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24 April 2026; A view from the stands during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Derry City and Shamrock Rovers at Find Insurance Celtic Park. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Heimir’s B Specials can take a leaf out of Alan McLoughlin’s book
Grenada wannabes should take a trip down history lane
Cathal Dervan, Editor
For Harvey Vale, read David Kelly. For Jack Moylan, read Alan McLoughlin. For Grenada, read England. For Turner’s Cross in Cork, read the Enrique Roca Stadium in Murcia.
For the Republic of Ireland training camp in 2026, read the B Specials in 1990 and a friendly thumping of the Old Enemy’s second string at a jam-packed Cross in the People’s Republic.
Such was the nature of the Irish B team’s 4-1 win, over an England side captained by Tony Adams, in the March before the World Cup heroics in Italy, that many people got carried away, both then and afterwards.
Indeed the Cork Examiner, as it was in those days but known as the Irish Examiner by the time the 30th anniversary came around, even claimed that the footballing highlight of 1990 occurred in Cork and not Genoa. And they were, by their own admission, only half joking!
So what you are wondering has any of this got to do with the Heimir Hallgrimsson squad and the start of the post-Prague era for Irish football?
Well, Ireland are off to the Spanish city of Murcia on Thursday week for a 10 day training camp that will include a friendly fixture against Grenada. This is a B international in everything but name.
The most famous B international in Irish football history was that 4-1 win against England in 1990, a game that offered future options to Jack Charlton in the guise of the aforementioned McLoughlin, Terry Phelan and Denis Irwin.
Of those three, McLoughlin made the squad for Italia ‘90 as a last minute replacement for Gary Waddock. That late decision was made by Big Jack after McLoughlin’s match winning performance when Swindon won the Division Two (now the Championship) play-off final against Sunderland at Wembley. Macca scored that day and convinced Jack that the promise he had seen in Cork was no fluke, even if it meant ditching Waddock rather cruelly.
Likewise, Niall Quinn and David Kelly were already established as fringe players before they joined McLoughlin on the scoresheet in Turner’s Cross. Their performances that day, against Tony Adams and Andy Linighan, merely confirmed their seats on the plane to Italy.
There’s no World Cup on the horizon when Ireland touch down in Murcia on Thursday week, May 7th. There will also be no players from the Premier League, the EFL play-offs or the Scottish Premier for example so Heimir’s squad, to be announced next Tuesday, will be dominated by Championship and League One players, like Vale and Moylan.
Vale has already worn the Irish shirt and will do so again in Spain. Moylan, an Aviva Stadium season ticket holder for Ireland games as a kid, will surely do so against the so-called Spice Boys of the West Indies who represent Grenada.
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They won’t be playing for World Cup squad places after the disastrous defeat in Prague but they will be playing for their international futures, on the training pitch as well as in the Enrique Roca Stadium.
With so many senior players not available until the June games against Qatar and Canada, the likes of Vale and Moylan have 10 days to prove to Hallgrimsson and his staff that they should be around when the Euros kick-off in the autumn.
QPR’s Vale has done enough in the Championship this season to edge him towards the squad for those Euro qualifiers. Lincoln’s Moylan has suggested, via his League One form and goals, that he deserves this chance to become a September springer.
Murcia is their Cork. Grenada is their England. This is their opportunity. Now it’s up to them.
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James McClean could be back playing for Derry City in the League of Ireland within the next six weeks after a London surgeon allayed his retirement fears.
Plagued in recent weeks by a hip injury after his return home from Wrexham in January, McClean was worried that his career was in danger before Friday’s visit to the UK specialist.
But now, posting on social media and reported on by the Irish Mirror amongst others, McClean has revealed how an injection into the hip has given him real hope of a Candystripes return even after the same surgeon had initially told him that he ‘currently has no business being on a football pitch due to the severity of the damage to my hip’.
Post his London visit, McClean said on TikTok: “Just a quick update on the appointment with the specialist on Friday about the injury. I went and saw the doctor. It went better than I thought to be honest.
“I was expecting surgery or retirement but that wasn’t the case. He gave me a bit of hope. He gave me an injection and that should hopefully give me a wee bit of relief and in about a month to six weeks time, make me feel a wee bit like a footballer again. So it went a lot better than I thought.”
‘I won’t hide away from it’ – Jack Moylan eager for ‘dream’ Ireland call-up after impressing Heimir Hallgrimsson
Jack Moylan wants to go from his seat as an Aviva Stadium season ticket holder to starring on the pitch for Ireland after impressing Heimir Hallgrimsson with his stunning goal for Lincoln City in Saturday’s 4-3 win against Wycombe Wanderers.
Dubliner Moylan made the most of Hallgrimsson’s visit to Lincoln with that goal and another impressive performance as the Ireland manager prepares to name his squad for the upcoming training camp in Spain and a friendly against Grenada.
The Irish Sun reports that Moylan told BBC Lincolnshire: “I heard he was here. It’s great, fair play to him for coming over and watching matches.
“Obviously, we had such a disappointment with the country a couple of months ago, but I think the country’s on the right path. So yeah, who knows what will happen.
“I won’t hide away from it. It’s my dream to play for my country. I’ve been a season ticket holder from the age of eight, I used to go to every game with my dad.”
Moylan has scored 11 times this season already as Lincoln sealed the League One title and promotion to the Championship.
Gavin Bazunu will miss Ireland’s training camp in Spain and the Murcia friendly against Grenada as injury has again delayed his return to international football for the first time since March 2024.
The Southampton stopper is currently on loan with Stoke City but an unspecified injury ruled him out of the loss to Portsmouth last weekend while he won’t feature at Bristol City in the final game of the Championship season this Saturday either.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, Bazunu may return in time for the June games at home to Qatar and away to Canada but he won’t be available for the Spanish training camp.
With Caoimhin Kelleher, Mark Travers and Josh Keeley also unavailable due to club commitments, Irish boss Heimir Hallgrimsson may look to Max O’Leary, Killian Cahill and Ed McGinty as goalkeeping options for the camp in Murcia.
Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe and England forward Beth Mead could be the subject of a double swoop by Manchester City when their Arsenal contracts expire at the end of the season.
Tallaght native McCabe has also been linked with a move to the Women’s NWLS in America with WSL champions Chelsea also interested.
Now The Athletic is reporting that Manchester City are confident they can agree deals with the two Arsenal stars when they are free to talk to other clubs in June.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC after Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford that his team needs to match the clinical nature of their Manchester United opponents as they look to take the next step forward as a team.
Andrews also stated that his side remains in the hunt for European football next season despite going six games without a win, their longest winless run since April 2024.
All photos on TheSportsHacks are provided by Sportsfile.com
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