On this weeks algorithm run robotic pod we have Tommy Barrett from Limerick, Colin Healy from Cork, and Greg Bolger and Conor McCormack from Nomadland. There's also Titus Bramble, Bob Geldof, Pixie Lotts and Dexys Midnight Pizza Question, all this and a snazzy new theme tune....On this weeks algorithm run robotic pod we have Tommy Barrett on a new beginning at Treaty United, Colin Healy on his proper start at Cork, and our main chat is with nomads Greg Bolger and Conor McCormack who tell us abou...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Tunnels, lights, injections… Remember when these used to be football terms. Well let's take them back. With the help of our friends at Future Ticketing, we're back with a whole new fresh look at a brand new season from Jack Byrne, sunning himself in Cyprus, Keith Long doing his Teresa Mannion impression, and Gary Rogers all weighing in on the season to come. Jack also reflects on the lessons he learned and the best players he encountered during his time in the league. Dan and Johnny are still a ...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 30 min
We've reached the end of the road for 2020 and a 30 episode journey from the studio to the sitting room. Ireland chief scout Ruaidhri Higgins and good friend of the show Johnny Dunleavy join us to reflect on Dundalk's cup final joy, their Europa League ending and to ask if they can push Shamrock Rovers in 2021. Even Johnny Ward agrees that might be possible, although his Dundalk friends may not believe him. Paul Corry, Mark Rossiter, Conan Byrne and Shane Supple also send in their brief reflecti...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 29 min
We’re back after Dan went MIA to present our annual PFA Ireland awards special and we have Roberto Lopes, Danny Grant and Mark Doyle with us to discuss their nominations for the various awards. ‘Pico’ looks ahead to the cup final, and tells us some Zlatan and Cape Verde tales while Danny discusses his future career plans and Mark explains his late development. PFAI chief Stephen McGuinness also calls for clarity on the 2021 season and a say for players in what happens.
Dec 02, 2020•1 hr 20 min
After a league season like no other, Finn Harps avoid the drop, Shelbourne face into an anxious playoff against Longford and Sligo somehow finish fourth, despite losing half of their games, and are very likely to be playing European football next season. Dan has the week off but sends in his appraisal of each of the Premier Division teams' campaign, with Pat Fenlon in the house to talk about what was a truly bonkers 2020 season. Pat is joined by Ollie Horgan to discuss perhaps Harps' greatest es...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 28 min
Management is a big theme of this week's show. Drogheda manager Tim Clancy joins us after leading his side to promotion and explains the 24/7 commitment of dealing with the role and trying to fit real life around it. Alan Reynolds talks about his own transition and reflects on his dramatic year that started at Waterford, veered to Dundalk and has brought him to the Ireland U21 backroom team working with an exciting generation of players. We hear from John Caulfield after their massive win agains...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Shamrock Rovers are champions and we are joined by their manager Stephen Bradley for a wide ranging chat about Rovers plans for the future, the lessons of the recent past, Jack Byrne, the overall direction of Irish football and much more (22:00). We also look ahead to Dundalk's big date with Arsenal with the help of Lilywhites midfielder Greg Sloggett (1:23:30) and hear from the Drogheda camp after they prevailed in the dramatic First Division finale (1:45:50). The lads also discuss the Finn Har...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 58 min
We talk to Joe on this week's show, with Cork City legend and former assistant boss Joe Gamble following up on his request for a right to reply to last week's pod (35:00). He explains the struggles faced by himself and Neale Fenn, the budgetary complications, recruitment lessons and the logic behind Daire O'Connor's abrupt exit. Prior to that, we look ahead to Dundalk's big European date with Molde with the help of Norwegian football expert Ben Wells (10:48).
Oct 21, 2020•1 hr 18 min
There's a Wicklow theme to this week's show with Arklow's Daire O'Connor giving us the lowdown on his abrupt exit from Cork City, his relationship with Neale Fenn and his plans for the future (10:55). We then hear from Bray Wanderers boss Gary Cronin on their promotion charge, his early season fears, and the process of rebuilding the club after a turbulent era(52:00). The lads also discuss Rovers' imminent title party, more batshit goings on at Dundalk and a look back to the summer of 1995
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 20 min
We're bringing people back together on this week's show as former team-mates Robbie Benson and Stephen Folan reflect on days gone by at Dundalk and their current missions with St Patrick's Athletic and Finn Harps respectively. Stephen travelled around the world in 2020 whereas Robbie was stuck at home during lockdown but they were both grateful for the return of the League of Ireland for their own reasons. There's also a bit of Stephen Kenny chat, Johnny and Dan's take on Filippo Giovagnoli's we...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 21 min
‘We didn’t start this year with plans of interviewing a Faroese football expert come September but this is 2020 and we look ahead to Dundalk’s big date with Ki Klaksvik with the help of Kasper Neesgaard who tells us what we can expect from the underdogs (19:00). Daniel Kelly gives us a flavour of the mood in the Dundalk camp (11:30). We then go back in time and also look to the future with the help of LOI legend Colin Hawkins who discusses assisting players with the next step in their career, th...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 27 min
It’s a Graham themed show this week with two for the price of one. Graham Gartland and Graham Cummins crossed paths in Scotland and they are reunited on the show to discuss their careers in football, European experiences, the Scottish culture, adjusting to becoming an older player and all of the challenges that come with it. We also discuss Cork’s struggles, Rovers ambitions, Dundalk’s European opportunity and there’s the mandatory Galway reborn interview with Shane Duggan.
Sep 23, 2020•1 hr 14 min
It’s a role reversal this week as Johnny is on the working beat and Dan is traversing the country ahead of a historic Europa League tie in Tallaght. We hear from Stephen Bradley, Jack Byrne and Graham Burke ahead of Shamrock Rovers v AC Milan and Italian based Irishman Mark Doyle gives us the lowdown on the guests. We also discuss Dundalk’s European date in Andorra, John Sheridan’s Waterford farewell and Kerry’s untapped potential.
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 13 min
This surreal season is another twist in the lengthy League of Ireland careers of our two guests, both of whom have been around the block New Galway United manager John Caulfield joins the show to discuss his fresh start, the end of his Cork City adventure and coping with the likes of Johnny Ward. Ronan Finn discusses a hard fought derby win, the experience he hopes to bring to the title-run in and the change of position and change of off-pitch focus that has come hand in hand with his graduation...
Sep 09, 2020•1 hr 45 min
After a week with a news cycle dominated by European ties, Stephen Kenny's new dawn and bizarre goings on at Dundalk, we welcome two guests with some experience of all of the above. Mark Rossiter and Ciaran Kilduff discuss the Kenny factor, what Dundalk have lost, and how the Shamrock Rovers players will feel about their AC Milan opportunity. Killer also discusses life at Shelbourne and shared experiences with Gary Deegan, while Rossi breaks down Sligo's improvement and also reflects on his role...
Sep 02, 2020•1 hr 8 min
We're back after a week of high drama and Paul Corry joins Johnny and Dan to pick through Dundalk's journey from Perth to Italy, the lessons of the European results so far and what we can expect from Rovers and Bohs tomorrow. Dan talks with Andre Wright about Bohs' trip to Hungary, Johnny wrestles with his emotions around John Caulfield's Galway arrival and we hear snippets from the League of Ireland's Big Fil - Filippo Giovagnoli - about what he's got to offer during his kamikaze mission
Aug 26, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Dundalk's Champions League campaign ended abruptly at the first hurdle and Johnny and Dan pick through the bones to ask what their exit says about where the club stands right now and where they go from here. We also have a lengthy chat with Alan Bennett about Cork's upturn in fortunes, the buzz of watching youngsters develop on their potential and the dynamic of being a 38-year-old veteran in a young man's league. Johnny also hears from Tim Clancy in the aftermath of a Drogheda win that prompted...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 32 min
This may be a year of restricted travel, but there's a global feel to this week's show. Sligo Rovers' South African born New Zealand international Ryan De Vries tells us about Japan, love, life, his roundabout route to The Showgrounds and his uncertain future (54:13). Conor McCormack reflects on almost a decade in the LOI, his Italian adventures and his favourite European experiences ahead of Derry's jaunt to Lithuania (25:30). And Dundalk's Patrick McEleney discusses his relief at getting back ...
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 21 min
We've a busy show after a lively return to action. Dundalk's (sort of) new signing Dave McMillan joins us to discuss returning home from Scotland and opens up on the lessons of his time away and the differences between football in the two countries. Pain loving Gary Deegan talks to Dan in Donegal and we hear from Declan Devine on Derry's up and down resumption. There's also FAI politics fatigue, streaming reviews, Cork's loud suffering and whether it's too early for Johnny to call the league yet...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 9 min
The LOI is back and LOI Weekly is weekly again. With our new sponsor, Lottoland, coming on board, we're returning to our audio roots for the rest of a season which has turned from a marathon into a sprint. Georgie Kelly joins us to discuss his move from Dundalk to St Pat's and Daire O'Connor (Cork), Rob Cornwall (Bohs) and Luke Byrne (Shelbourne) share their enthusiasm about the short road. Johnny and Dan are back under the same roof to discuss football without fans, the LOI's pandemic politics,...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 16 min
We're back for another double header length episode, and two guests who had very different plans in mind at the start of the year. Ruaidhri Higgins joins us after the mid pandemic move from Dundalk's coaching team to Ireland's backroom staff and explains his special relationship with Stephen Kenny, the specifics of his new brief and why he realised early in his career that his top level ambitions would likely only be realised as a coach. Meanwhile, Padraig Amond joins us ahead of a round of golf...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 54 min
We're still in limbo about whether the League of Ireland 2020 season will return and the FAI's interim deputy CEO Niall Quinn is central to the attempts to try and make it happen. He joined the lads to discuss the health challenges, the financial risks, and the search for support to remove the concerns of clubs who feel they won't be able to afford a behind closed doors return. We hear about UEFA's stance, the First Division position and why waiting until 2021 could pose serious problems for the...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 15 min
We're back with another bumper show, longer than your average FAI Cup final with the standard extra-time and penalty shootout, to pass away some lockdown time. Dan explains the thinking behind his Irish Indo list of the top 50 League of Ireland players 2000-2020, with Johnny offering his brief take on each selection before we bring in our special guests. Conan Byrne runs through the results of his poll on the all-time greats and puts forward flaws in Dan's thinking and admits the Covid-19 crisis...
Apr 30, 2020•2 hr 17 min
‘It might be a while before we are on the road again but we were joined for our latest lockdown production by Eoin Doyle who gave us an entertaining account of his journey through the League of Ireland en route to his career in England. Bus trips with Paul Cook and Pat Scully feature heavily and he also explains why plans to move home are on the backburner for now. We also catch up with referees Paul McLaughlin and Alan Patchell to learn what attracted them to the lifestyle and what they would c...
Apr 16, 2020•1 hr 32 min
It's the LOI Weekly Easter special which means a feast of words about Stephen Kenny's appointment as Ireland manager. We hear a portion of Kenny's virtual press conference (17:58), break down some of the commentary around what his promotion represents and mull over how things might go before speaking to three people who were given a front seat view for sections of his journey. Alan Murphy reflects on the Longford days (37:13), and the passion of the young manager that convinced him to go there. ...
Apr 10, 2020•2 hr 28 min
We don't know what the future holds but we got through the past and the present on this week's show. Dundalk manager Vinny Perth joined us on the line to discuss the challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis and the encouraging response of the club's owners. He also helped the lads down memory lane as they picked their teams of the 21st century - with terms and conditions that complicated the selection process. Cork City's Declan Carey also offered us an update on where the Leesiders stand fol...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 10 min
No make-up, no lingering looks to camera, no Facebook likes. The coronavirus has sent LOI Weekly back to its roots with an audio only Skype special broadcast from designated bunkers around Dublin. We discuss the serious business of what the Covid-19 crisis means for Irish football and the uncertainty over what happens next. We hear Niall Quinn discuss the LOI's position and managers Tim Clancy and Alan Reynolds offer their take on their club's response to the unprecedented situation. A posse of ...
Mar 18, 2020•1 hr 9 min
It's week five and Johnny phones in from Cheltenham, a sporting event that is continuing uninterrupted in spite of Covid-19, but it's unlikely that we will be saying the same about the League of Ireland. Shane Dawson takes the chair to discuss with Dan about what it all means for the league after the first FAI meeting on the subject. We break down what it could all mean. Ger O'Brien joins the lads to discuss the St Patrick's Athletic structure, the league's best winter signings, and the weekend'...
Mar 11, 2020•45 min
It's episode four. Or episode phwoar as we digest the Jordan Flores wonder strike and a thrilling game in Tallaght that showcased all that is good about the league. Pat Fenlon joins the lads to digest what the game says about Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk and what the gap between the top two and the rest says about the league today. We also discuss pitch battles, politics and Jack Byrne's royal seal of approval.
Mar 04, 2020•41 min
It's week three and friend of the show Johnny Dunleavy returns to studio to discuss a tough start to the season for Sligo Rovers, the sudden decline of his old club Cork City and the ups and downs of the League of Ireland and Las Vegas. We touch on some of the big issues of the week; Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk, grass v astroturf and fan owned models v private investment. And there's the obligatory Cheltenham references too.
Feb 26, 2020•41 min
