Football's future in debate
Tuesday 28 November 2006

Kenny Cunningham, Republic of Ireland International Friendly, Republic of Ireland v Italy

The future of Irish domestic football will be debated at an event in DCU on Thursday 30 November. Representatives of League of Ireland clubs, of the players, supporters, and of the FAI, will take part in the debate. Con Murphy, who presents football television broadcasts for RTE, will be in the chair.

The lead speaker will be Daire Whelan, a graduate of DCU's Masters in Journalism, who recently published Who Stole Our Game? - the fall and fall of Irish soccer (Gill and Macmillan). Among the panelists to respond will be Gerry McDermott, spokesperson for the FAI, Stephen McGuinness, of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gerry Conway, secretary of Bohemian Football Club, whose senior team trains in DCU's facilities, and John Byrne, PRO for Shamrock Rovers FC.

The domestic football season comes to an end on Sunday 3 December with the FAI Cup Final between Derry City and St Patrick's Athletic. The premier league was in contest right down to the final whistle, with Shelbourne eventually securing their third title in four years. But the action on the field has been often overshadowed by events off the field - managers dismissed and resigning, Dublin City going out of business, grounds that were refused a licence for European matches, a dispute for months over a match in which a suspended player was fielded.

Everybody interested in the future of Irish football is invited to the public discussion, presented by DCU School of Communications and DCU Sport, in lecture theatre HG20 (Nursing Building), on Thursday 30 November at 8pm.