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Irish Daily Mirror
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
RTE doc shines a light on League of Ireland academies and the need to fund them
Far away from the glamour of Champions League football, on a wet and windy day at the AUL, Dan Ring knocks home his 43rd goal of an incredible season. Shelbourne's Under-17s are well on their way to a 5-2 win against Cork City, a result that sends the 2024 league title to the Tolka Park club. Not long after that, Ring makes the first-team bench in a 3-2 defeat at home to St Patrick's Athletic. A week later, as their game away to Shamrock Rovers heads into injury-time, the young striker is finally rewarded for his prolific campaign with a senior debut. It's a 2-0 defeat and Shelbourne's Premier Division title bid is on the rocks. But, in dramatic fashion, they win their final three games and Ring, a huge player in the 17s league triumph, can boast a tiny role in the club returning to the top of Irish football. Fast forward to the present and Ring now has an FAI Cup appearance under his belt. After appearing on the bench last week at Windsor Park against Linfield, along with his pal from the Under-17s, goalkeeper Ali Topcu, the teenager is sprung from the bench for the final 11 minutes of Shels' 4-0 win away to Fairview Rangers. He is likely to be on the teamsheet again tomorrow night when the Reds host Azerbaijani football royalty Qarabag, regulars in the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League. Another step on a long road for the youngster who features in a brand new RTÉ documentary called 'Football Families', a three-parter beginning on July 31. The focus in episode one is on Shelbourne's academy. The show provides a timely reminder of the need for serious investment in the underage structures here, with warnings popping up all over the place that Ring's story is the exception, not the norm. 'The industry in the UK and across Europe is much bigger,' warns Colm Barron, Shelbourne's academy director. 'They go into practically a full-time training environment from the age of 16, whereas we don't, we can't offer that. 'We are trying, so we can then start to get it closer to a level playing field. But those two years of development between the ages of 16 and 18 are drastic. 'We cannot compete with what the other clubs can offer from a development perspective at those ages.' Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . In the post-Brexit era, UK clubs can only sign Irish players after their 18th birthday. This puts the onus on Irish football to finally get its house in order. But it cannot do it alone. Academy coach John Moore warns: 'Some of the players, and in particular their parents, start thinking they've made it. 'Not everybody playing on Shels' Under-14s will play on Shels' Under-18s. It's just a fact of life. We don't make them any false promises. 'Our ultimate ambition is to get players good enough to play in Damien Duff's first-team, but very few will reach that final stage.' And Duff, who features in the documentary, which is shot before his shock decision earlier this summer to quit, adds that the outlook for Irish football's production line is grim as long as the status quo exists. 'Do I see enough, which ties in with training hours in the country, do I see enough players that take my breath away that maybe would have happened 10, 15, 20 years ago? No, I don't,' he says. 'We have a lot of sayings at Shelbourne - enough is never enough. Footballers now across the board, and it's not just our academy, they think they are doing enough, but they're not.' Football Families (Image: RTE) With the government kicking the can down the road, in terms of committing to academy funding, Barron, Moore and Duff are banging a well-beaten drum. As are the countless other volunteers and part-time staff up and down the land who, to their credit, put in as much time as they can on the training pitch. FAI academy chief Will Clarke now provides an annual update on the state of Irish football's underage structures compared to those across Europe, and the stats are jarring. Barron and Moore work in an industry that employs just 10 full-time staff. Not at Shelbourne, but nationwide. Take Croatia, a country with a similar population, and that figure is at 190. There are 200 teenagers in the Shels academy and they all share one dream. 'So many players think they want to be a footballer,' says Barron. 'They see the glitz and glamour of what's on TV and what's on Sky Sports News. They see those elements and they think, that's football. But they don't see the hardship, the dedication towards it. 'These players want to be professional players. If you are not doing everything you possibly can, you 100 percent will not have a chance of making it at the top.' Episode one of Football Families also follows Fettercairn native Jayden Marshall, a centre-back who makes his Ireland Under-15 debut, and 15-year-old midfielder Cillian O'Sullivan from Howth. But it's Topcu and Ring who have found themselves in the middle of Shelbourne's Champions League adventure, which continues tomorrow night at Tolka Park. Both have ambitions to play at the highest level. 'The goals do get you recognition. People hear your name, your name gets put out on social media or whatever,' says Ring. 'But it's not about just doing it at academy level. I would love to eventually play in England. That's my end goal. I still have a long way to go.' So too does Irish football. But it is in need of serious backing. 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Irish Daily Mirror
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ireland legend Niall Quinn set to coach amateur Dublin football team
Ireland legend Niall Quinn will take on another new venture as he returns to the coaching sidelines for Blanchardstown based outfit Dublin Celtic. Quinn, who played 92 times for Ireland, including two World Cups, has been announced as Director of Coaching for thee AUL outfit with former Ireland Under 21 coach Ian Byrne named as Head Coach. The prolific ex-forward had an illustrious career, which involved stints with Arsenal, Manchester City, and Sunderland from 1985 to 2002. He also took a coaching role at the Black Cats after his retirement, and became manager of the side in 2006 for a short-term spell. Dublin Celtic announced the addition of Quinn and Byrne on their Facebook page on Friday. The forward scored 163 goals in 551 appearances at club level, and was a key part of the Irish side at Italia 90 and the 2002 World Cup. He famously scored against the Netherlands in Italia 90 to level that clash and send Ireland through. He'll hope he can make more memories with Dublin Celtic next season.
