GOLDEN BOYS
Lining out for Ireland is the aim for Belfast brothers
THEY are brothers in arms whose shared ambition since they tumbled out of the cot with a ball at their feet was to represent the Republic of Ireland.
For Belfast boys Rory and Ronan Hale, 21 and 19, respectively, this was always going to be the chosen path. Their journey towards the Promised Land of senior duty at Lansdowne Road had its latest pit stop during the most recent gathering with the Under-21s.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has been a vocal critic of the FAI’s supposed poaching and targeting of teenagers from a ‘nationalist background’, going as far as labelling their southern counterparts ‘morally poor’, but for the Hales the arguments are moot.
‘We’re Irish and we want to play for our country,’ Ronan explained on Tuesday.
Both scored on their debuts against Iceland in a friendly on March 22 while Ronan then came off the bench to play a key role in that 99th-minute winner against Azerbaijan which keeps automatic qualification to this summer’s U-21 European Championships within reach.
‘It was everything I’d hoped for and more,’ Ronan added.
The Hale brothers’ careers are at a precarious stage. Rory joined Derry City permanently from Galway United after leaving Aston Villa last year while Ronan is on loan at the Brandywell from Birmingham City until the end of June.
Yet, while they have faced a struggle just to reach the point by which they can even hope to represent the Republic, different challenges have arisen over time. Rory blazed a trail for his brother, representing Northern Ireland at underage level on a handful of occasions before having the courage of his convictions when he felt he was mature enough to inform the IFA in September 2015 that he no longer wished to be considered for selection.
‘I was old enough to make my own decision — and I made it,’ he told the Irish News. ‘I grew up in north Belfast, I’m Irish, my family is Irish and I want to play for Ireland.’
It took a year for his international clearance to be finalised, during which time he supported the Republic at Euro 2016, but the delay was never going to weaken his resolve. Naturally, the same goes for Ronan, although a call from O’Neill or his scouts in the North was never forthcoming, despite scoring more than 40 goals in his first season with Birmingham.
‘As two Belfast lads growing up, we had a lot of knockbacks. We finally got our call-ups [to the Ireland U-21s] and really enjoyed it,’ Ronan added. ‘A lot of people have been very supportive, you just get the odd person always negative. You have to ignore them and stick with what you’re doing.
‘The odd person will always be negative. My brother and I have been in a while. I was with the U18s, and U-19s and now U-21s. I’m used to it now. If people are going to be negative about it, you just have to blank it out and keep it positive.’
The floodlights were turned off at Tallaght Stadium by the time he emerged from the home dressing room on Tuesday night, but Ronan was still beaming. Rory had slipped out having been left out of the match day squad and his younger brother was heading to see him along with parents Cathy and Paul.
‘They were buzzing. We owe it all to them and it’s time to work hard for them and set them up. My jersey [from the game] is already going to my mummy,’ Ronan said proudly.
Nimble and nifty with an eye for goal as well as speed of thought — especially in the penalty box — it is no surprise to learn who the striker’s role model is. ‘Robbie Keane, definitely. I always looked up Robbie. I would kind of say that I play like him. He’s always on the last shoulder, that’s the player that I am and he’s a great player to look up to.
‘A lot of my play is just me knowing it myself. Obviously I’ve had coaching and that helped but I do things naturally too and I’ll keep it that way.’
He came close to opening his competitive account when his header in injury time was saved, eventually turned over the line by defender Shaun Donnellan, but that didn’t dampen the mood.
‘It was brilliant so it was. This win brings us back up there. We saw that Germany only drew against Kosovo which is good. We’re looking forward to the next games.
‘First-team football has been brilliant,’ he continued, turning attention to club matters with Derry. ‘It’s brought me on a lot. I’ve grown a lot, got bigger and more muscle and adapted to the level.’
Taking the next step will be the realisation of the ultimate dream for the Hale boys.