LOI Central

The lads are remote this week, and a bit distant at times as they struggle to process the big questions floating around their heads at this early stage of the season. What is a title race? Who will Galway United finish ahead of? What's wrong with Derry? Is Stephen Kenny back in the game? Who will win at Cheltenham on Friday? And where have all the Bohs fans gone from our mailbag? Shels are on the brain too, and we briefly hear from Joey O'Brien after a dramatic Tolka double header that reflects that 'The Reds' are still finding their way after a gruelling 2025. It's an hour long catchup after the benign Paul O'Hehir takeover and it's brought to you in association with our friends at Rascals Brewery, Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing, Planify and O'Reilly Sports.

When you've spent your last nine euro on a curry cheese chips in Inchicore and been presented with a bag of promised vinyl and a sauna is the only cure for a hangover then you know it has to be another episode of your favourite podcast. Dan is away this week so we took our chance to see if Paul O'Hehir would reprise his performance from last week and you could have knocked us down with a feather when he agreed! To aid and abet in the days post Dublin Derby we got the poetic Paddy Kavanagh away from a Data Centre to join us, as he was apparently, "in the area". Without a Dan to stamp out the tangents we spiralled from a soul legend's header to Derry's maybe inadequate back five, to bar room filing in Iceland and eventually ended up with Stephen Bradley's new version of that old dancehall favourite, "Speak To The Club". Even though he wasn't in studio Dan spoke with Jon Daly and we had Niamh O'Mahony's take on the pyro debate. It was definitely a differently structured show which Rascals Brewery, Collar & Cuff, Planify, O'Reilly's Sportswear and Future Ticketing all conspired to help create. It's episode 5 and it's all yours!

After a fiery Friday and a surprisingly flat Monday, Dan is joined in studio by Paul O'Hehir and a gift bearing Johnny Dunleavy to pick through the talking points of the weekend. It brings us from flare ups and young players lighting up the league to unusual theme park sightings and unexpected Las Vegas reunions. Patrick O'Donovan's comments about the Louth derby aftermath set the agenda and the lads offer their own take before picking through Blues reviews, Pat's angst, Bohs excitement and much more besides. As ever we're brought to you in association with Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing, Rascals Brewing & Planify and we now have a new partner on our roster with O'Reilly Sports added before the close of the transfer window. If you're with a sports team or club and want to get some new gear for your team then go to oreillysofficial.com and quote JD15 for a special LOI Central discount.

We're back indoors at Oliver Ireland wondering if we're going to be outdoors anywhere this weekend after another interrupted League of Ireland Friday. John Caufield joins us from Galway where a frustrating start to the season has followed a challenging winter, while Tommy Barrett dials in after an an agonising loss to Cork City on Friday. Season and league structure and the difficulties of recruitment are recurring themes in conversations that prove that it's a test out west. In addition to that we've got a packed mailbag that brings us from killing fields to artificial fields, and gambling partners to Bohs strike partners amongst other talking points that we wouldn't be able to bring to you withour our friends at Rascals, Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing and Planify

We are back and so is football, weather permitting. The lads reflect on an opening weekend of the season that was affected by the elements, although that didn’t stop over 21,000 people turning up at the bore in Dublin 4. Johnny and Dan discuss the pros and cons of the exercise in addition to some Derry analysis, Francely Lomboto chant attempts and much more besides. After that we go back in time to our season opener in Rascals which spent nine days with the lawyers before we agreed on a redacted chat with Richard Brush and Eoin Doyle which, amongst other things, discusses how football can literally be a matter of life and death. We wouldn’t be functioning without the support of Rascals, Collar & Cuff, Planify and Future Ticketing. Tune in for season ten!

We are back for season ten and kicking off by bringing you back to Sunday night where we officially launched our 2026 season with not just one but two lads called Mark who captained League of Ireland clubs last year but now play for Coleraine. Mark Connolly and Mark Coyle reflected on their respective Derry and Shels journeys, the highs and lows of football and the novelty of an offer in Malaysia (Connolly) and working with Damien Duff (Coyle). Before that, Dan and Johnny reunite to look ahead to the year ahead. What will James McClean bring to the party? Will St Patrick’s Athletic fans show up on Sunday? What’s going on with Galway? And, of course, we have our annual ‘will there be a title race?’ debate. All of this and more in association with our friends at Collar & Cuff, Rascals Brewing and Future Ticketing and our new pals from Planify.ie

This is not a podcast apparently, its just a preview of the preview show that's coming to you live on Sunday! That's right we're back, and we've a competition for tickets to Sundays show.

Ho, Ho, Ho..It's the 40th and final podcast of the year and the lads convene to talk Christmas, Conference League and a bit of James Clarke amongst other things. How did 2025 compare to expectations? What do we want from 2026? Was Dave Mulcahy this generation's Bob Dylan? Will we get a title race? A visit to Grano? A David Partridge on a pear tree? All of these questions and more are summed up inside an hour with thanks, as ever, to our friends from Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing, Rascals Brewing and Sport Cosanta. We'll be back with a live show to kick off 2026 in February but in the meantime have a Kool Yule!

Stranger Things in studio today as John O’Sullivan joined us for a midwinter chat. Yes, that John O’Sullivan, the one who played for Shelbourne until everything changed in August. He tells the story of an unhappy end to a happy time and the ruthless nature of football before sitting in for a series of European reflections, fixture ruminations and much more besides. There’s Duff memories, managerial inspirations and news on the Fresh Prince of Kildare. All of this pre Christmas penultimate episode of fun comes courtesy of our own Santa Clauses at Future Ticketing, Sport Cosanta, Rascals Brewing and Collar & Cuff. One more show to go before we tuck ourselves in for the winter!

We were live in Collar & Cuff this week where League of Ireland Director Mark Scanlon joined us to reflect on the 2025 season and look ahead to the plans for 2026. In a wide ranging discussion, we discussed fixture lists, financial plans, facilities issues, Foyleside fan issues and some other things that start with f before we eventually got to the league's future within the FAI. We hope the conversation answers some questions you have about the general state of play. Before that, we do have an abridged mailbag with Jack Byrne discussions, Galway United exodus concerns, and reflections on European events both on and off the park. All of this tailored discussion was brought to you in association with our hosts Collar and Cuff and our friends at Future Ticketing, Sport Cosanta and Rascals Brewing