Emma Byrne, the Republic of Ireland’s most capped player, and Colin Healy have joined Eileen Gleeson’s interim management team for the Nations League matches against Northern Ireland and Hungary later this month.
Byrne will be a popular choice among the playing squad, as Katie McCabe succeeded her as Irish captain after she won the last of her 134 caps in 2017.
“Incredibly proud to be involved,” said Byrne.
Interestingly, the former Arsenal shot stopper is not coaching the goalkeepers as that role will be filled by Richie Fitzgibbon, the FAI’s high-performance national coach educator, who also holds a Uefa A goalkeeping licence.
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Healy stepped down as Cork City manager in May, having led his hometown club back to the Premier Division last season. The 43-year-old won 13 senior caps for Ireland in a 19-season career before moving into coaching, where he previously assisted the Ireland men’s under-19s.
Back in 2002, Healy was initially called up to replace Roy Keane in Ireland’s World Cup squad but the deadline passed before he could make the journey to Japan.
Regardless of how Ireland goes against Northern Ireland in the first ever women’s international at the Aviva Stadium on September 23rd or in Budapest three days later, Gleeson is not expected to take the head coaching job on a permanent basis.
Gleeson previously worked with the current squad as Vera Pauw’s assistant coach, but she is due to return to her full-time position as the association’s head of women’s and girls’ football in October.
FAI director of football Marc Canham has begun the recruitment process to find a replacement for Pauw, after the board of directors voted not to extend the Dutch coach’s contract in August.
McCabe, who was recently longlisted for the Ballon d’Or, will link up with the interim coaching ticket and her fellow players next Monday in Dublin for the first camp following four years under Pauw.
Áine O’Gorman is the only member of the World Cup squad to announce her retirement since Ireland were eliminated in the group stages in July.
