Irish soccer’s regular Joe
QUESTION
How many non-British soccer players qualified to play for Ireland under the granny rule? MOST soccer players who played for the Republic of Ireland under the granny rule have come from England, with much smaller numbers from Scotland and Wales. Only one non-British player has ever been included, an American called Joseph Lapira.
The granny rule means that players from outside Ireland can play for the Irish international team, provided that they have appropriate heritage.
The first player to qualify for the Irish team through his parents’ nationality was Shay Brennan, who made his debut for Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in 1965. From then until now, the number of English-born players who have been included in the Irish international team stands at 83.
Jack Charlton was the Republic of Ireland manager who first used the granny rule to widespread and good effect and the practice has continued since his day.
The large number of players who have come from England is explained by the size of the Irish diaspora there. Just five players have come from Northern Ireland: Shane Duffy, James McClean, Marc Wilson, Darron Gibson and Eunan O’Kane.
Seven have come from Scotland: Owen Coyle, Tommy Coyne, Charlie Gallagher, Ray Houghton, James McCarthy, Aiden McGeady and Bernie Slaven. One player has come from Wales, Kevin Sheedy.
Just one foreign-born player has come from the US, Joseph Lapira. He was born in Rochester, New York, in 1986 and began his adult playing career in 2003, with the Louisiana Outlaws, for whom he made four appearances, scoring one goal. Much of his career was spent in the US, but in 2008, he signed with a Norwegian club, Nybergsund IL-Trysil.
After a brief spell in 2011 with an Indian club, United Sikkim, he returned to Nybergsund in the summer of that same year. He has since left that club and his most recent sighting was for a trial period with the Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada.
Steve Staunton became manager of the Irish team on January 13, 2006 and he remained in the role for a turbulent 21 months.
In an extraordinary move, he got to hear of Joseph Lapira through a well-connected source in the FAI. Lapira qualified for the Irish team because of his mother’s birth in Dublin and he gained a cap on May 23, 2007, in a friendly against Ecuador at the Giants Stadium in New York. That was his only appearance for the Irish team, but he achieved the distinction of becoming the first amateur player to play for Ireland since Willie Browne in 1964.
At the time Lapira played for Ireland in that solitary appearance, he was an unknown striker playing for a college team in the US, Notre Dame.
For that match against Ecuador, there was an inexperienced Irish squad in the US. Uncapped players such as Joseph O’Cearuill (Arsenal), Stephen O’Halloran (Aston Villa) and Irish-based Joe Gamble (Cork City) were given their chance to make their mark in the absence of several regular players who couldn’t make the trip for a variety of reasons.
The call-up for Lapira created a lot of shock waves and derision among Irish fans. At the time, he was a 20-year-old business studies student, and many supporters were bemused that Staunton had chosen Lapira instead of others playing at a higher standard both in Britain and in the Irish league. The situation became even more farcical when he was introduced with just four minutes to go in the 1-1 draw with Ecuador.
However, Lapira can at least claim to hold the distinction of being the only non-British player to play for the Republic of Ireland team based on Irish heritage.
Jonathan O’Hara, Cork.
QUESTION
Why is the principle of gun ownership so important to Americans? TO understand this, it is first necessary to understand the climate and culture that grew up as the United States of America established itself as a nation.
The second amendment to its constitution granted the right of the people to bear arms.
This was passed in 1791 as a consequence of the need to defend the fledgling US against future attempts at recolonisation, not just by Britain but by any major European power.
There was a perceived need to maintain a citizen-militia capable of responding speedily to any threat, which meant citizens had to have firearms available to them. This danger is epitomised by the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, when about 200 Texan civilians held out for 13 days against a Mexican army intent on keeping Texas part of Mexico.
Firearms were also seen as a defence against tyranny; it is more difficult for a government to oppress the people if the people are armed and capable of fighting back. As the country started to expand westwards, there was also a need for settlers to be able to defend themselves.
The indigenous population wasn’t too happy with the steady encroachment of the European migrants. Criminals also roamed freely around frontier lands, and farms were often far from any form of law enforcement. Firearms were seen as a means of survival.
Hunting was another reason for owning a weapon. Much of the food eaten by the advancing settlers had to be shot because there was no way of keeping meat fresh while on the move. And in times of drought, when food was hard to grow, if you couldn’t hunt you starved.
Right up until the 20th century, access to law enforcement in rural areas was limited. There was no telephone to summon the sheriff and, even if he could be summoned, he would be many miles away and travelled by horse.
The ability for rural folk to defend themselves in these circumstances was seen as essential.
While the advances of the 20th century may have done away with many of the arguments for gun ownership that applied in earlier times, the Americans saw it as their right, under the second amendment, to keep their guns. Their politicians have always been reluctant to challenge that, despite the regular atrocities resulting from easy access to guns and bullets.
As late as the 1940s, the Japanese government saw gun ownership in America as a deterrent against them invading the US mainland. They argued that they wouldn’t just be facing the American military, but also every man, woman and child with access to a weapon.
IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Irish Daily Mail, Embassy House, Herbert Park Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. You can also fax them to 0044 1952 510906 or you can email them to charles.legge@dailymail.ie. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.