LOI Central

It was a week of mixed emotions for everyone involved in Irish football with news of Ollie Horgan's final farewell coming through ahead of a historic ‘going electric’ night on the pitch for Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne. We try and cover both bases here with Dave Webster joining to offer his reflections on the joy of working with the late, great Galwegian with Ollie also coming up in the course of Johnny's chat with Stephen Bradley about another landmark achievement for the Hoops. In addition to that, there's saunas in Saints territory, the perils of football addiction, Celje throwbacks, and a come and get me plea to Dubai property buyers. All of this above board fun is brought to you in association with Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta & Rascals Brewing. Safe travels Mister Horgan.

The lads take stock as Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers are both tantalisingly close to group stage football after a quite incredible night on Thursday. Dan relays his trip to the Azores, where some locals were more interested in the staff in the chip van than whether the Rovers performance was different gravy to other LOI wins in Europe. The lads discuss that point but there is no debate around the emotional moment of the week. We're recording from JW's apartment for sale, but his last cup of tea in the old place is about as satisfying as the pitch in Drogheda, while he's alarmed at Galway's squad disintegrating in the off-season. Dan discusses the joys of a global transfer story, with the size of Victor Ozhianvuna's fee just one of the discussions arising from a crowded mailbag which includes something even more precious than the sweet taste of a jaffa cake - an actual quote from a referee! All of this and more is brought to you with our friends at Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta, Future Ticketing & Rascals Brewing

Our LOI family full of eccentrics is back this week, a little hoarse ten years on from a fine day involving a horse. Did Oasis hit the FAI Cup crowds? Did the Mrs. Browns Bohs fans at Oasis even know they were out of the FAI Cup? Is Liam Gallagher really just a poor man's Sean Malee? The lads butt heads on this and more before we hand the mic over to another forthright front man with Patrick Hoban dialling in to discuss the miserable end to his time at Derry and what the club needs to do to graduate from supporting act to headline artist. There's also a packed mailbag with Rory Gaffney love, the return of Dalymount doom, a five a side angle with a twist and at least one reference to Alphaville. May we stay Forever Young with the help of Rascals Brewing, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta and Future Ticketing. Say it loud and sing it proud today.

It’s a two part show this week as Johnny and Dan kicks things off on location in Tolka Park, picking through the bones of a near miss for Shelbourne that sends them to the European last chance saloon. After the Shels wrap, we go back in time to Oliver Ireland for a catch-up with Conan Byrne that – amongst other things – touches on the pros and cons of punditry and coaching as he embraces a new football life. We also hear about his follow-up meeting with Patrick McEleney after THAT dive in Derry, a topical segue into a mailbag dominated by refereeing rage with a side of VAR that turned out to be a window into the very near future. Throw in another game of Bohs jersey watch, a bad Brandywell bet and an unexpected war on winking and it’s another packed show with thanks to our never late and always great friends from Rascals Brewing, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta and Future Ticketing. Hopefully this isn’t a waste of your time..

It’s another remote session this week with the lads rattling through the talking points of the week and some discussion starters that have very little to do with anything from the last seven days. Can Shels, Pat’s and Shamrock Rovers extend their European adventures? What’s the story with the way Dan says Lithuania? Have European competitions become too bloated? What’s the right way to say protagonist? You can decide what the important questions are but we do look forward to more UEFA sanctioned fun – with some words over Zoom from Joey O’Brien and the nodding Evan Caffrey – before deciding that the race for Europe 2026 is going to dominate the rest of this league campaign. Our mailbag covers Drogheda delays, ticket price theories, and one listener’s exhaustive jersey search at All Together Now. All of this stopstart fun is brought to you in association with Sport Cosanta, Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff and Rascals Brewing

We are back in Oliver Ireland this week, with the steady hands of Barry Murphy adding depth to our conversation. European matters take second billing behind a dramatic Friday night that has left a legacy of regret and recriminations. Cork City’s demise is analysed and there’s a bit of Galway United stress too before a packed mailbag is dominated by fraught events in Derry that raise big questions about the operations at the Brandywell. There’s also late transfer deals, Barry’s audacious Oasis-Dublin Marathon swap plans, recurring players to watch and an ode to the joys of Leisureland. We’re available on more than two channels and we wouldn’t be going for gold without the help of Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta and Rascals Brewing.

We’ve reached that glorious point of the year where the evidence of one tie makes us experts on the levels of teams from Lithuania, Azerbaijan and wherever else the European dice rolls. Chris Shields wasn’t guessing about Shelbourne when the Champions League set up a cross border clash and the Linfield midfielder dials in to give us his reflections and regrets before a bit of general LOI chat. The cup didn’t do a huge amount to float our boat this week, although Dan was still flagged for pirating offences, a prelude to a mailbag with more Cork based concerns, crisp dilemmas, and the return of the Oriel Park pitch review. Thanks as ever to Future Ticketing, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta and Rascals Brewing for keeping our ship afloat.

Johnny is out of the building this week but we’ve got solid foundations visiting Oliver Ireland absence with a representative from the construction industry and an architect – neither of whom identify as ex-footballers. Paddy Kavanagh and Dave McMillan do have experience of several of the themes we discuss this week; confident attackers, the psychology of European ties and the ingredients that are needed to challenge for a title. We talk Bohs form, Sligo Rovers v Derry implications and the second leg task facing Shelbourne and St Patrick’s Athletic before there’s a slight diversion towards angry Falkirk fans and Florent Malouda’s Turkish entourage. Thanks to Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing, Rascals Brewing and Sport Cosanta for keeping the show on the road. If you’re ever struggling to do the same, Dan can recommend a fella in Clontarf…

1. European football is here, a chance to learn about new teams, unknown players and exotic places. And then there’s Shelbourne v Linfield. The first section of this show is taken up by discussion of Wednesday night with a bit of Mark Coyle, Joey O’Brien and David Healy audio thrown in. Have Linfield staff attended more FAI Cup finals than your average Irish tourist in Cambrils? This week’s show might just provide the answer. We also discuss St Pat’s, the Streisand effect and the goal return in Inchicore being similar to the alcohol content in Johnny’s beverages of choice. In a crowded mailbag, we have a bit of podcast to podcast action, Dermot Usher analysis, the inevitable Derry City title race discussion and much more besides. All of this 24 hour partying is brought to you in association with Rascals Brewing, Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing and Sport Cosanta.

Won’t somebody think of the football? After a day dominated by the latest Bohs jersey launch and another famous face performing an acting masterclass at the Cross, Dan and Johnny try to merge Tuesday’s box office activity with the oft forgotten events on the pitch. This wide-ranging session brings us from Oasis to Odubeko, and from Keane to Keena while there’s also enough there for the obsessives – be they journalists or non-Shels fans – who can still hear the sound of Duff. We hear from Joey O’Brien about a relationship that will live forever, while John Caulfield tells us the story behind Moses relocating half the world away and the lads also analyse the reasons behind Douglas James Taylor just yesterday morning letting Drogheda know he was gone. All these shoehorned song lyrics are brought to you in association with our friends at Sport Cosanta, Collar and Cuff, Future Ticketing and Rascals Brewing. Lame jokes? Yes but, by now, you should have somehow realised what we were going to do.