The FAI leadership has denied allegations made by former Republic of Ireland assistant coach Colin Healy that he was “verbally assured” a contract extension before the team’s loss to Wales in last month’s Euro 2025 play-off.
Healy has called for an “urgent” investigation into how his exit from the association was handled in a statement released on Thursday, where he also claims that the FAI’s chief football officer Marc Canham indicated he would be retained.
Carla Ward was unveiled as the new Ireland head coach at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday afternoon, replacing Eileen Gleeson, who Canham revealed is in ongoing discussions with the FAI over her future employment.
According to Healy, he approached Canham before the Euros play-off last November to inform the FAI of an opportunity to take over as manager of the Cobh Ramblers’ men’s team.
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Healy was given permission to talk to Cobh but the 44-year-old turned down the job. Gary Hunt was subsequently appointed as Cobh’s new manager on December 13th.
“On 11 December 2024, a few minutes before the FAI announced Eileen Gleeson would not continue as women’s national team head coach, I received a very short call from Marc Canham, and he informed me that that my contract as assistant coach would not be renewed,” Healy said in a statement.
His statement was released two hours before the FAI unveiled former Aston Villa manager Ward as Gleeson’s replacement.
“The news came as a shock, as only a few weeks before the same man verbally assured me his recommendation to the board would be that my contract should be extended alongside Eileen,” Healy’s statement continued. “This previous conversation took place prior to the play-off game against Wales, when I was offered the position of Cobh Ramblers manager and needed to make a decision on my future.”
At the FAI press conference on Thursday afternoon, in response to Healy’s statement, Canham said: “We didn’t give Colin any absolute guarantees or assurances that his contract would be renewed.
“We still had two important games to play, four weeks after the first conversation we had [with Healy], and it would always be based on the review and the findings and how the games went against Wales.”
Ireland missed out on qualifying for this summer’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland after Wales won 3-2 on aggregate.
Healy believes that when FAI chief executive David Courell contacted him on December 12th to wish him well, Courell presumed Healy had left the association of his own volition.
“On the morning of 12 December 2024, I received a text from FAI CEO, David Courell – who I believe to be a very decent man – sincerely thanking me for my time with the association. But rather surprisingly, David also expressed genuine sorrow that it had been communicated to him that I had made the decision not to continue, whilst also being very clear that the FAI would have welcomed an opportunity for me to continue my work with them. By reply I informed David that it was not my decision to leave and that I was, in fact, let go.”
In response to this part of Healy’s statement, Courell said he did know the full circumstances around Healy’s contract, adding the coach had misinterpreted his message.
“That is a misunderstanding by Colin, we could not have been clearer that his contract had concluded. The belief I had was that he had a genuine opportunity elsewhere,” said Courell. “We were always open to whoever was appointed as head coach to consider Colin as a number two, but it’s always important for a head coach to have that choice to appoint their own number two.”
Senior Ireland players Denise O’Sullivan and Caitlin Hayes took to social media last month to express disappointment about Healy not continuing as Ireland assistant coach in 2025.
“The last year has been the toughest of my life, given that I lost my wife, Kelly, so I did not want to make any decision on how to progress with this issue while emotional,” Healy’s statement added. “But it has been over a month since I was relieved of my responsibilities at the FAI, and the nature of my treatment still feels completely unacceptable.
“Marc Canham was aware that the Cobh opportunity offered me long-term employment at a really progressive club. The position also allowed me combine my coaching career with my duties as a single father to my two young children, at a club close to my home in Cork.
“There is a way to behave and a way to treat people. I feel the treatment I received lacked transparency and compassion, and that there was a total disregard shown toward my welfare as an employee – a reality that now sees me out of work, and affects my ability to provide for my children.”
On Healy’s intention to make a formal complaint to the FAI over his departure, Courell said: “We are all absolutely sympathetic to Colin’s family situation, there is no doubt about that. He is very highly regarded and liked within the association. I know the team rallied around him and showed support at that time.
“My heart goes out to him in that situation. With that said, this was a football decision.”
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