and the reasons why. Obviously, I know a few of the boys in the [England] squad just through playing against them in the Premiership or Championship throughout the years.
“They’ve got some quality, and I’m close enough with Jack as well.”
In July, just before the Euros final, Robinson and Grealish were pictured together inside Wimbledon’s Centre Court. Robinson feels Southgate missed a trick down England’s left wing by leaving Grealish at home.
“Not just because he’s a close friend, I was surprised. I thought he’d bring something different to that squad on and off the pitch as well.
“He’s been part of that squad for four or five years now, and he’s a character. I think tournament football, that’s big off the pitch, and they probably didn’t have the best of tournaments playing-wise, but they got to the final and that’s the qualities of the players they do have.”
Robinson flashed a broad smile when asked about the reception Grealish, who made six Ireland under-21 appearances before accumulating 36 England caps, can expect in Dublin?
“I don’t know what abuse he might get but I think he’ll be expecting it. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t because I think he gets booed anywhere he goes, even in England, so I think he’ll be getting ready for a bit of abuse.
“I think he’s old enough and being a senior player, that stuff is going to come, he gets it in England games or in the Prem [for Manchester City]. I don’t think there will be any change on Saturday, I think he’ll be getting it.”
