How the English and Irish football teams became eternally interlinked

England and Republic of Ireland share an enduring and complex history (Getty Images/The Independent). For some around Ireland’s squad, preparing to meet Lee Carsley-coached England is still surreal despite Ireland enacting strong pressure to secure him as their coach (he earned 40 caps himself!). Carsley has quickly emerged as an integral figure in English football culture since arriving from his birthplace of Birmingham last September; qualifying as Irish through his Cork grandmother allowed him to represent both countries at international tournaments such as Euro 2016. Last week he spoke of easily feeling both nationalities. As in Manchester on Wednesday night, many in Dublin on Saturday may also represent both countries; most notably Declan Rice and Jack Grealish who make up at least nine England regulars who could also represent Ireland during that half decade period. History suggests an inevitable inversion in this fixture’s fate when Ireland was most heavily affected by their diaspora to Britain. Such history is dictated by one of the more tenuous relationships in international football (at least from an Irish standpoint). Complex issues exist within Ireland due to 800 years of British occupation; one century after postcolonialism; decades in which English top flight football served as one of Ireland’s primary cultural influences; as well as hundreds of players playing there. One common refrain among Irish academics is: England has played an enormous role in Ireland’s history but only played a minor one for English history. Football provides the ideal illustration. Tony Galvi of Ireland slides past Glenn Hoddle and Gary Stevens for England during Euro 88 tournament in Stuttgart (Getty Images) But for England fans of Irish teams like Manchester United or Sunderland FC, Ireland barely register as anything more than romantic tales at tournaments. Ireland and England have always seen themselves as rivals when it comes to football culture, so Ireland physio Mick Byrne made sure their opening meeting at Euro ’88 would not go smoothly; before their matchup began he said to their supporters “We’ll do them for you today!” — it held much weight within that line as much as in its contents – both lines spoke volumes about this particular team’s approach toward play as whole. Irish history will always remember the memorable 1-0 victory against England as one of Ireland’s crowning achievements; an historic milestone that galvanised their young independent nation into action and united everyone behind a common cause. Ireland made their international debut against England, the nation that helped define them internationally. Irish players were often offended by what they perceived to be arrogance shown towards Ireland by English media before that 1988 game – particularly comments made against Ireland by English media about them being just there for numbers or references made against “English” players who may or may not even play for England themselves! Liam Brady made his disapproval known on ITV, taking issue with Brian Moore’s comments regarding some individuals’ backgrounds and Brian Clough’s assessments about their quality. After Ray Houghton scored his winner however, there was only joy. That this achievement had been orchestrated by Jack Charlton further highlighted its significance; indeed he remains Ireland’s greatest football figure! Many of Ireland’s greatest players were part Irish and part English; now many in England share that distinction too – Anthony Gordon and Harry Maguire among them are said by Irish Foreign Affairs to account for 25% of English residents! Ten per cent of the population qualify for Irish passports through at least one grandparent and therefore membership on the national team, including Carsley Rice Grealish as well as Harry Kane Conor Gallagher Jude Bellingham currently in place. Charlton took full advantage of this by actively searching out players with Irish connections who might make useful additions. This led to the now infamous Plastic Paddy claim of the 1990s and would often provoke reactions among children of diaspora such as centre-back Gary Breen – born and based in London while playing his career for Coventry Sunderland and Wolves during that period of English football history. Breen told The Independent despite her accent that being Irish wasn’t something she ever considered making an active choice of. With no English relatives to call on and being raised in Camden Town during the 70s and 80s – where there were probably more Irish than anywhere in Ireland itself – having always considered herself Irish hasn’t been something she questioned consciously either way. Holidays in Ireland and Irish music…”Gary Breen and Lee Carsley playing for Ireland against Finland at Lansdowne Road in 2000 (Getty Images)While Breen notes there was always some awareness regarding accents – in particular English accents amongst Irish squad members – he notes more focus was put on feeling. All that ultimately mattered was buying into the spirit. What’s particularly noteworthy here is that there aren’t just green and white; Rice and Grealish represent another generation who inherited from players such as Breen where Irishness tends to be less clear-cut. “My background differs dramatically from Declan, who only knows one grandmother,” Breen notes, noting how strong the feeling among many parents of Harry Kane’s next-gen is; many frequent Gaelic Games pubs like Pat Kane in North London as do both Breen and Kane’s father Pat – similar to Breen! Such experiences often inspire lively conversations among English players’ families during tournaments – particularly with the Grealishes. All told, seven English-eligible Irish players will compete against five Irish-eligible English players on Saturday alone! That represents a dramatic departure from Euro 88 when there were only 10 against two nations competing, as it marks almost an entirely new generation of England-Ireland rivalries. Tracing this relationship through games is easy: look no further than 1991 European Championships qualifier at Wembley when Ireland were victorious during an unstable time for Northern Ireland. Paddy Hill, one of the Birmingham Six wrongfully charged with an IRA bombing and released after serving just two weeks behind bars, attended this match just two weeks after his release from jail. Chants of “No Surrender” punctuated the night. Charlton attended his only away match as Ireland manager against England at Wembley; during which his nickname became “Judas”. He angry told his players: “I won the World Cup for this country.” Most notoriously, an England friendly was forced to be cancelled following violent demonstrations by fans at Lansdowne Road after England supporters started looting its facilities during a 1995 Lansdowne Road friendly matchup. Irish supporters frequently stood against aggression by United States supporters, taking pride in good behaviour. A 1995 “friendly” was abandoned due to fan violence (Getty Images), leading to an extended time span without meetings that coincided with an economic surge for Ireland. Irish migrants to London were less focused on seeking work as much as seeking high-powered careers, their only interaction with England being watching tournaments between their teams – thus widening an already wide gap. As Ireland gained in confidence and pride over time, these summers created heated public discussions over whether the nation had become mature enough to support England. Many Irish respondents responded in the negative, citing factors like arrogance or history as reasons. A stark counterpoint is that Irish people support Premier League clubs without hesitation – this makes sense considering you can often gauge someone’s age simply by seeing which teams they support! It has even become something of a stereotype: when in Ireland people support one club over another. At Manchester United and Liverpool are constants, Leeds United are representative of 1970s through John Giles while Aston Villa reflect 1990s through Paul McGrath. While this situation has long frustrated League of Ireland followers due to revenue losses and development opportunities for Irish clubs, things are beginning to change quickly. Brexit and Premier League’s transformation into an international league has resulted in reduced opportunities for Irish players due to an ever increasing threshold. That has caused debate in Ireland as to whether their national team requires diaspora talents like Grealish and Rice at all, sparking heated discussion over their worth to their national squad. A big question mark arises ahead of Saturday when Grealish and Rice face Irish fans for the first time; will they be met by hostile reception or will time have simply passed since last meeting between teams (Saturday is just 18th in 34 year history, given all connections), although perhaps that makes more sense than an English manager being managed by an Irish international manager!).