On April 18th 1949, Easter Monday, the anniversary of the 1916 uprising, Ireland officially declared itself a republic and left the British Commonwealth. A week later, the national team played Belgium at Dalymount Park but it would be a further five years before it would play under the name ‘Republic’.
In a week when Northern Ireland’s Jonny Evans said he hopes to spend the rest of his career at Manchester United, one wonders if former Old Trafford team-mate Darron Gibson might be looking on enviously.
The furore over Rory McIlroy’s decision on who to represent at the 2016 Olympics has prompted Diarmuid o hAinle to explore an issue which has existed for footballers on this island for decades.
Darren Gibson and Shane Duffy led the charge. They trundled down the road from Belfast to Dublin and into the eye of a footballing storm. As James McClean becomes the latest to declare for the Republic having previously turned out for the North, one player has decided he won’t be joining them.