We look at the structural and historical reasons behind Limerick’s great failure to contribute to the Irish national team – and determine what should be done to fix things.
Gavin Cooney WHEN IT COMES to producing elite male footballers, no county in Ireland underperforms to Limerick ’s extent.
Other counties have underachieved under this metric too, but on the surface, few have the advantages Limerick has. It is the sixth-largest county in the Republic by population; is a city in which football is played widely; houses the standard-setting facilities and expertise of the University of Limerick; and has a superb tradition across all sports, arguably punching above its weight in rugby and hurling over the last couple of decades.
Since Limerick United won the top-flight title in 1980, the main club has been known as Limerick City, Limerick 37, Limerick FC, and now Treaty United. They have roved about Limerick looking for a home, and their only major prizes since winning the FAI Cup in 1982 have been a pair of League Cups. Cian Lynch and Seamus Flanagan were great soccer players in their youth, but as they count their All-Ireland medals and bask in their earned acclaim, it’s doubtful they regret the path they chose.
Limerick's sporting potential: an aerial view of the €7 million outdoor facilities at the University of Limerick, opened in 2019. True Media True Media A possible compromise is to at least amalgamate the top-tier divisions for the benefit of the most talented players, though none of those we spoke to are holding their breath on that change happening any time soon.
The elite player pathway decreed by the FAI is for a player to remain with their local underage club until U14 level, at which point the best players can move into a professional, LOI academy. Speaking generally, he points to the lack of a “collective agenda”. “You and I see a player and say, ‘He could play for Ireland.’ They don’t give a bollocks about that. All they can see is he’ll play for the schoolboy club, or maybe the Kennedy Cup, and that’s it.”
Leagues all over the country have the power to operate as republics independent of the FAI as they all have their own rulebook, and thus the power to pass and adopt their own rules. The FAI intend to address this with the introduction of one, national rulebook, with which all leagues must abide.
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