Shelbourne manager Joey O’Brien is one of 14 coaches included in the Football Association of Ireland’s Uefa pro-licence course for the 2025/26 season.
O’Brien leads Shelbourne into the Uefa Conference League group phase for the first time in the club’s history when Swedish side BK Häcken come to Tallaght Stadium on October 2nd.
Uefa rules stipulate that managers working in the League of Ireland Premier Division must hold a pro licence. There is, however, a 60-day exemption period when a coach can be enrolled in a pro-licence course.
In June, O’Brien was promoted from assistant coach to manager following the abrupt resignation of Damien Duff. The 39-year-old, who won five caps for the Republic of Ireland, went straight from his playing career at Shamrock Rovers to working as Duff’s No 2 in November 2021.
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Duff completed the pro-licence course in 2020, along with the current Ferencváros manager Robbie Keane and Brentford head coach Keith Andrews.
There are six former Ireland internationals in the class of 2026 with Reading manager Noel Hunt, Wexford manager Stephen Elliott, Michael Doyle, Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane and his second cousin Marie Hourihan among the intake. Hourihan is head coach of the Plymouth Argyle women’s team.
The FAI technical director Shane Robinson is also on the 18-month course following the confirmation of his position in Abbotstown working under the FAI’s new director of football John Martin.
“Shane has accountability for all our development age groups,” explained David Courell, the FAI chief executive last week. “And everything that goes with it including the ‘green line’ that’s in the Football Pathways Plan. He [is] also [responsible] for talent ID and performance [of underage coaches and teams up to and including the men’s under-21s].”
Robinson was previously head of the Shamrock Rovers’ academy while Martin was the Rovers CEO before he announced his resignation in April.
The relationship between former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny and the FAI has improved enough for the St Patrick’s Athletic manager to be invited to speak to the 14 coaches earlier this month during a round-table gathering that included the current Ireland coaches Heimir Hallgrímsson and John O’Shea.
Kenny was also joined by Bohemians manager Alan Reynolds, Galway United manager John Caulfield and Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty.
“This course is designed to develop expertise through mentorship from subject matter experts in areas like sports psychology, communication, and transformational leadership,” said Niall O’Regan, the FAI head of education and development.
“We also aim to challenge the group and take them out of their comfort zones, through unique experiences provided by the Defence Forces.
“Welcoming Heimir, John, and a number of top League of Ireland managers allowed for some excellent football discussions, a collaborative element I am looking forward to continuing throughout the course.”
Dundalk manager Ciarán Kilduff is also on the course. Kilduff was critical of the FAI’s lack of focus on the women’s domestic game, stating as much after he led Athlone Town to a league title last season.
“I don’t want the same mistakes of the men’s league being repeated,” said Kilduff. “There was this thing of getting on the magic plane to England to get into the Ireland squad. It’s the ideology that if you were any good, players had to leave. We really don’t need to do that with the women’s league.”
There is an international flavour to the group as the Saudi-based German-coach Michael Hefele made it through a “robust” application process.
“It is a really exciting and diverse group that has come through the robust application process,” said Craig Sexton, the FAI coach development manager, “and we look forward to both challenging and supporting them on their development journey over the next 18 months.”
2025-26 Uefa Pro Licence participants: Ciarán Kilduff, Joey O’Brien, Marie Hourihan, Stephen Elliott, Michael Doyle, Rene Gilmartin, Shane Robinson, Jason McGuinness, Michael Hefele, Conor Hourihane, Noel Hunt, Chelsea Noonan, Jack Cassidy, Seán O’Connor.
