At least we are allowed to dream again
tHeRe was a line that was popular a few years ago concerning U2 and the Smiths.
the case being made was that manchester’s Smiths were the more irish of the two bands — as they had more irish parents between them.
He’s known to the world as Johnny marr, but the Smiths’ guitarist was originally Johnny maher — and his mother and father are both from athy in Kildare.
and marr’s first musical hero was an irish one — Rory gallagher.
gallagher was the godfather of irish rock music and, though he was born in Donegal and had Derry roots, he was pure cork. that contrary place was the making of him.
on Saturday, two corkmen of varying degrees of contrariness — alan Browne and chiedozie ogbene — came up with the goals to give ireland a draw in one of the better international friendlies of recent years.
Feelings
and ogbene’s man-ofthe-match performance brought to mind marr’s line about first falling for Rory gallagher because of his name.
that’s the thing with names. they have power. the mention of a name evokes all sorts of feelings within us.
Saturday was billed as a centenary celebration of the fai.
the names that lit up irish football in the past were usually of irish origin, sometimes they were english or Scottish.
When it comes time to celebrate the second centenary of the fai, it’s fair to say that we will be looking at a very different world.
ogbene has now scored three goals in just six caps. that’s the best return after making a debut for the national team since Stephen ireland.
But ogbene is a very different kind of corkman to ireland. He was born in Lagos in nigeria, moving to ireland with his family when he was eight years old. His father had two job offers — one in florida and one in cork. that he chose the latter was a blessing for irish soccer.
talk to people on the ground in the game here and they will tell you about a key dividend from the celtic tiger era.
Children
When ireland’s economy was booming, thousands flocked here in search of work — and many came from african countries. their children are now teenagers or in their 20s.
of the young irish footballers heading to english clubs in recent years, a huge number are from immigrant communities.
it’s the nigeria link that is proving particularly fruitful. ogbene, gavin Bazunu, adam idah, andrew omobamidele, michael obafemi.
ireland went toe-to-toe with Belgium for much of Saturday’s game — and the Belgian model has often been held up as one to emulate.
But what is often overlooked about their rise is the huge role of players from immigrant backgrounds — 12 of their squad at the last World cup.
on Saturday, Belgium’s first goal was scored by michy Batshuayi, whose parents hail from the congo. they were captained by Youri tielemans of Leicester city, who also has congolese roots.
Would france, germany, the netherlands and england have made such great strides over the years if they hadn’t been able to call on so many players with african heritage?
it’s doubtful. now ireland are reaping the benefits of opening doors to the new irish.
Smile
ogbene’s smile is infectious and there’s no doubt that there’s a smile on the face of irish football again.
Yesterday marked a year since the home defeat to Luxembourg — widely regarded as the worst result in the national team’s history.
the mood among some even before that game wasn’t great either. Hours before kick-off, Liam Brady went on Rte’s morning ireland where he gloomily declared that Kenny was going nowhere because the players weren’t there.
at the time, ogbene was uncapped. He plays in League one with Rotherham United. in his last four club seasons, ogbene has scored just four goals.
for two european championships in a row, ireland had the oldest squad on show. We wondered where a lost generation had gone.
But we didn’t know about the green shoots, with some of the shoots planted in faraway lands. at least we can dream again now.
‘That’s the thing with names. They have power’