I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick and Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football to review the performances of the Republic of Ireland Senior Men's team in 2023, from the opening friendly against Latvia in March, through the qualification campaign for Euro 2024, to the final game of Stephen Kenny's time in charge against New Zealand in November. What were the highs and lows, and that, if anything, was learned from each game?
Wednesday, 3 January 2024
Monday, 1 January 2024
January 2024 Transfer Window
Transfers
Wednesday, 3rd January
Bristol City signed former St Patrick's Athletic midfielder Adam Murphy on a three and a half year contractConor Wilkinson signed an 18 month contract with League Two's Colchester United
Thursday, 4th January
Jay McGrath returned to Doncaster, where he spent time with their academy, signing a contract until the summer of 2026Friday, 5th January
Finn Azaz left Aston Villa to sign a contract with Middlesbrough until the summer of 2029After 18 months in France with SM Caen, Killian Cailloce returned to Drogheda United
Tuesday, 9th January
Partick Thistle announced the signing of Daniel O'Reilly on an 18 month contractFriday, 12th January
Conor Coventry left West Ham to sign a contract with Charlton Athletic until July 2027Ireland U19 midfielder Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh has joined Southampton until 2027, and will play for their U21 side
Kyle Robinson signed for Scottish Championship side Arbroath
Defender Zak Delaney left Inverness Caledonian Thistle to sign for fellow Scottish side Arbroath
Derrick Williams signed a two year contract with Atlanta United, with the option of a further 12 months
Saturday, 13th January
Serie A side AS Roma confirmed that Kevin Zefi has joined I Giallorossi
Shamrock Rovers confirmed that, following his loan at the Hoops last season, Trevor Clarke signed a permanent contract at Tallaght Stadium🤝 Benvenuto nella nostra squadra Primavera a Kevin Zefi, attaccante irlandese classe 2005, proveniente dall’Inter#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/fNc3myRVKK
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) January 13, 2024
Wednesday, 17th January
15 year old Grady McDonnell, who played for the Republic of Ireland U15s, U16s, and U17s in 2023, signed a three year contract with Canadian side Vancouver FCFriday, 19th January
Ronan Curtis signed a deal until the end of the season with AFC WimbledonTuesday, 23rd January
U21 winger Ollie O'Neill signed a two and a half year contract with League One side Leyton OrientWednesday, 24th January
Liam Kinsella signed an 18 month contract with Cheltenham TownConnor O'Riordan jumped two divisions to sign a long term contract with Blackburn Rovers
Thursday, 25th January
Sam Curtis, one of the standout players from the League of Ireland, has signed a long term contract with Sheffield UnitedFriday, 26th January
U19 midfielder Darius Lipsiuc signed a two and a half year contract with Stoke City18 year old Charlie Cummins signed League One side Exeter City
Crystal Palace signed Shelbourne defender Luke Browne, who will play in the Eagle's U18 side
Saturday, 27th January
Izzy Atkinson signed a two year contract with Crystal Palace WomenMonday, 29th January
After a year in Denmark with Fortuna Hjorring, Roma McLaughlin returned to Ireland, signing for Shelbourne
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮 ✍🏻
— Shelbourne FC (@shelsfc) January 29, 2024
Roma McLaughlin signs for Shels, subject to international clearance#DublinsFinest | #Reds2024
Tuesday, 30th January
Cristiano Fitzgerald signed for Primera Liga side CF Estrela da Amadora, in their first season in the Primera Liga
Wednesday, 31st January
Twice-capped defender Tara O'Hanlon signed a contract with Manchester City's Womens team until 2027Abbie Larkin signed a two and a half year contract with Crystal Palace Women
Following the expiration of her contract with Everton, Megan Campbell joined Women's Championship side London City Lionesses
Kate Mooney signed an 18 month contract with Hearts Women
Olamide Shodipo signed for Portuguese second division side CD Feirenses
Thursday, 1st February
Serie A side Torin confirmed the signing of midfield player Senan Mullins👦 | PRIMAVERA
— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC_1906) February 1, 2024
Il Torino Football Club comunica di aver acquisito dal Dundalk Football Club, a titolo definitivo, il diritto alle prestazioni sportive del calciatore Senan Mullen.
Benvenuto! 💪#SFT | #Primavera1TIM pic.twitter.com/ErM84YePtc
Calum Kavanagh signed a two and a half year deal with Bradford City
Naj Razi signed a two and a half year contract with Serie B side Como
Georgie Kelly has signed a three and a half year contract with Carlisle United
Striker Tommy Lonergan moved to Fleetwood Town
Aaron Drinan signed a permanent contract with Swindown Town
Loans
Monday, 1st January
Burnley's Dara Costelloe signed for Dundee on loan until the end of the seasonTuesday, 2nd January
Darragh Burns returns to the League of Ireland, signing a season long loan with Shamrock RoversWednesday, 3rd January
Following his return from his loan spell with St Patrick's Athletic, Conor Carty joined Doncaster Rovers for the remainder of the season in EnglandThursday, 4th January
U21 defender Sean Grehan signed for Carlisle United on loan until the end of the current seasonNorwich City defender Emmanuel Adegboyega signed a loan deal with Walsall until the end of the season
Josh Keeley will keep goal at The Hive Stadium, after signing a loan deal with Barnet FC
Friday, 5th January
Dawson Devoy signed for Swindon Town on loan until the end of the 2023/24 seasonMonday, 15th January
After signing a loan deal until the end of the season, Tony Springett will help Northampton Town in their promotion bid from League OneTyreik Wright returned to Bradford City, where he spent the first half of the 2022/23 season, signing a loan deal until the end of the season at Valley Parade
Lincoln City's Oisin Gallagher signed a loan deal with Drogheda United
Boston United extended the loan of Deji Sotona from Doncaster Rovers until the end of the season
Wednesday, 17th January
Swindown Town signed defender Conor McCarthy on loan for the remainder of the seasonFriday, 19th January
Aaron McEneff signed for Shamrock Rovers on loan for the 2024 LOI season, with a view to a permanent move in 2025Tuesday, 23rd January
Michael Obafemi signed a loan deal with Championship side Millwall until the end of the seasonCrystal Palace defender Tayo Adaramola joined Belgian Jupiler league side RWD Molenbeek
Wednesday, 24th January
18 months after leaving Sligo Rovers for Oxford United, Ed McGinty returned to the Bit O'Red on a six month loanFriday, 26th January
Defender Jessie Stapleton signed for Reading on loan for the rest of the seasonLiam Kerrigan will continue his return from an ACL injury with a loan at Serie C side Novara
Sunday, 28th January
After spending the first half of 2023/24 on loan at wycombe Wanderers, Killian Phillips joined Aberdeen for the remainder of the seasonTuesday, 30th January
AIK's Zak Elbouzedi joined League Two side Swindon Town on loanThursday, 1st February
After a short loan at Rochdale earlier this season, Fleetwood's Cian Hayes returned to Spotland on loan until the end of the seasonMikey Johnston signed for West Bromwich Albion on loan for the remainder of the season
Harrogate Town announced the loan signing of Tom Bloxham for the rest of the season
Norwich City striker Aadam Idah joined Scottish giants Celtic on loan until the end of the current season
Gavin Kilkenny signed a loan deal with Fleetwood Town
Promising winger Harry Vaughn signed a loan deal with Bristol Rovers
The club is delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Harry Vaughan from Hull City, on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season!#BristolRovers pic.twitter.com/xquaEawoob
— Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) February 1, 2024
After being named as a substitute against Manchester United, Joe Hodge signed a loan deal with QPR
John-Joe O'Toole joined AFC Wimbledon on loan for the rest of the season
Contracts
Wednesday, 31st January
Gotham FC confirmed that Sinead Farrelly will continue with the NWSL Champions for the 2024 seasonManagement
Friday, 12th January
Curtis Fleming joined Charlton as assistant head coachWednesday, 24th January
Following the departure of Michael Appleton, Fleming was promoted to interim head coachWednesday, 6 December 2023
How many caps does Megan Connolly have?
Following the Republic of Ireland's final 2023 UEFA Nations League game, the FAI tweeted congratulations to Megan Connolly on her 50th cap
50 caps for our Meg last night 🤩👏@MeganConnolly4 #COYGIG | #OUTBELIEVE pic.twitter.com/Vy1cxfYb99
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) December 6, 2023
This was a little surprising to us, because we had posted on mastodon 🔗 and blue sky 🔗 that it was actually the Bristol City midfielder's 51st cap, having reached the half century against Hungary at Tallaght Stadium in the previous game.
So, which is correct?
Prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup last summer, we started an initiative to bring the Wikipedia pages for each player in the Women's squad up to date, including corrected tables for appearances and goals. We did notice a discrepency on Megan's page, and asked for help on the Talk section of the page. The table below is taken from the talk section on Megan Connolly's page, with the games that took place since the last update to the page added in, containing the cap number, the date of each cap, and a link to a report on the game containing the lineup, from either RTE, the Irish Times, UEFA's website, FIFA's website, or the FAI's own website.
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