I think she needs to visit Windsor Park donning her Irish colours to sample the very special atmosphere on offer the next time a match takes place there. Won’t be long in changing her mind about the nonsense she is sputtering.

i live in antrim and i cant even buy a r.o.i top in jjb just northern ireland.

Im from Derry and I 100% support an all-Ireland team, not just because i want a united Ireland in general but also because of the sectarianism it causes in the North, If you feel Irish and choose ROI you will be given a hell of a lot of abuse. I understand it wont happen immediately because of the sectarianism but i would hope for at least a process to allow it to happen as it would ultimately benefit the team and the supporters and at least help to stop the polarisation of football in the north.

Won’t happen for a long long time. Too many Celtic/Rangers jersey wearing bigots, who are happy to shout abuse at anyone and everyone. It’s unfortunate but a reality. Can you imagine clapping for the soldiers Song in Windsor or God Save The Queen at Landsdowne. Different breed of supporter that supports rugby, you don’t have the issues you have with football. They could start by playing an Ireland XI of both NI and ROI combined in a friendly in both Windsor and Landsdowne every other year against a decent South American or top European side to get the crowds going. Might generate some interest in the idea, in time even enter an Ireland XI into a Celtic Cup/Home Nations tournament….

i`d fully support a cross border team and it wud go a long way to easing the divide after all we are a 32 county island

Aye but note how the IRFU use the shamrock instead of the tricolour, and Ireland’s Call.

Cant see Joxer and the lads standing for that.

Given that under the Good Friday Agreement all players eligible to play for Northern Ireland are eligible to play for the Republic, there already is, in terms of selection, at least, an all-Island team. Asking Northern Irish fans to do away with their flag/anthem/what-have-you is unnecessarily confrontational in my view.

I would love to see one team in Ireland. I think it would go a long way towards stamping out the bigotry and sectarianism that is present in soccer in the 6 counties.

I know it would be challenging, and that sectarianism is rife among soccer supporters in the 6 counties. But we can’t just wait for sectarianism and bigotry to disappear. A few good goal scorers from the loyalist side, a bit of hero worship to feed their egos, and they might realise that we’re not all papists. We have to keep pushing for more peace on our island. Peace is so precious.

I think we should be challenging IFA and FAI. Money and funding should not be an impediment. We’ve had enough greed too.

The northern supporters would never let it happen. She is spouting Ill-informed nonsense, which is hardly a new move for a senator looking, but struggling to get, some media attention. Why doesn’t she go to Windsor Park and have a look at the type of ‘supporter’ in display? Hate filled bigots, with a rage that is alien to our jovial, warm and engaged support base. We are better off without them.

Nah…keep it separate!! We have a larger pool of players as it is and we can have players from the north too otherwise we wont be able to fly the tri-color,we will have some dumbed down anthem (“Irelands call” is bland and emotionless compared to Amhrán na bhFiann) and I don’t want to share a stadium with even a thousand of some of the vile bigots that support ‘norn iron’…..but it would never happen anyway!

She needs to be more worried about a united country at this minute

It would probably be difficult at first, and we would have to put up with an undercurrent of sectarianism and bigotry in our football supporters for a while, but it would, I’d like to think at least, die down after the initial move.

Naysaying is all well and good to people who can support their country team in comfort and don’t have to put up with harassment from the same bigots 100 miles north who lashed out at James McClean, but without or without an All-Ireland team there is sectarianism in football anyway, it’s just that for now the Northern Irish Republicans have to bear the brunt of it by themselves.

More than we let on. Offside rule? Gimme a break. Any woman I explain it to looks aghast at how simple it is. Don’t know why ye make out it’s such a big deal lads. Rocket Science it ain’t.
;)

Makes sense. It would help drain the septic mess that is the North’s soccer supporters attitudes. It doesn’t make sense having 2 teams in a country with 6 million. When the North is being beaten 6-0 by Holland it is time to wind up the show. Lets follow Rugby and Cricket etc and have one good team.

most sports are organised on a 32 county basis. we are a small country we should be putting our best foot forward instead of having division, world wouldn’t end if there was an all ireland team, fair play to her for saying this.

I reckon the red hand brigade would love that alright!

Can not see that happening, what national anthem would we use, unfortunately northern Irish fans are more militant than republic fans, so stick to politics senator

What the senator appears not to understand is that this wouldn’t just be a united international team. Under UEFA/FIFA rules (I forget which, but it’s probably FIFA), you can’t have two football associations playing under the one national team. Her proposals would require the FAI and IFA to combine at all levels – an all-Ireland league would have to be set up. As this is not going to happen anytime soon, the senators proposals are redundant.

do you people honestly believe we are better off divided bcos the way your talking it sounds like you all support englands control over the 6 counties

Rugby and Cricket crowds are very different from soccers crowds. There’d be war.

I’d rather FG focused on fixing this effing country rather than dwelling on this. I’d like to see it happen, but really its nothing to do with them.

I am in no way against such an idea but can’t see it being in anyway feasible.

James McClean recently mentioned that sectarian abuse was a huge influence in his decision to play for the republic.

The republic fans/setup welcome all eligible parties, whereas the northern fans (not all of course, but a very vocal minority) seem to resort to violence, sectarianism, and further extremes in relation to their football team.

Cant see it happening for a long time, it would be bad for the north as i dont think many of there current team would make the the squad

It won’t happen, look at the difficulties in putting out a GB team in the Olympics. Fifa would only love to get rid of 5 associations and turn them into 2, though they would be more likely to insist N. Ireland join up with the rest of the UK rather than have it join with what is technically a foreign country.

Its worth a try and see what happens.

Catherine Noone is full of good ideas today: http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/06/07/raise-the-price-of-the-morning-after-pill-you-say/

Oh wait, maybe not.

Its a brilliant idea and should happen end off. Ignore the no life idiots they will disappear from the stadiums cause no one will listen to them. A united Irish football team would be a strong team and squad.

I really don’t see a benefit. From a sports point of view, what does NI have to offer us? We’re 18th, they’re 100th in the world. Only a few players might get into the team. Then theres the problem with ‘having a minimum amount of northern players’ like in rugby (pretty sure that’s the rule). nAnd like on above comments, there is the jersey, flag, anthem, match location and ticket distribution. nAnd don’t compare rugby to football. It’s a different class of fans. Rugby would be seen as a more ‘posh’ game and football being the more ‘working class’ game. nYou can hope for a united Ireland, but it seems unlikely on our lifetime and as for the football teams, they should stay separate.

Would agree to it but only as long as they don’t change our national athem and force us to sing that silly song ‘Ireland’s call’

No Thanks. Our bloody rugby team refuse to sing our National Athem………………… bunch of cowards

This is a political stunt by Fine Gael to change the National Anthem through the back door. Hence the using of a minor person to float the idea so that it cannot be tied to the main party players. This is the sickening tactics of Fine Gael. However, if there is a guarantee that not one word of Amhr?n na bhFiann will be changed then it is a good idea. But this stinks of Fine Gael trying to get one over on the Irish People as they’be already called for a new anthem for 2016. Is Fine Gael an Irish representative party or a self serving party?

Maybe if the men who support football weren’t such reactionary babies we’ve have an all Ireland team,,,, hmm??

Brillant! It has to be done! Brings us closer to a united ireland and we get a better soccer team :D well in the long term anyway.. (don’t really see any player playing for the north that would actualy get to play) We can then work on getting a united leauge aswell which is badly needed by both leauges as they are in a state maybe even join up with the SPL..

glad to see the patriots of ireland showing their west brit colours why dont ye jus move over there u seem to like the idea of british control why dont u check ur birth certs b4 u make such rediculous statements probably fg supporters

If it is set up,it should be run by the fans,like some of Irelands most successful clubs!

Just as much as Fine Gael TD’s