THE PRESS CONFERENCE room at Ireland’s Abbotstown training base is a windowless rectangle, with low ceilings and damp-blackened walls; it’s the kind of room in which it always feels like it’s November. Not, then, the most natural stage for sparkling conversation, though a fitting front line between squad and press for these grey years in the international wilderness.
But that was until this week, when assistant coach Paddy McCarthy sat down and blew the doors of the place. At the end of a Dyson blast of a press conference, one journalist switched off his recorder and said, “Paddy McCarthy for president.” If he wanted to, McCarthy could nearly convince the rest of us sports hacks we’d be better off covering that daft political jamboree.
McCarthy first joined the Irish set up during John O’Shea’s interim stint, and has been retained by Heimir Hallgrimsson but hidden away by the FAI’s media team. Perhaps they were waiting to unleash him at the right moment, and the final few days before Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign begins at home to Hungary feels like that moment.
McCarthy said all the right things but of far more relevance was how he said them. He spoke with an almost manic kind of conviction, exhibiting a rare quality of giving considered answers to questions without pausing for breath to consider them. His jabbed words landed on his audience at a rate and impact with which Katie Taylor would be proud.
He began by saying he has seen “definite progress” since he first started working with the squad last year. “The boys are in a good place, I just believe that this young team is on the cusp of something special and I just hope that is evident on Saturday.”
We have heard lots of how Ireland’s seemingly eternal cusp, but, as McCarthy says, he knows the players know that he would not lie to them because, given he is busy enough with his day job on the staff at Crystal Palace, he wouldn’t be involved if he didn’t believe Ireland could qualify for next World Cup.
Hence he has no truck with mere hope. “My expectation”, he says, “is we’re going to be in America next year.”
Do a CTRL+F on the transcript of McCarthy’s interview: the word ‘hope’ appears five times where ‘believe’ or ‘belief’ appears 17 times. He means what he says.
His belief has tangible foundations. One is the “consistency and clarity” of the messages and tactics with which the players have been drummed by Hallgrimsson, a process which McCarthy recognises as similar to how Oliver Glasner has worked at Crystal Palace.
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McCarthy with Palace manager Oliver Glasner. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Second, and more relevant, were the Nations League results against Bulgaria in March, in which Ireland twice came from behind to win 2-1, after which McCarthy says he sensed an “energy shift” from the media and the Irish fanbase.
“Previously”, he continues, “this young team might not have had the capabilities of getting back into the game”, citing their keeping of shape and their sticking by the game plan even when behind as proof of how they have grown.
“They have been through a lot of adversity”, says McCarthy. “My belief is they have grown through that adversity.
“I don’t know one story that won’t have that word adversity in it. Resilience is definitely a trait that you need to have to work in sport at this level.”
Exhibit A: Chiedozie Ogbene.
This is Ogbene’s first Irish call-up in almost a year, after he had his return to the Premier League with Ipswich Town wrecked by injury. Mark Ogbene down for the most striking words uttered in the press room this week.
“Knowing what I know now”, he said, “if I were go back nine months I would rupture my achilles again.”
Ogbene says his nine-month injury rehab helped shape him into a different person, both on and off the field. He says he learned more about his body and improved his technique in the gym, while he spent his time off watching hours upon hours of footage of himself, learning what is truly important.
“As wingers, we all want to look good”, said Ogbene. “A lot of us idolise Neymar and these players, but watching clips now, it’s all about efficiency. Sometimes, you want to entertain. But, at the end of the day, it’s a job and you need to do your job: you need to win. The difference now is I’ve separated entertainment and efficiency by watching and understanding. You’re sitting and watching with the fans and you understand the frustration of the fans, because they’re looking to win.”
Away from the pitch, Ogbene and his partner have had a son, while he also got involved with kids’ disability charities with Ipswich, which he says has allowed him to build a stronger bond with his sister Chibuzo, who has down syndrome.
“One of these kids went to me and said ‘Cheio no matter what, you are still my favourite.’ And it nearly made me cry. In my head, I am just a little kid doing my job, but we mean a lot to them. So, it meant I have to be the best version of myself because you don’t know what lives you are going to change.
“I have always had a good relationship with her [Chibuzo], she calls me every day, but you tend to appreciate things more. She tells me that I am the best footballer in the world, I would laugh and tell her that I am not, but to her, I am her brother and that is what I am.
“I don’t want to get emotional but when she says this stuff, it means a lot to me. You can say I am just her brother but I mean a lot more to her than I think. Sometimes I would have thought, ‘I will call her later in the week’, but I call her every day now. It changes her life, and I can hear it in the tone of her voice.”
Many more lives can be changed by qualifying for a World Cup. That Jack Charlton did it a few decades ago was the reason we were listening to Paddy McCarthy this week.
“I think back to my first football memory, 1990 and ’94, what that did for myself, and the country as a whole”, says McCarthy. “What an opportunity that is. Wow! Saturday night is that opportunity for this group, for us as a team to go and inspire the nation, so bring it on.
“I still see Charlie O’Leary in the Presidential box after the games. He is a legend in my eyes because he lived close by where I’m from in Edenmore, he’s from Harmonstown. Just by being the kit man in those competitions, he’s held in legendary status. What a guy, what an inspirational figure. I’ve got a 22-year-old son, a 15-year-old son who’ve never seen Ireland play in a World Cup. So Saturday, we go into it looking to achieve that, looking to inspire a nation.”
At the end of his press-conference-cum-rallying-call, McCarthy deftly dodged the final question.
Would qualifying for the World Cup outdo the achievement of winning the FA Cup with Crystal Palace?
“I don’t think you can take anything away from the emotion that was created of winning the FA Cup at Crystal Palace”, he replied. “I was there so long, with so many connections around the football club, of course that is one I’ll hold dearly forever.
“But qualifying for the World Cup, would inspire the nation. . . So when we do that, I’ll answer that question.”
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McCarthy and Ogbene's brilliant belief sums up Ireland's 'mood shift' for defining Hungary clash
THE PRESS CONFERENCE room at Ireland’s Abbotstown training base is a windowless rectangle, with low ceilings and damp-blackened walls; it’s the kind of room in which it always feels like it’s November. Not, then, the most natural stage for sparkling conversation, though a fitting front line between squad and press for these grey years in the international wilderness.
But that was until this week, when assistant coach Paddy McCarthy sat down and blew the doors of the place. At the end of a Dyson blast of a press conference, one journalist switched off his recorder and said, “Paddy McCarthy for president.” If he wanted to, McCarthy could nearly convince the rest of us sports hacks we’d be better off covering that daft political jamboree.
McCarthy first joined the Irish set up during John O’Shea’s interim stint, and has been retained by Heimir Hallgrimsson but hidden away by the FAI’s media team. Perhaps they were waiting to unleash him at the right moment, and the final few days before Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign begins at home to Hungary feels like that moment.
McCarthy said all the right things but of far more relevance was how he said them. He spoke with an almost manic kind of conviction, exhibiting a rare quality of giving considered answers to questions without pausing for breath to consider them. His jabbed words landed on his audience at a rate and impact with which Katie Taylor would be proud.
He began by saying he has seen “definite progress” since he first started working with the squad last year. “The boys are in a good place, I just believe that this young team is on the cusp of something special and I just hope that is evident on Saturday.”
We have heard lots of how Ireland’s seemingly eternal cusp, but, as McCarthy says, he knows the players know that he would not lie to them because, given he is busy enough with his day job on the staff at Crystal Palace, he wouldn’t be involved if he didn’t believe Ireland could qualify for next World Cup.
Hence he has no truck with mere hope. “My expectation”, he says, “is we’re going to be in America next year.”
Do a CTRL+F on the transcript of McCarthy’s interview: the word ‘hope’ appears five times where ‘believe’ or ‘belief’ appears 17 times. He means what he says.
His belief has tangible foundations. One is the “consistency and clarity” of the messages and tactics with which the players have been drummed by Hallgrimsson, a process which McCarthy recognises as similar to how Oliver Glasner has worked at Crystal Palace.
Second, and more relevant, were the Nations League results against Bulgaria in March, in which Ireland twice came from behind to win 2-1, after which McCarthy says he sensed an “energy shift” from the media and the Irish fanbase.
“Previously”, he continues, “this young team might not have had the capabilities of getting back into the game”, citing their keeping of shape and their sticking by the game plan even when behind as proof of how they have grown.
“They have been through a lot of adversity”, says McCarthy. “My belief is they have grown through that adversity.
“I don’t know one story that won’t have that word adversity in it. Resilience is definitely a trait that you need to have to work in sport at this level.”
Exhibit A: Chiedozie Ogbene.
This is Ogbene’s first Irish call-up in almost a year, after he had his return to the Premier League with Ipswich Town wrecked by injury. Mark Ogbene down for the most striking words uttered in the press room this week.
“Knowing what I know now”, he said, “if I were go back nine months I would rupture my achilles again.”
Ogbene says his nine-month injury rehab helped shape him into a different person, both on and off the field. He says he learned more about his body and improved his technique in the gym, while he spent his time off watching hours upon hours of footage of himself, learning what is truly important.
“As wingers, we all want to look good”, said Ogbene. “A lot of us idolise Neymar and these players, but watching clips now, it’s all about efficiency. Sometimes, you want to entertain. But, at the end of the day, it’s a job and you need to do your job: you need to win. The difference now is I’ve separated entertainment and efficiency by watching and understanding. You’re sitting and watching with the fans and you understand the frustration of the fans, because they’re looking to win.”
Away from the pitch, Ogbene and his partner have had a son, while he also got involved with kids’ disability charities with Ipswich, which he says has allowed him to build a stronger bond with his sister Chibuzo, who has down syndrome.
“One of these kids went to me and said ‘Cheio no matter what, you are still my favourite.’ And it nearly made me cry. In my head, I am just a little kid doing my job, but we mean a lot to them. So, it meant I have to be the best version of myself because you don’t know what lives you are going to change.
“I have always had a good relationship with her [Chibuzo], she calls me every day, but you tend to appreciate things more. She tells me that I am the best footballer in the world, I would laugh and tell her that I am not, but to her, I am her brother and that is what I am.
“I don’t want to get emotional but when she says this stuff, it means a lot to me. You can say I am just her brother but I mean a lot more to her than I think. Sometimes I would have thought, ‘I will call her later in the week’, but I call her every day now. It changes her life, and I can hear it in the tone of her voice.”
Many more lives can be changed by qualifying for a World Cup. That Jack Charlton did it a few decades ago was the reason we were listening to Paddy McCarthy this week.
“I think back to my first football memory, 1990 and ’94, what that did for myself, and the country as a whole”, says McCarthy. “What an opportunity that is. Wow! Saturday night is that opportunity for this group, for us as a team to go and inspire the nation, so bring it on.
“I still see Charlie O’Leary in the Presidential box after the games. He is a legend in my eyes because he lived close by where I’m from in Edenmore, he’s from Harmonstown. Just by being the kit man in those competitions, he’s held in legendary status. What a guy, what an inspirational figure. I’ve got a 22-year-old son, a 15-year-old son who’ve never seen Ireland play in a World Cup. So Saturday, we go into it looking to achieve that, looking to inspire a nation.”
At the end of his press-conference-cum-rallying-call, McCarthy deftly dodged the final question.
Would qualifying for the World Cup outdo the achievement of winning the FA Cup with Crystal Palace?
“I don’t think you can take anything away from the emotion that was created of winning the FA Cup at Crystal Palace”, he replied. “I was there so long, with so many connections around the football club, of course that is one I’ll hold dearly forever.
“But qualifying for the World Cup, would inspire the nation. . . So when we do that, I’ll answer that question.”
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2026 world cup qualifiers Chiedozie Ogbene Hungary Paddy McCarthy Republic Of Ireland talk like you mean it