A 'rinkydink" manager was my favourite
His reading of the telegraph before the 2006 World Cup was iconic.
Still amazing he kept the job after the rod liddle comment.
No way would that happen now.
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Compilation Djibril Cisse trying to cross a ball for Liverpool and hitting the first man every time. ‘Bang’ and something to the effect of Cisse trying to kill the fullback with his shit delivery.
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Jesus but that was amazing punditry. Often better than the match that preceded it
Eamo was the Spanish football expert
“I watch a lot of Spanish football Bill”
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This is gold.
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Eamon Dunphy turns 80.
To mark the occasion, he sat down with Garry Doyle of the Irish Daily Star to discuss his legendary punditry career.
Dunphy was forthright in expressing his regret over his relationship with John Delaney during his time running the FAI.
Dunphy said:
“I wasn’t trying to hide it. I declared myself to be the recipient of tickets from him and took a sympathetic view of him.
“That was part of his con. And he got me for a while.
“Definitely Delaney fooled me. I was foolish. And I got sucked into a relationship where I could ring him up and say, ‘could I have two tickets for a Manchester United match?’
“When the story broke about what he was doing, I was appalled. I did out myself. No one said ‘we have caught you!”
“I said, ‘this is wrong, I have got to out myself because if someone else was doing it, I would have been after them. Attending his 50th birthday party is a source of embarrassment. I did go. It was embarrassing, deeply embarrassing.”
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In the end Dunphy enjoyed being a snout in the FAI trough as much as any of them.
Good to see he finally saw Delaney for what he was, even belatedly
He would have been the last man standing if he left it one more day.
“Where did you get these two guys from”
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Managing myself for 80 years baby
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Iconic
It wasn’t untrue though. Can you fire someone for speaking facts
Rod Liddle was on liveline the next day and had no problem with it. Eamo came on and licked his arse after Rod said Eamo was his hero going to the Den in the 70s
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Rod is well able to take it as well as give it.
The late, great, eamo dunphy…just knew
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Eamon Dunphy column: ‘I owe The Dentist an apology - he has given us a night we will never forget’
Ireland were sensational against Portugal and I have never been happier to eat humble pie
Eamon Dunphy
22:30, 13 Nov 2025
The first thing I want to do is apologise to Heimir Hallgrimsson - AKA The Dentist. I’ve been extremely critical of him over the last 12 months.
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Yet I could not be happier to eat humble pie because what happened in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday night was incredible.
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And no matter what Hallgrimsson does in the remainder of his career, he will always have this night, when Ireland defeated the fifth ranked team in the world, and got one over one of the greatest players to have ever played the game.
Credit Hallgrimsson for his strategy, his belief in both himself and his team. They were brilliant.
You could feel it long before kick-off. That hum around Lansdowne Road — part hope, part dread — that maybe, just maybe, something was about to happen.
And then it did. Ireland 2, Portugal 0. No fluke. No lucky deflection. Just proper football — brave.
We’ve had decades of “moral victories”, hard-luck stories and gallant defeats. But this was different. This was a real team beating a real heavyweight. Ronaldo was made to look ordinary by lads in green who decided enough was enough.
And you have to hand it to the manager. Heimir Hallgrímsson — “The Dentist” — got it right.
I’ve given him stick, and I don’t take any of it back. Until now, the football has been timid, the selections odd. But against Portugal, he got everything right — from the shape to the spirit. It was brave management, not blind luck.
At the back, Caoimhin Kelleher was world class. He’s a Rolls Royce in goal. He makes hard saves look routine and has the poise of a man who learned his trade alongside Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.
Late on, when Portugal flung everything at him, he stood tall, his left-handed save from Ramos was special.
In front of him, Nathan Collins and Seamus Coleman were magnificent. Collins is the future — powerful, composed, a fine captain already.
Coleman, though, was the soul of the night. At 37, after injuries and doubt, he rolled back the years. Every block was gutsy. That’s leadership you can’t coach.
He’s old-school in the best way — no fuss, no headlines, just pride in the shirt. Watching him, you understood what international football is supposed to mean.
Ireland’s midfield worked, too. For years, we’ve struggled to keep the ball, to play with purpose. But here, there was structure and bravery. Josh Cullen had his best game yet in an Ireland shirt and Jack Taylor also ticked that particular box.
And when the chances came, Troy Parrott took them.
Plus you Chiedozie Ogbene. He was electric — a menace every time he ran at Portugal’s defence. He’s unpredictable, yes, but he’s fearless, and defenders hate that. One burst in the first half took Ireland 60 yards up the pitch. When he won a throw-in, the crowd cheered as if it was a goal.
And then when Parrott got his two goals, the crowd cheered as if we had won the World Cup.
The first goal, scored from Cullen’s corner, was met by a striker who believes in himself. Ruthless.
I’ve been irked when Hallgrimsson left Parrott out before.
The potential has always been there, but he hasn’t been offered enough chances to deliver on it. Well, he delivered here. His movement, his composure, his confidence — it was the complete centre-forward’s display.
But what mattered most wasn’t one player. It was the collective spirit we’d forgotten we could produce. For too long, we’ve been timid, talking about “process” instead of purpose.
On this night, Ireland rediscovered both.
Heimir deserves credit. He picked the right players and let them play.
The team pressed when it made sense, dropped when they had to, and always looked organised. That’s coaching. That’s understanding your team — trusting their instinct.
The Aviva was alive again. You could see it in the kids waving flags and the old lads wiping tears. For years we’ve been sold the idea that Ireland can’t compete — that we’re not technical enough, not clever enough. Rubbish. We’ve always had heart and brains. We just needed belief.
Coleman embodied it. Ogbene and Parrott brought the spark. Kelleher and Collins gave it shape. And Heimir, finally, gave them permission to express it.
I’ve been watching this game for a lifetime. I’ve seen Charlton’s thunder, Trapattoni’s fear, Kenny’s ideals. But this — this was the first time in a long while I saw an Irish team that looked comfortable in its own skin.
There’s still work to do. One game doesn’t change a decade of drift. But nights like this matter. They remind us of who we are when the noise fades.
As the final whistle went, the stadium shook. The fans started singing The Fields of Athenry. Not in mourning, as it’s often sung, but in joy.
That’s what this team gave us back: pride. So yes, Heimir — take a bow. You earned it. And yes, Heimir - I am eating humble pie. And I am glad to do so.
All I have ever wanted is for an Irish team to play with pride. And they certainly did that. We got our game back on Thursday night.
So roll on Sunday. Hungary you have been warned. This Ireland team won’t lie down for anyone.
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