THIS YEAR SAW the emergence of another crop of youngsters getting their first taste of League of Ireland football.
Some developed through the new underage National League structures while others found a different route to the Premier Division, and already it is clear their futures lie away from these shores.
Four of the bright hopes tell The42 about their experiences, and hopes for what’s to come, in their own words.
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Aidomo Emakhu’s breakthrough year for Shamrock Rovers saw the 18-year-old score on his European debut, his Ireland Under-19 debut, and lift the Premier Division trophy with the Hoops. But early rejection has helped shape the young Dubliner from Bawnogue in Clondalkin.
I was getting ahead of myself when I was only 12 years old. I thought I was the next big thing so the best thing that happened to me was getting humbled soon after.
When the Under-15 National League was being introduced the other lads in my age group at Crumlin went ahead of me, but I didn’t get called up.
It was upsetting because I felt like I was being left behind. I was still quite small and hadn’t got the physicality. I knew the gaffer at Rovers now, Stephen Bradley, from the age of 12 because he was an Arsenal scout too.
But for the next couple of years, I didn’t have that growth spurt that was needed. I remember going to Rovers for the Under-15s and it was Damien Duff’s team. At first, he told me I was signing but we played a match against Finn Harps and I was way behind, they were so much bigger and stronger.
I didn’t get taken. I tried to go to Rovers’ DDSL team as a back-up, but they didn’t have a space for me either.
I went back to Crumlin, who I had been with after first starting with St Francis when I was six. What I realised by not being taken by Rovers then was that it’s on me to improve and make myself better. I took it personally. I was really upset but I tried to use it. I started going to the gym, doing strength and conditioning.
After a year I had a choice between St Pat’s and Shelbourne. I decided to go to Shels because the competition at Pat’s was stronger. I felt like if I went to Shels it would challenge me to not just improve but also have the responsibility of being the main man. I wanted that feeling of having to deliver for the team.
I enjoyed that so it was tough to turn down the professional contract when they offered it to me. I was with the first team but once Rovers came back I wanted to go there, even though I was stepping back to the Under-19s.
But then, being part of the first-team dressing room and getting games this season has been amazing. Aaron Greene and Joey O’Brien have been great. All the lads have, the gaffer tells me too that to be a great player you have to be a great person.
You learn that people are not saying things to you for the sake of it, they’re not criticising you to put you down. They want to help and pass on that knowledge they have from their experience.
Joey will tell me about how I carry myself on and off the pitch. How to live your life, he doesn’t take any nonsense at all.
I’ve realised that what is being said, to take it in and learn from it and use it to make me better. Top professionals don’t just get made overnight, they take so much on board along the way.
The questions I ask myself all the time is how do I make myself better? How can I improve? Finding these answers is my main focus. And I’ve had so much help at Rovers. Robbie Keane has been in and doing some sessions with us, the little bits of advice he has given has sunk in, I think. How to set your body and feet for different types of finishes, preparing for the ball in different situations and gambling in certain areas.
Over the years I’ve always had managers tell me that if I want to score goals you have to get into the box. Robbie was the same. ‘Get into the box’!
When I made my European debut against Tueta that’s what was in my mind. My first touch in the game was off, the ball bounced away. I just thought ‘don’t panic, relax’ and before I knew it I was scoring at the back post.
As the move was happening I felt that is where the ball could drop and when the ball was pulled back from the by-line I was there.
It was a mad moment. I gambled and it paid off.
As this season has gone on, I’ve believed in myself and had more confidence, that goal helped but it’s more about being around the lads every day.
I’m backing myself and demanding more of myself, and I took that attitude into playing for Ireland. To play for my country and score was a dream. When I was picked I felt ‘this is it, this is what you’ve wanted’.
So, to score was special and it felt to me like proof that what I’m doing is right. The only way to do what you want to in this life is to work as hard as you can and believe in yourself.
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This time last year, Killian Phillips started training with his local Leinster Senior League side Kilbarrack United in north Dublin, to help prepare for his debut season with Drogheda United. Twelve months later, the 19-year-old midfielder is on the verge of signing for Crystal Palace after spending time earlier this month on trial with the club’s Under-23s. He explains why he owes so much to his mam Cora’s patience and attitude.
Before Covid I was probably ghosting a bit with my football. I was happy to tell all my mates that I play in the League of Ireland and was with Drogheda.
But after Covid hit something changed. I was out everyday until it got dark doing my bits. I got my head down and worked hard. I was down in the park or on the main pitch at Kilbarrack everyday.
Wayne Groves, the Under-19 manager Drogheda, was in touch with me every day. He rang me and made a list of what I needed to do in the off season. I got stronger, I did more running, ball work.
I went up to Kilbarrack seniors to be around man and adapt to the physical side of things so when I did go back to Drogheda I would be more prepared for that side of things.
I do feel as though I have always taken my football serious, so when I say I was ghosting I mean I wasn’t doing more to push myself.
When I was playing for Kilbarrack years ago I promised my Ma a gaf. That has always been in the back of my head. Ye know, it’s a tough place to grow up, Kilbarrack, kids my age can very easily be drawn into the wrong stuff and go down that road.
I tried to stay away. I didn’t go to parties. I’ve never had a drink or any of that. All I’ve ever wanted to be is a footballer and I thought that if I’m going to do it than I have to give myself the best opportunity.
I remember when my auntie got me a job as a labourer on a site when I was 16. I lasted 50 minutes and rang my Ma to tell her I was leaving. It wasn’t for me. That is when it clicked in my head for real what I wanted to do. I couldn’t do that every morning, getting up early to go to a site.
Fair play to those who do but that was the moment it clicked for me that if I don’t give football my all that is where I would end up working for the rest of my life.
When I was in 4th year I was on the FAI Transition Year course run by Denis Hyland and got an idea of what it was like to be a professional then. That’s a few years ago and then I started going up to Drogheda.
I had a mate from Baldoyle who was going up too so my Ma and his Da, Christy, would take turns giving us lifts. Christy passed away sadly, God rest his soul and then I got in around the first team last year in the First Division but never made by debut.
I was still in 6th Year at the start of this season in the Premier and my Ma would still take me up and back for training. When I was in school, I’d go home to get my gear then walk to the train into town and meet her at Parnell Street where she worked.
From there it was up to Drogheda for training, we’d do that a few nights a week. They were long days for my Ma, doing a full day’s work then driving me to Drogheda and waiting for me to finish training to bring me home.
She’d be out in the car park and I’d be hanging on doing my extra shooting for 20 minutes after. She’d see the other lads leaving then I’d come out last and stink up her car for the way home cause we couldn’t have showers because of Covid.
Seeing how much she gave up for me, not going out with her mates on a Saturday cause I’d be in on a Sunday morning training and she would bring me then too. I find it would be disrespectful to her if I didn’t work my bollox off, to be honest. The sacrifices she has made.
It’s me, my three brothers and my Ma. She has her hands full so there are no excuses not to work hard every day.
I’m surprised she wasn’t on the pitch going after Aaron Greene when I made my Drogheda debut. He smashed me with an elbow after 10 minutes and I was lying on the ground with a chipped too.
Dane Massey came over and just said ‘come on you, get up’. That was my welcome to the league. I can still her my Ma screaming in games every time the ball was slipped across or I take a shot.
Tim Clancy never put extra pressure on me, he didn’t need to. It’s about having that cop on and common sense to know that as a young player you have so much to prove in every game and need to find consistency to stay in the team.
You need to be a minimum of seven out of 10 to stay in the team as a young player and that it was I tried to do, have consistency in my game so the manager and lads around me would trust me and know what I would do for them.
I think I’m ready to live away from home now. I have my Ma and brothers but I don’t have much left in Kilbarrack. Palace could be the best place for me to develop and get better.
The first time I came over you look at all the facilities around you for five minutes but then you realise you’re there to work and put the graft in. That’s what I’m going to do. I was up at 3.30 the other morning to get a taxi to the airport.
My Ma was in work so I said she should stay in bed. But I still woke her up to tell her when I was leaving.
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Jamie Mullins started this season in Transition Year in secondary school and became the youngest player in Bohemians’ history to score a League of Ireland goal when he found the net against Longford Town at the age of just 16 in July. Having recently spent a week with Chelsea’s Under-18s, the Dubliner reflects on the challenges of a new dressing room.
Football is everything for me. When I was in school last season I would be sitting at my desk looking at the clock and counting down to when I could go training. What I would do on the pitch would run through my head constantly and because we trained in the evenings it suited perfectly.
But you have to quickly find that balance between going in and loving football and being ruthless to win games and get results. You have to understand what is expected of you really quickly.
Whether you love football or not, no one plays it to lose. You want to enjoy it and have fun but you also enjoy it so much more when you win.
It was a great experience to go over to Chelsea and the coaches there were brilliant with me. I had the mentality that I was over there for a reason and whatever the coaches asked of me I would do it for them.
I knew what I wanted to get out of the week, to show the right attitude and perform. I didn’t mind going into a new environment and not knowing anyone because that’s just part of football. You get to know people quickly. I had it at Bohs when I first started training with the first team when I was 14.
Gradually you become part of the group and feel more comfortable. It was only a week at Chelsea and it’s a bit different. I’ve been in a dressing room here where results mean everything. It was a bit more about development over there.
I am still learning and it wasn’t that long ago that I did feel like a bit on the outside of the squad with Bohs, there were new lads coming in and I wondered how I would do.
Derek Pender was a big help and would constantly check up on the young lads he helped to bring through. Keith Ward was the same and introduced me to everyone, he’s a big Damien Dempsey fan too and that would be played in the dressing room a lot.
He helped though, because when those self doubts do come you feel a bit more settled and remember you are there to play football and to take it in your stride.
I really didn’t want to let things pass me by, I wanted to embrace being part of the squad and go after the challenges that came.
Ross Tierney is probably the best example to look up to in terms of how to deal with so much on and off the pitch. It’s quite special what he has been able to do because it’s not easy to talk about what has happened to you in your life and the mental health side of things.
He has a young family too but he would still always be checking on me and talking to me and making sure I felt comfortable in the group and was feeling OK about how things were for me.
It makes you want to embrace it and work as hard as you can. I put more pressure on myself to do well so when it did come to my debut I wanted to make the most of it.
And to score the goal, it was really an unbelievable moment. In the game itself it just felt like a blur, instincts kicking in to take the touch, get away, dribble and find the space for the shot. It was only later that you sit back and watch what you’ve done.
I didn’t realise that I was Bohs’ youngest scorer but the fact we drew the game kind of meant you don’t enjoy it more. It was great that my Dad was there and my Mam and Nana and Grandad were able to watch, so it was nice to share it with them.
Being part of the European was a great experience too and I’ve met some great people along the way so far.
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Johnny Kenny scored 12 Premier Division goals for Sligo Rovers as the 18-year-old striker emerged from youth ranks. He also made his Ireland bow for the Under-19s, finding the net on his debut. He signed a new three-year contract during the season and has attracted interest from several clubs in the UK, most notably visiting Hibernian.
The moment that stands out for me most from this season was being whipped off at half-time against Shamrock Rovers early in the season.
It gave me a reality check of what’s needed to play every week at this level. I had an absolute stinker and couldn’t get on the ball at all. The quality Shamrock Rovers had in the game, I was nowhere near it.
Liam Buckley said that it was a tactical decision but I knew myself that I hadn’t done enough in the game. I knew I had to work hard the following week in training because I knew I wasn’t going to start the next game, there was no way I deserved to.
I wanted to show the right character and show that I could deal with that setback. I came on against Finn Harps as a sub the next week and scored the winner and I hope that was a moment Liam realised he could trust me even more.
The support he had shown me and the faith he put in me until that point was already unreal and I didn’t want to let him down. I’ve felt like that throughout the season, to be honest.
I don’t think I did enough in those first few months, though, but Liam keep guiding me and helping me. He’s been fantastic and there have been some tough moments in the season.
Obviously it was great to qualify for Europe and to score the goals for the team, but when we were going through a tough period during the season and not winning games things were said, they had to be.
I remember travelling to one game and it felt like we were putting Liam’s job on the line because we weren’t winning games. Lewis Banks said on the bus that it was time for someone to stand up and be counted to get the goals for the team.
I knew he was hinting at me, and he was right to. I had a bit of a rough time with Covid in the summer. Myself and John Mahon got it and we missed the first game of Europe. I struggled with it afterwards too.
I couldn’t get my fitness back up to the level it needed to be at for a month and a half but I felt I came on stronger near the end of the season and was able to find some good form.
After that early Shamrock Rovers game I knew I had to up my levels in games and as the season went on you realise it doesn’t matter who you are playing against you have to stay sharp. Take that extra touch when it’s not needed and you will get absolutely nailed by defenders.
With Greg Bolger, David Cawley and Garry Buckley behind you it does feel easier to understand the game, when to slow it down and when to go after it. It’s all about learning and when there are rows you know it’s forgotten about the next day.
It’s cut throat, it’s about winning games and when you aren’t doing your job for the team it does make you feel guilty.
It does feel as if things have happened quickly for me because I wasn’t part of the first team squad last year. I was playing soccer and Gaelic all the way up and only got my first ever Ireland cap a month ago for the Under-19s against Montenegro.
I still live at home with my Mam and Dad and I have five brothers running about the place. I’m the second oldest. My Dad and older brother work on the farm, I’ve neve stepped foot on it, I’ll be honest.
My uncle, too, he’s a farmer and has made sacrifices by bringing me to training every day. He never missed a single day to bring and you don’t forget that help.
Jon Walters is another one with Ireland who I’ve learned a lot from, all the meetings I’ve had with him, tips on movement, where to be for cut acks. One of the goals I scored against Bosnia came from the advice he gave me, holding my run to meet a cut back and finish.
I played off the right for Ireland too but don’t mind come in on my left foot to let loose too.
I know there has been talk about what could happen for me in the future and different clubs interested but I don’t worry about that, I really don’t.
I’ve worked hard to try and take my chance. It wasn’t too long ago I was out on the pitch near the house with my friend Ultan McKenna. He stood in goals and I buried balls on him during lockdown.
Anthony Elding, who scored that amazing winning goal in the FAI Cup final in 2013, still lives here and he has been a big help too. I’ve done some sessions with him, short and sharp to help improve.
I do feel there has been no better place for me to begin than Sligo. It’s my hometown club, I feel as if I’m adore by the fans and I adore them. When you hear them sing your name you get goose bumps.
