For years, the women’s national soccer squad usually had a sprinkling of players born beyond these shores. They qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland through their parents or grandparents. However, the numbers never came close to the men’s set-up until the last few years. The net is being cast wide.
It was striking that when Carla Ward named her squad last week for the Nations League games against Turkey and Slovenia, just 11 of the 24 selected players were born in Ireland. The rest are natives of either the UK or the United States, with the newest recruit being San Diego-born Erin Healy.
Those numbers will hardly soothe the frustration of supporters of the local game who want to see more home-based players given their chance in the senior squad. Healy’s selection won’t placate them. Considering she plays in Australia, it’s doubtful if Ward has seen much or any of her.
The hope is that she will fare better than Ireland’s last recruit from the Australian league, Deborah-Anne de la Harpe, who was taken off by then-manager Vera Pauw at half-time on her debut in 2023 and hasn’t been seen since.
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The counter argument is, of course, that Healy is playing professionally and at a higher level. She has scored eight goals in her 22 appearances for Adelaide United since joining them last September from Portugal’s Club de Albergaria.
Granted, a highlights reel can make Rasmus Hojlund resemble Marco van Basten, but Healy certainly looks useful. She is pacy and tricky, with a zinger of a shot. She won Adelaide’s player of the year award, with coach Adrian Stenta describing the 24-year-old’s performances in her debut campaign as “immense”. Little wonder, then, that Ward would at least want a close-up look at her.
No more than Jack Charlton back in the day, the job of an international manager is primarily to find the best possible talent for his or her squad. It is not their role to be concerned by players’ places of birth once they get hold of that passport.
Healy got hers last September. Both sides of her family have Irish roots, but it was through her late maternal grandfather, Hugh McGuire, who left Clones, Co Monaghan for the States when he was 25, that she qualified.
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After graduating from Gonzaga University in Washington state with a business degree, she put the offer a job on the back-burner, opting to move to Portugal for a season to see if she could forge a career in soccer. She prospered there, earning a move to Australia and, eight months later, a call-up from Ward.
“It was an unreal experience,” she said of their phone chat. “My Irish heritage has always been part of who I am and who my family is. Ever since I got my citizenship, it’s been my goal to play for this team and be a part of it.”
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She’s hoping for a move back to Europe again in the months ahead, ideally to England’s WSL. The commute from Australia for international duty is a touch on the lengthy side.
If she can contribute as much to the Irish cause as, say, fellow San Diegan Courtney Brosnan, she’ll do fine. And while the likes of Kyra Carusa, Ruesha Littlejohn, Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion were born beyond these shores too, their passion and commitment in representing the land of their ancestors is beyond doubt.
Still, it would be good to see more of that home-based talent given its chance. If the argument is that they’re not playing at a high enough level, then bring them in with those who are. Test them, push them, see what they can offer. The connection with the diaspora is a very lovely thing, but there needs to be a solid one with the home crew too.
