Latest news with #JamieMulgrew
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Millisle: Linfield captain 'blown away' by new school library
He has won it all in football as captain of Linfield, but a new library in Millisle Primary School had Jamie Mulgrew almost lost for words."I'm just blown away by it," he told BBC News NI. "It's going to make such a massive difference to the children".Millisle Primary's library is a bit special County Down seaside village is famous for its caravan parks - and that brought opportunity when one of them gifted the school a caravan that was due to go up for sale. Parents and staff got to work transforming it into what is now called the Windmill Library, named after one of the village's landmarks. Parents 'sacrificed time, money, effort' With 240 pupils, the school struggles for space. Principal Ian McManus said they previously had no room for a library."Our previous library was just a number of shelves in the computer suite, so it was awkward in terms of children getting to borrow books," he said."We have a caravan, which is synonymous with the village already, (and) everybody thought it would be a great idea to convert the caravan into a library."He said parents had "sacrificed their time, money, effort" to fundraise to create the library."We brought in tradespeople who we knew would do a really good job and I think we have the perfect finish," he added."Research globally shows that children who read for fun at 10 years old go on to have better results at 16."We want to be a school that imparts that for life for our children, so we throw everything at it." Education Minister Paul Givan came to the school to officially open the Windmill Library, and he was impressed."All of the evidence shows that if you get engaged in reading in your early years it massively impacts on your academic performance throughout the rest of your education," he said."Financially, school budgets are under pressure but what they've been able to do here through their own initiative I think is something to be commended." 'I love it' Pupils 10-year-old Preston and 10-year-old Julia got their first glimpse inside the Windmill Library."I think it's really good and I love it," Julia said."It's very good, and gives all the younger people and older people a chance to read in silence," Preston favourite author is Anthony Horowitz."All his books are action packed, and I like action," he meanwhile, is a fan of David Walliams and enjoys reading."It keeps your mind motivated and I think it's really fun and it helps you with your imagination," she said. Jamie Mulgrew has been taking time out to encourage pupils at the school to read for a number of has a "Books and Boots" who meet reading targets get a weekly session working on their football skills with the former Northern Ireland international."The difference that this programme has made to the children has been absolutely fantastic," Mulgrew he admits he was a reluctant reader at school."I've three children myself and now I see the difference that it can make and the importance of it," he told BBC News NI."It's something I try and instil into my children and I suppose learn from the mistakes I made."
New York Times
23-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Jamie Mulgrew, an 11th league title with Linfield and the thirst for further success
'My phone kept buzzing with messages, but I was so tired, I went straight to sleep — I hadn't realised I'd set the record!' For Linfield captain Jamie Mulgrew, last Tuesday night was just like any other. The 38-year-old midfielder spent the evening coaching the club's under-18s. Once home, he watched the football, then went to bed. Yet for Mulgrew and Linfield, this was a record-breaking evening. Advertisement The televised match was between Linfield's two closest rivals: Glentoran drew against Larne, confirming Linfield as champions for the 57th time, a world record. That success confirmed Mulgrew's 11th league winner's medal — setting a national record and joining an exclusive global club. It was an extraordinary achievement in the most ordinary of circumstances. 'In some ways, it was an anti-climax,' Mulgew admits. 'You would always prefer to win it on the pitch.' The title was confirmed with six matchdays remaining. Only four active professional footballers — Dinamo Zagreb's Arijan Ademi (13), Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller, James Forrest of Celtic and former TNS full-back Chris Marriott (all 12) — have won more league titles than Mulgrew's at one European club. Yet there is one key difference: Linfield have been significantly less dominant domestically than any of those clubs. Larne entered this season as back-to-back champions and, since 2013, Crusaders had won three league titles and Cliftonville two. Mulgrew, who turns 39 in July, insists those title-less campaigns make his successes more enjoyable, highlighting the five-year gap between titles from 2012 to 2017. 'You never know if it's going to be your last one and that makes them sweeter,' he offers. 'The hunger for more never disappears.' Mulgrew began his career at Glentoran, Linfield's primary Belfast rivals. He made two first-team appearances, including during their 2004-05 league success. Linfield approached Mulgrew that summer, with the 19-year-old's contract expiring, and he decided to join the club he had supported in his youth. That 2005-06 season saw Linfield complete a clean sweep of all four domestic trophies, but a recurring medial knee injury limited Mulgrew's game time. For successive seasons, the midfielder was involved in title-winning squads but missed the minimum appearance threshold to claim a winner's medal. Advertisement Mulgrew, who has 26 trophies and counting at Linfield, believes his ascent to the captaincy was born of having to fight for recognition in a dressing room of serial winners. 'That squad I joined was full of leaders and big personalities,' he explains. 'You had to adapt to those standards. Back then, it was only 14-player matchday squads, so you constantly had that pressure of performing and working hard.' His longevity is made more remarkable given his playing style; Mulgrew is a combative midfielder comfortable at carrying the ball, shuffling past opponents and drawing free kicks due to his low centre of gravity. While no statistical measurement is available, he is widely considered to be the Irish League's most fouled player. Yet he has other qualities which are arguably more important: constantly instructing team-mates on positioning, what runs to make, when to push up the pitch and when to slow a game down. He credits his leadership to his early years at the club. 'I was shaped by that pressure to win and perform, of needing to know how to train, to set an example on and off the pitch, to have the right combination between confidence and staying humble… and that hunger,' he says. 'To use criticism as fuel. That is what I try to instil in my team-mates and the youngsters I coach.' One of the midfielder's biggest tasks is helping new players integrate into a winning culture. 'The pressures at Linfield are unique — winning trophies is everything,' says Mulgrew. 'I joined the club so young, that environment is all I have ever known. But others take time to adjust. It is our job to make them comfortable, but our responsibility for them is more than that — we need to win for them. If they join a winning team, that pressure lifts.' Mulgrew will almost certainly not surpass the remarkable tally of 1,013 Linfield appearances set by his former team-mate, Noel Bailie, but he is closing in on the 800-game landmark. There has previously been interest from elsewhere. In 2011, a year after his two international appearances for Northern Ireland, Mulgrew's Linfield contract was expiring and he attracted interest from Colombus Crew and Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer. The midfielder travelled to the United States for separate trial periods but decided against a move. Advertisement In 2021, Linfield went full-time; an upgrade from their previous semi-professional status. This was not without risk, with several of Mulgrew's long-term team-mates deciding to move elsewhere due to personal circumstances. Yet, for Mulgrew, the opportunity to become full-time, aged 34, was too good to turn down. His work outside football was centred on afternoons, with the new model freeing up his evenings to spend with his wife and three young children. 'That decision, without doubt, has prolonged my career.' For Mulgrew and his team-mates, this season's trophy lift will have added poignance. In June 2024, the club's physiotherapist Paul Butler passed away suddenly aged 37. Six months later, Michael Newberry — the defender who spent three and a half seasons at Linfield before joining Cliftonville last summer — died on his 27th birthday. 'What has happened in the past year is hard to come to terms with,' says Mulgrew, whose brother-in-law passed away in 2023. 'We can forget how anyone, no matter how famous or successful, are just people and we all go through the same emotions. 'For us, being in a team environment and going in to train every day together is an important support network. Everyone here has helped each other. We have a really strong changing room, you can maintain the normality with the banter and the support. We genuinely enjoy spending time with each other. 'This squad has great character and resilience, too, that is borne out through our results this season but also coming through everything we have together and as one.' Mulgrew has already committed himself to Linfield for next season, which will take him up to his 40th birthday. 'I won't outstay my welcome,' he says. 'I will know when it's time to move aside.' He believes he needs to listen to his body more, admitting to playing through muscular pain earlier in the campaign. That is indicative of his relentless desire to be involved but, these days, he has to compromise. Advertisement Mulgrew begins his UEFA Pro coaching licence next week and, while current Linfield manager David Healy has previously said he is 'keeping the seat warm for him' and often consults his captain as he 'knows the club inside out', the midfielder insists his focus is on adding to his success on the pitch. Mulgrew adds: 'I already want my 12th title.'
