The current crop of Irish defenders is unlikely to rescale the heights of the 1980s when Paul McGrath, Kevin Moran, David O’Leary and Mark Lawrenson were regulars at Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, but there is a growing number of consistent performers across British and European clubs.
Republic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins glues the Brentford defence together most Saturday afternoons, while Dara O’Shea has grown into a solid Premier League centre-half, first at Burnley and now Ipswich Town.
With Celtic’s Liam Scales suspended for the Nations League relegation play-off first leg against Bulgaria in Plovdiv on Thursday, Watford’s James Abankwah and QPR’s Jimmy Dunne have captured Heimir Hallgrímsson’s attention to edge past old reliables such as Shane Duffy and John Egan in the pecking order.
The competition for selection has never been so fierce. Luton Town’s Mark McGuinness went from starting against England in the 5-0 defeat at Wembley last November to missing this week’s 23-man squad.
Andrew Omobamidele was also on Hallgrímsson’s radar before injury dampened his move from Nottingham Forest to Strasbourg in French Ligue 1 as he followed the lead of Jake O’Brien, whose outstanding 2023/24 season with Lyon secured a £16.4 million (€19.5 million) move to Everton.
O’Brien was overlooked for game time at Goodison Park, and as a result Ireland, until David Moyes replaced Sean Dyche in January and promptly turned the big Cork man into a right back at the expense of Séamus Coleman’s hopes of staying in the international picture at age 36.
Matt Doherty was also trading off past exploits until Vítor Pereira replaced Gary O’Neill as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager in December and remade the 33-year-old as a centre-half in a back three.
Other names were visible on Hallgrímsson’s depth chart when the Ireland coach recently showed reporters the database he has compiled since being appointed last summer. Brighton’s Eiran Cashin, the injured Luke McNally, Bosun Lawal at Stoke City, Josh Honohan at Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic skipper Joe Redmond are all being monitored.
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Collins was used as a holding midfielder against England last year, which stifled Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham until Scales’s dismissal led to total collapse, and Hallgrímsson intends to revisit this tactic, potentially away to Denmark or Portugal on October 11th.
The winner of Denmark versus Portugal over two legs, also this Thursday and Sunday, will become the top seed in Ireland’s World Cup qualification group.
In the meantime, the FAI appears to have removed any chance of Abankwah declaring for Ghana or Northern Ireland’s interest in Dunne.
“I’ve been asked in the past, my granny is from Enniskillen, just over the Border, so it’s been an option,” said Dunne, who was first called into an Ireland squad in 2018 by Martin O’Neill. “But, to be honest, [being from] Dundalk, I don’t think you can consider it too much. I don’t want to go missing or anything!”
Abankwah was equally unambiguous when asked this week about representing the country of his parents.
“No,” replied the 21-year-old. “I’ve always wanted to play for Ireland growing up. I’ve played right through from under-16 and that’s where my head was at.”
Abankwah’s story is part cautionary tale when it comes to Irish players at Italian clubs, and part inspirational achievement against the odds. Born in Waterford in 2004, his father Isaac Lartey Abankwah is a minister at the Christian Church of Pentecost so the family moved around, living in Celbridge, Lucan, Letterkenny and Longford – where Abankwah played Kennedy Cup for Melview FC – before Cherry Orchard and eventually the St Pat’s academy had him commuting by bus to Dublin for training and games.
After helping St Pat’s win the 2021 FAI Cup, he signed for Udinese around the same time as Ireland winger Festy Ebosele. When the pair struggled to break into Serie A, they were loaned to Watford as both clubs are owned by the Posso family. Abankwah also had an unsuccessful four-month spell at Charlton Athletic in 2023.
Ebosele signed for Istanbul Başakşehir in January but Udinese extended Abankwah’s contract until 2029 before sending him to Vicarage Road, where he recently caught Hallgrímsson’s attention.
“To be honest I thought I was going back in with the under-21s,” he said. “I spoke to my family straight away and they couldn’t stop smiling. We’re a Christian family so we prayed and gave a lot of thanks to God.
“Playing in the Championship is a lot more hectic and physical. The game speed is a lot quicker so it takes a bit to get used to that. I think I adjusted quite well. In Serie A, it’s a lot more tactical. I just love having the ball at my feet.”
Any advice for the next Irish player thinking about a move to Italy? “Embrace the culture because they do like that. Just work hard. It is very important to at least understand the language for when your manager is speaking. It is quite difficult but if you can pick up some words it’s good.
“They’re still interested in me which is why they’ve extended my contract. I’m part of their future.”
