Martin O'Neill disappointed at suggestions Republic of Ireland target Catholic players from the North

The Republic of Ireland will meet their neighbours from the North for the first time in seven years on Thursday night, but the build-up to the supposed friendly has been soured by an increasingly fractious battle over the eligibility of international players.

With the domestic talent pool in the Premier League rapidly dwindling to the extent that the English Football Association is seeking to poach players who have played youth team football for Ireland - Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and West Ham’s Declan Rice - the two Irelands are now squabbling with each other over the best of the rest.

Earlier this year, Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill accused the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) of shamelessly targeting Catholic players born in the North.

“The FAI ever only approach one type of player: Catholic,” he said back in March, as he sought a gentleman’s agreement that would prevent the Republic approaching any player, regardless of their religious background, who had represented Northern Ireland between the ages of 17 to 21.

His main grievance was that the FAI put pressure on teenagers to sign international release forms, committing to the Republic, when they are still in Academy football.

“I can list you 10 players who’ve made that decision and have never represented the Republic,” he added.

The FAI, though, has refused to alter course and Republic manager, Martin O’Neill, a Catholic who captained Northern Ireland, was angry about the language used.

“To actually talk about religion and bring religion into it…” an unimpressed O’Neill countered. “I’ve played for Northern Ireland 60-odd times, captained them a number of times during their most successful period.

“Not only had we great players playing from both sides of the political divide, but we had great camaraderie, so it’s very disappointing.”

O’Neill joked this week that he would be giving his Northern Ireland counterpart “both barrels” when they met, but genuine tension remains because it is the Republic who appear to benefit most from the Good Friday Agreement, which allows sportsmen and women to choose which country they wish to represent, regardless of what side of the border they were born.

Although the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland midfielder Jimmy Nichol, claimed the North are “convincing more players to stick with us” recent evidence suggests otherwise.

The 24-year-old former Celtic player, Michael Duffy, who was named League of Ireland player of the year following a fantastic season with double winners, Dundalk, stirred things up again this month when he signed international release forms to switch from North to South, despite making nine appearances for Northern Ireland’s Under-21s.

The Derry man will not be involved in the game in Dublin, but excites Martin O’Neill and is attracting interest from a number of English clubs ahead of the January transfer window.

Unless you are a supporter of Burnley or Scottish Premier League side Hearts, where he is on loan, you may not have heard of Jimmy Dunne, but the defender is now caught up in the eye of the storm.

When news broke that Michael O’Neill had travelled to Scotland to try and persuade the 21-year-old from Drogheda, to declare for the North last month, his namesake promptly named him in his provisional 32-man Ireland squad for this game, only to discard him at the start of this week.

Having already played for Ireland’s Under-21 side, Dunne is understood to favour the Republic, but in the tit-for-tat battle, the North will renew their attempts to poach him before the next round of international fixtures in March.

“It’s only going to get worse because of the lack of young players coming through in the Premier League,” said Martin O’Neill. “It’s going to keep rearing its head [because the pool of players is getting smaller.]

“I think that Jimmy would prefer to play for us, but if that was the case that Northern Ireland still want him, people have a choice to make, it’s up to him.”

Asked whether the North’s pursuit of Dunne meant there was no chance he would shake hands on the proposed gentleman’s agreement, he replied: “Absolutely.”

It is a row which looks set to rumble on, regardless of the result at the Aviva Stadium.