In a week when Irish football had good reason to examine its flaws, its clubs gave us every reason to celebrate its potential.
History was made last night as both Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne sealed their places in the UEFA Conference League group stages – marking the first time two League of Ireland sides have made it into the league phase of European competition together.
It was a landmark moment. One that may, in time, be looked back on as a breakthrough. But while it was a night of unfiltered joy, it also offered a moment for deeper reflection.
The most pleasing aspect of it all? Both clubs thoroughly deserved their place at European football's top table.
Shelbourne were dominant and daring – qualities needed to succeed in Europe.
Joey O’Brien’s men were composed, structured, and relentless against Linfield.
Two wonderful goals, the first a clever finish from Harry Wood, and the second a sweetly struck effort by Ali Coote, underlined their quality.
They controlled the game incredibly well. Not conceding a single corner across 90 minutes in a European away leg is no small achievement.
Winning the tie 5-1 on aggregate wasn’t just about progression – as favourites to go through, they acted like it.
In Tallaght, Shamrock Rovers showcased the other side of European football: the grit, the maturity, the game management.
Already carrying an aggregate lead into their clash with Santa Clara, they produced a performance as controlled and assured as any Irish side has delivered in Europe.
Stephen Bradley’s side denied the Portuguese visitors any real momentum, with Ed McGinty’s sharp save from their only clear-cut chance standing out.
Aside from a couple of set piece moments, Rovers were composed in possession and superbly organised out of it. To a man, they were excellent.
It was, in every sense, a night to remember. And in every other sense, a week to worry.
Earlier this week, the League of Ireland academy audit painted a stark picture.
It exposed the truth many within the game already knew: that our youth structures, for all their good intentions and recent improvements, are still miles away from where they need to be.
The contact hours aren’t high enough, the facilities are poor, and the pipeline for talent risks drying up just as we’re beginning to see the fruits of League of Ireland clubs' progress.
There is a haunting statistic from last night that adds to the weight of that worry.
Of the ten Irish players who started for Shamrock Rovers last night, four received their football education abroad in the UK during those pivotal post-16 years – before Brexit closed that pathway.
Shelbourne had four Irish starters on the night. Three of them also came through in the UK system. That’s 50% of Irish starters from last night’s two big wins who honed their craft elsewhere during the most critical years of their development.
It’s a worrying stat. Not because we shouldn’t celebrate the players – they’ve come back and added enormous value – but because it underscores the gap in our own system going forward in this post Brexit world.
These wins, as historic as they are, are not yet powered by a fully-functioning, self-sufficient Irish-based player production line. And that needs to change – urgently.
The national team discourse has already turned in this direction, with many fearing the impact the lack of academy funding will have in five to ten years’ time.
The national team leaning heavily into the second and third generation of our diaspora.
The clubs may be facing a similar outcome.
If we cannot develop and retain a pool of players capable of competing at this level, how long can nights like last night be sustained?
That said, let’s not allow the backdrop to dim the brilliance of what was achieved. Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers have done something that should not only be celebrated but studied.
With limited resources, they’ve built competitive, well-coached, ambitious teams. And they’ve done so largely without the structural support that clubs in similar-sized nations enjoy.
Perhaps it was fitting that on the day Ollie Horgan sadly passed away, the league he fought so hard for had one of its finest nights.
Ollie, whose career embodied the principles of overachievement, of doing more with less, would have found joy in watching two Irish clubs stand tall on the European stage, built on grit, organisation, and belief.
The great man would have been proud.
Celebrate this moment. Let it inspire players, coaches, fans, and policymakers alike.
But use it too – as fuel for action, not just admiration. We’re closer to something great than we’ve ever been.
