LOI Central
LOI Central is a podcast dedicated to the League of Ireland, offering opinion, analysis, and interviews on the latest happenings in the league. Hosted by Johnny Ward and Dan McDonnell, it covers all aspects of Irish football.
Episodes
S10E23 Content vs Discontent, Russell’s North Haverbook and Rovers Away Pain
Dan is back in Ireland and making an unexpected appearance on the pod after a few last minute changes in the wake of another disappointing away day in Europe in Shamrock Rovers. Can they turn it around? That’s just one talking point of a football show which, ironically enough, debates if there is just too much football. Were things better in the old days of basic coffee, clean air and blank August
S10E22: Rovers, Russell & Manager Chat with Owen Heary
Dan's still at the World Cup - he hasn't mentioned it - but he was still able to keep an eye on a big win for Shamrock Rovers in Europe but was it one of the great wins? Johnny gives his take, before discussing his train journey to the Connacht derby that was followed by John Russell making his way to a new destination. We debate his big move with the help of Owen Heary who reckons it was a left f
S10E21 Rovers Review & Garry Buckley Chat
Dan is still on location by the sea in Vancouver, joining Johnny to discuss events in another seaside destination as Shamrock Rovers unpick a European defeat in Malta that could prove very costly. Johnny also chats with Garry Buckley about retirement, mortgages and the up and down lifestyle of the LOI player. In a crowded mailbag there’s relegation chat, release clause regrets and inevitable chain
S10E20: Shels Shock, Pico's Journey & Weekend Reaction
It's the biggest Ireland-Mexico crossover since 1994 as Monterrey based Dan joins big cheese Johnny at home. There's news to discuss. What's the story with Shelbourne's dismissal of Joey O'Brien? What next for Pico Lopes' World Cup odyssey? And what exactly are the Ringmahon Rangers players planning to do on July 19? All of these points feature in an express length show with a few words from Pico
S10E19: Pico Pride, Pat's Charge & Puzzling Bohs
It's a transatlantic effort this week as Houston based Dan joins up with JW from the city that will play host to Pico Lopes' final World Cup group game late on Friday night as his journey now looks likely to continue. From meeting Tajikistan lads in the lift or the travails of tuning into LOITV from a multinational press room, Dan gives his take on the last week while Johnny poses the big question
S10E18 Pico and Dan at the World Cup & Ruaidhri O'Connor in with Johnny
This week, a momentous nil-nil in Atlanta, the biggest bug scandal since Watergate, a goalkeeper elopes mid season, Liam Boyce gives us his 2c and the Bohs bodhrain bangs on. We got the man who wasn't there in the studio, as Ruaidhri O'Connor keeps Johnny company in Glasnevin before dialling out to an airport bound Dan somewhere in the southern states. But the story is really only about a small Af
S10E17: Catching up with Conan Byrne & Canadian Reflections with Kian Leavy
We’re back in business with a slightly different show this week as Conan Byrne dials in to join Canadian based Dan to reflect on the season so far and magic moments in Montreal for Dawson Devoy, Kian Leavy and Adam Brennan. We hear from Kian in a shameless Ardee themed segment before discussing the challenges faced by Dawson in an appearance where he was occasionally left up shit creek. There’s a
S10E16 with Robbie Benson
More game time for Paul O'Hehir this week as he sits in as a number 6 keeping the house for Johnny and a true League of Ireland legend, Robbie Benson. Benson goes wide in this weeks episode and laments the lost final year of his career whilst contradicting Johnny on his finest moments in front of goal. There's Dublin Derby summaries, Derry City woes and a lot more summer beer garden chat that Rasc
S10E15 with Daryl Horgan and Ciaran Kilduff
Decisions, decisions, decisions! Whether it be where to have a sneaky joint in Alkmaar or whether its a late penalty in Waterford, there's no better man than Johnny Ward to seek advice from. This week we have another welcome co-hosting nixer for Paul O'Hehir as Dan slips off on holidays, but still manages to keep the quiz business in order after talking to both Daryl Horgan and Ciaran Kilduff. The
S10E14 with Eoin Doyle
Johnny is away in sunnier climes this week so Dan skips out to the southside of Dublin to catch up with friend of the show Eoin Doyle to get his impressions of the season so far. They talk best signings of the season and the best finishers in the league before unpicking the problems with Shelbourne and Derry City and delving into a mailbag that veers from student dilemmas to Graham Coughlan's impr
S10E13: Hosts Reunited & Chris Forrester Chat
Dan is reunited with Johnny this week for a remote rundown of the talking points raised by the Bank Holiday weekend. Have Bohs forgotten how to win? Does complacency explain the Shamrock Rovers crowds? What's happening with Cork City? What does Waterford's appointment of Graham Coughlan say about the road ahead? Our mailbag included a fair few Kian Leavy related observations and Johnny spoke with
S10E12 with Paul O'Hehir & Joey O'Brien
We literally dial it in this week as Johnny combines Punchestown duty with LOI duty and Paul O’Hehir stands in for Dan whilst not getting his annual jolly to the KIldare racetrack. There’s reaction to Joey O’Brien’s reaction to Shelbourne’s capitulation at home to Drogheda, lots of Sligo Rovers debate and a bumper mailbag to boot where Bohs feature highly again with the long walk to the tunnel. So
S10E11 with Daniel Lambert & Aidan Keena
We swap one Dan for another this week as Daniel Lambert ankles it down to Oliver Towers on the back of his 40th birthday celebrations. After a derby defeat for Bohs we look at the weekend game in Tallaght, as well as back on a storied career for the Bohemians CCO, taking us from Dunsink in Finglas to Bohemians shirts at Coachella. You'd never have guessed, but we take a few sidetracks on the way t
S10E10: The Meaning of Life and the Death of a Title Race feat. Barry Murphy
After a decade of terrible mainstream media fuelled lies, we land on an existential discussion about the importance of football, the futility of fandom and the repeated death of a title race that doesn’t seem to really matter anymore anyway. Money, money, money, to win or break even? That is the question, and what is the answer? Is it 50 +1? Or is it £50 to rename Finn Park as Fun Park? To discuss
S10E09: Easter Wrap, Oriel Reunions & Galway Rising
We are ten games into our tenth season and whether you're in Vietnam or in the shower, we hope there's something for you here as we wrap on a dramatic weekend where there was courage and controversy in Dundalk, more Galway joy, a bit of Bohs and Shels angst and unexpected days off in Derry. Dan was at Oriel Park and brings some Ciaran Kilduff and Stephen Kenny into our discussion with some praise
S10E08 Post-Prague LOI, Late Night TV & Carl Winchester
Some walk by night, some fly by day, nothing can change us, 'cept and sure of the way. We are moonlighting back into the LOI scene as the Prague hangover looms over all strands of Irish football. This is the show you've kinda all been expecting. The one where Agnes Dipesto and Burt Viola call Gary Cole about a murder involving an out of breath Brian Lenihan. The perfect hangover cure at midnight o
S10E07: Giddy Galway, Dublin Dominance & Disorganised Derry
It's St Patrick's Night and Dan and Johnny are just two fortysomething dads recording a pod and debating the mechanics of the passing of time. They spend less than a hour of their existence picking over the talking points of the double header with Johnny enthused about his Galway PALS and Dan wondering if Dublin dominance is an inevitable consequence of a season where supposed regional powers are
S10E06 Tolka Drama, Title Discussions & Terrible Decisions
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
S10E05 with Paul O'Hehir and Paddy Kavanagh
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 w
S10E04 with Johnny Dunleavy and Paul O'Hehir
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 l
S10E03: Pitch Battles and Frustrating Fridays with John Caulfield and Tommy Barrett
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 recruit
S10E02 The Weekend That Was & Brush/Doyle at Rascals
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 t
S10E01 A Look Forward and a Look Back to Sunday Night at Rascals
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
S10E0 The Preview of the Live Preview
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.
S09E40: The Christmas Wrapping Up and New Year Wish List
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 ins
S09E39 It’s Almost Christmas! with John O’Sullivan
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, manageria
S09E38: Review of 2025 and Plans for 2026 with Mark Scanlon
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 conve
S09E37 Cup Final Review & Shields/Ward Reunion at Rascals
This week’s show is half double winners, half double act. Firstly, we reflect on Shamrock Rovers’ success over troubled Cork City in the cup final and discuss the impact of Harry Nevin’s red card amongst other talking points arising from the day and the season for both clubs. In a packed mailbag, there’s a fair bit of playoff chat, pitch complaints, transfer talk, journalism advice and more. For p
S09E36 Live from Rascals with Dunleavy & Amond
It was LOI Central Live, and the entirety of Monday's gathering in Rascals Brewing was exclusive only to those who joined us for the tantalising combination of pizza, beer and League of Ireland related musings. The league's top scorer Padraig Amond defied expectations to join Johnny Dunleavy on stage for a chat that was part reflection of the season, part Ollie Horgan memories and part their respe
S09E35 PFA Ireland Premier XI with Paddy Barrett and Michael Duffy
There’s a dual focus to this show as we reflect on an incredible week while also taking an overall look at the year as our friends at PFA Ireland have given us the honour of naming the Premier Division team of the year on this week’s show. Is that why Paddy Barrett and Michael Duffy are on? You’ll just have to tune in to find out but the good friends chat about their respective journeys including
S09E34 Dalymount Draw, Friday Feelings & Permutations Paradise
We are back from an international break to begin the countdown towards the climax of the season – our live show in Rascals on Monday November 3 with tickets going on sale on Wednesday. Oh, and there’s the end of a thrilling European race, the playoff battle and the prospect of an FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium where the fans – and not the SHOUTY PA GUY – will hopefully provide the volume. That
S09E33 International Break Time with Kevin Doherty
On a week where skeletons are being found lying around all kinds of closets, a squeaky clean Kevin Doherty stops by Oliver Ireland for an international break chat on the highs and lows of 2025 – so far. While hedging his bets on talented non-Drogheda players, he is quite clear about his priorities and ambitions for his current crop of Drogs as well as his plans for a guaranteed Premier Division ru
S09E32: European Odysseys, Waterford Whispers and Seani Maguire’s FAI Cup Feelings
The finishing line is in sight for everyone apart from Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne as the closing stretch of the league clashes with the beginning of European league phase excitement. Dan and Johnny convene to discuss a busy week on a variety of fronts; and return to the familiar theme of Shamrock Rovers levels and Shelbourne’s 2024 standards, discussions that might just happen more frequently
S09E31 Double Header Review. How good are Shamrock Rovers? What next for Galway United?
The boys are back in Oliver Ireland for a quickfire review of a double header that could prove very significant come the end of the season. Johnny has Galway’s woes on the mind, while Dan debates the potential legacy of this Shamrock Rovers side before we hear from Andrew Quinn and Joey O’Brien about another Drogheda v Shelbourne meeting where possession equals defeat. On top of that, we’ve got a
S09E30: The Mayhem and the Magic of the Cup
We are back after an international break to forget and savouring a weekend to remember in the FAI Cup unless you happen to be from Connacht. Kerry FC's heroic exploits take top billing, but there's a heavy Sligo Rovers angle to that drama too while Johnny was down at Richmond Park to hear from Kian Leavy and John Caulfield after St Patrick's Athletic got the better of Galway. Dan details a dramati
S09E29 A Week of Mixed Emotions. Webster on Horgan. Bradley on Europe.
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 o
S09E28 - Super Thursday, Azores Review & Victor's €2m move
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
S09E27: FAI Cup/Oasis Wrap & Patrick Hoban Chat
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
S09E26 Shels Heartbreak, Ref Rage & Conan Byrne Chat
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 foo
S09E25 European Race > Title Race, Jersey Spotting & Ticket Talk
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 protago
S09E24: Brandywell Bother, Chaos at the Cross & European Matters with Barry Murphy
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
S09E23 LOI in Europe, Cup cruises and Chris Shields chat
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
S09E22 with Dave McMillan & Paddy Kavanagh
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
S09E21 LOI in Europe, Nationwide Mailbag & Destructive Derry
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 migh
S09E20 Oasis, Keane, James-Taylor, Moses and Duff
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
S09E19 Duff Love, Bohs Brilliance, Pat's Pressure and Chaos in Cork
We've had a double header in both divisions since our last show but there's only discussion point on the agenda today; what about those goalscoring Lomboto brothers? They have their own God but our main talking point, naturally enough, is how the League of Ireland will cope without its sometime messiah Damien Duff, who interrupted the regular Sunday service to make a shocking exit to a Simply Red
S09E18 Disappointed Drogs, Euro Draws & Ruaidhri Higgins Chat
We are back in Oliver’s offices to discuss a week that delivered an unwelcome twist for Drogheda United with the excitement of the European draws leaving the Boynesiders with a bitter aftertaste. Dan gives the lowdown on the story in a crowded mailbag that also features the content king that always delivers - an outraged Damien Duff. We talk dressing room songs, tinfoil hats, relentless Rovers and
S09E17 - Mid-Season Musings, Transfer Targets & Crowded Houses
AS most of the League of Ireland heads for the departure lounge, our co-hosts are back via arrivals to take their regular perch in Oliver Ireland for our mid-season review. We make it there with the help of a stopover on the turbulence of media relations in a small world, before ascending to broader discussions around Josh Honohan’s public feedback, the beauty of Galway’s defensive formations and
S09E16 avec Graham Gartland, Johnny Kenny and Conan Noonan
Episode 16 took all the patience of Collar & Cuff, Future Ticketing, Sports Cosanta and Rascals Brewery to make it to the finish line. Recorded over two nights due to rural broadband shenanigans we eventually got Conan Noonan, on loan at Waterford from Shamrock Rovers, and Johnny Kenny, who was on loan at Shamrock Rovers from Celtic last season, into a virtual room to meander upon girlie haircuts,
S09E15 with Garry Doyle and Colin Hawkins
There’s a faint whiff of chaos (and maybe vomit) in the air at Oliver this week, as the usual anchor is missing and the reins are handed over to Johnny and special guest Garry Doyle — manager of the SFAI Under-14 Cup champions. Together, the lads in hats stumble cheerfully through a maze of partitionist football nostalgia, Stephen Kenny-induced anxiety, grassy knolls, lawnmowers, the Rovers reviva
S09E14 Frozen Moose, Cork City reflections & Colin Healy/Moses Dyer chats
The boys are back in Oliver, alive and croaking in Dan’s case, to pick through the bones of another dramatic League of Ireland week. It’s Moose’s world and we are all just living in it. Why do people relate to his story? How talented is his bum? And what does this all mean for Jimmy Keohane? Johnny has been battling with his airpods to get on the interview circuit, bringing back a chat with Colin
S09E13 The Madness Continues & Mark Connolly Chat
After another double header of what ifs and if onlys, the lads convene to try and make sense of it all. We go from a rear of the year update to allegations of crawling up the backside of a prominent manager as we analyse Damien Duff's woes, the unexpected spat with the omnipresent Stephen Bradley and the aborted Aviva experiment. There's Galway recriminations, another happy week on the Bohsometer,
S09E12 Tight at the Top and the Race to the Bottom
It's another socially distanced production this week, and Bohs fans are partying like it's 2021 as they bask in the glory of an unexpected sequence of victories. In a jam packed show brought to you by our friends at Rascals, Collar & Cuff, Sport Cosanta and Future Ticketing, we reflect on a dramatic night in Dalymount, a testy affair in Tallaght and ask what goals from the prophet Moses can do for
S09 E11 - Born Again Bohs, Duff/Caulfield Remix & Canham on the Cross
We almost needed 90 minutes to get through a weekend where every club played 180 minutes in a league that is going the full 360 in terms of storylines. Since our last show, we’ve had several open letters, one managerial departure, two injury time goals for the ages and the death of a pontiff. And that’s before we even get to Marc Canham. We eventually manage to do that after hearing a little bit o
S09E10 - Top Drogs, The Relegation Slog & Firefighting with Alan Keane
There’s a western flavour to this week’s show with the on duty Alan Keane dialling in to discuss the contrasting fortunes of Galway United and Sligo Rovers as the league table begins to take shape. We hear from Tim Clancy about why Cork City’s season has gone south, ruminate what Liam Boyce’s indiscipline says about issues up north before heading across the sea to discuss Dan’s analysis of Packie
S09E09 with Paul Doolin and James Keddy
Paul Doolin and James Keddy have shared plenty of long car journeys in their time and, after several false starts, we finally convinced them to reunite in Oliver Marketing. They were team-mates at Derry City and Shelbourne before switching to a player-manager dynamic when James worked under Paul at Drogheda. We mull over whether Paul was ahead of his time, and if he was always angry or just misund
S09E08 The One With The Double Stitched Mailbag
The sun has returned and the mood has definitely lightened in Oliver Marketing as the lads finally agree on something. No April Fools on this weeks show as we delve into a monster mailbag to dissect the goings on at Dalymount, VAR light versus VAR la carte, and of course for the week that’s in it..The Galway Oul Lads club. There’s a quick interview with John Russell, some commentary gold, WW2 and
S09E07 - The One With The Late Night Letters
The boys are back in Oliver Marketing for a combination of a discussion of Dan's week on the road and a stranger trip down memory lane. A reflective mailbag brings us back to Plovdiv in addition to spawning memories of a different time, an era of late night love letters on Galway Bay FM long before Johnny was whispering sweet nothings as a co-commentator watching his beloved Bohs and Galway. There
S09E06: The Shifting Sands of Irish Football with Jonathan Corbett
With the Premier Division on a hiatus, Dan is in Bulgaria for an international break that is unlikely to live for long in the memory and the first part of this show centres in on the changing dynamics and relationships within Irish football. Where does the balance of power lie? Are we really headed for a civil war? And who is fighting who? Jonathan Corbett is a topical guest in that context, with
S09 E05 - The Tightest League in the World & Kerry chat with Conor McCarthy
There’s a few equine analogies this week as Johnny checks in en route to England to talk about the only race that really matters in his mind – the title race. We discuss the exploits of the Drog whisperer Kevin Doherty, working his magic to consistently shock the blue bloods, before paying tribute to the weekend’s mane man Colm Whelan before galloping through a crowded mailbag that includes athlet
S09E04 Reds, Refs, Rovers & Richmond Reflections
After another fantastic Friday, we had a manic Monday and the lads try to rattle through a crowded agenda of talking points. Is Alan Reynolds in bother? Is there a line referees should not cross? Is Derry City's strategy doomed to failure? Is it time for the annual 'are Shamrock Rovers out of the title race' chat? Is Captain Birdseye to blame for the LOITV debacle? There's all that and more in has
S09E03 Conspiracy Theories, Climate Changes and Barry Murphy's Notes
We’ve a busy show this week, with our mailbag more flooded than Tallaght Stadium as we pore over the conspiracy theories, stadium rankings, and all the other events of the past seven days. Barry Murphy, drops by to discuss Ed McGinty’s leaky European efforts and to a cast a broader eye over the main elements fuelling the start of a season where defences have been exposed to pressure from teams att
S09E02 Norway, Aviva and Webster & Doyle
To mark the return of your 90 minute weekly fix, we’ve got a pod of that same length, and the main reason is the leftovers from our live show chat with Eoin Doyle and Dave Webster, a colourful pair of cousins with a few stories to tell. Before all of that, we pick through one of the most interesting weeks in League of Ireland history with the help of a heaving mailbag as we discuss the Bohs-Rovers
S09E01: 2025 Season Preview @ Rascals with Ruaidhri Higgins
WE are back. The League of Ireland kicks off this week, but we’ve already got a competitive appearance under our belt after our big season preview at Rascals on Sunday. A packed mailbag was condensed for a studio audience as we discussed the talking points of an eventful winter before welcoming Ruaidhri Higgins to look back on his Derry City lessons before looking forward to the campaign ahead wit
S08XMAS with "The Rascals Loft Tapes"
It's Christmas! And before you count down to seeing what Santa has left under the tree, you need to check for free range pork under your car. All of this will make sense if you listen to our special show recorded at Oliver Marketing as the lads convene to discuss the events of the last four weeks and look ahead to the possibilities of the next 12 months. There's Vienna tales and images of idyllic
S08E40 - The Underdrogs 2 The Undertones 0
We are nearing the end of another season in the Oliver Marketing building and start this week’s show with a burning question - have Drogheda United recovered from their cup final hangover quicker than Johnny? We reflect on a final packed with storylines and debate what the result says about the respective protagonists and there’s a bit of Kevin Doherty and Ruaidhri Higgins audio too. Beyond that w
S08E39 Live from Rascals - The Shelebration Tour
It's Episode 39 and it was live. If you missed out on our Monday night in Rascals, this pod will give you a flavour of the best bits. Like the title race, there was twists and turns in putting our show together and Shelbourne's dramatic success in Derry was the catalyst for a weekend of tracing down prospective guests. We left it late but Sean Boyd answered the SOS to join live show staple Keith W
S08E38 It's the Final Countdown....
Here we go! There's touts in Inchicore as the title race, our beloved title race has its Joey Tempest mullet stapled on as it faces the camera in leather pants. Yes, episode 38 is our ‘Final Countdown", as we prepare to rock Friday night with the boys pouring over the angles that could decide the destination. Can Shels hold their nerve? Will Rovers steamroll Waterford? Where are Derry’s heads at?
S08E37 The PFA Ireland Team of the Year with Stephen McGuinness and Friends
It’s Jerry Maguire time in the League of Ireland and before we run away with ourselves it’s also awards time as the Premier Division team of the season as voted by the players is revealed by Stephen McGuinness on his annual trip into the Oliver studio. He’s brought a happy Mark Coyle in with him and we chat about his journey to recognition before we dust down the phone line to dial up some other t
S08E36 Sliding Doors, Friday Night Fever Pitch and Five Months at Pats with Stephen Kenny
Ahead of the most anticipated night of the year - our live show in Rascals on November 4 of course - Johnny and Dan are in studio to also look ahead to a vintage LOI Friday, which might be overtaken next Friday and overtaken again the Friday after that. The best season ever? Certainly it’s the busiest mailbag ever with Derry angst, Bohs anger, Pat’s excitement and Breslin at 1.5x. Johnny briefly c
S08E35 with Barry Murphy and David McMillan
After a manic week, we’ve got a Monday show for you as Barry Murphy and Dave McMillan dial in to join Dan to review league, European and FAI Cup matters as most of the league takes a little breather ahead of the final stretch. Once again, it’s a show packed with questions. Who wins the league now? Have Shels actually bottled it? Where now for Bohs? Can Drogheda win the cup? Where’s Johnny? We do h
S08E34 Tolka Thriller & FAI Cup Preview
We are so back. After fears that we were enduring our worst ever season, a Tolka Park game for the ages has filled the glasses to half-full and posed so many questions. Was it the best ever TV game? Are St Patrick's Athletic the best team in the country? Is anyone out there not actually involved in the title race? There's so much to unpack and that's before we get to the mailbag which is full of S
S08E33 A full 90 minutes with Dermot Keely, Neil O'Riordan and Romal Palmer
Dermot Keely denies and then agrees that he was better without the ball but we are certain this podcast makes an argument that your life would be better with his new book. Dermot dropped into studio with the Irish Sun’s Neil O’Riordan, his long term partner in prose, to discuss the many strands of his life in the league he loves. It’s hard to summarise them under one heading so, just like a playe
S08E32 Dundalk Survive, Zayed/Gartland Reunion & Around the Grounds
Who'd have thought we could do such a weather dominated show without Johnny? Our spiritual leader is absent but there's plenty to rabbit on about this week, with Graham Gartland stepping in to shoot the breeze with Dan about the dark clouds that hovered over Dundalk. In a Dundalk dominated mailbag, Dan warns that the future forecast remains uncertain. Then, we go Stateside for some hailstorms, or
S08E31 300 Not Out.....Yet?
Interesting standards of rabbit pulling and random phonecalls a-go-go, as episode 300 takes you on a seat of your pants ride through the last eight years of football on this fair isle. The honeymoon period feels definitely over as middle age approaches and our hosts get showered with accolades from all walks of footballing life, well in Johnny’s perfect world they would. But in this imperfect tops
S08E30 The Big Reunion and a bit of Ollie Horgan
In a week of reunions this is really the one you’ve been waiting for. A surprisingly energised Dan returns to clean up after Johnny’s ‘you let Dougal do a funeral’ interim stint in charge. Amid the wreckage, we lament Northern accents, misinformed ministers, analogue opinions, and Larne before Dan tries to bury some inaccuracies in the interminable TV and standards debates. In our Galway United s
S08E29 Johnny and Garry’s mad mad mad season so far!
It’s a double act this week but not the usual one. Taciturn northerner Garry Doyle joins our normal “fan with a typewriter” Johnny Ward as we trawl through the week’s news which is not too harsh on Pats, but harsh on RTE and rugby fans. But isn’t rugby a popular sport? Not before 1987 apparently and Andy Farrell raises some questions too. Back with the roundy ball and we dip into the U19 league wh
S08E28 with Sean O'Connor, Keith Treacy, Harry Kenny and Paul Doolin
It’s hosts with notes this week as Johnny is overwhelmed by the sheer professionalism of his co-hosts who ably step in for a paternity left Dan McDonnell in the sunny surroundings of Oliver Marketing. Yes, it’s a full studio this week as Johnny is joined by the Robin to Dan’s Batman in Sean O’Connor, a fledgling journalist who’s more than finding his feet in this years league press boxes. Alongsid
S08E27 with Ciaran Kilduff and Ronan Finn
Reunited for at least the second time, the veterans of not one but two lengthy group-stages European campaigns join a solo Johnny and a stand in producer for the 27th episode of season 8 from a sunny Oliver studios. First in the door is Ciaran Kilduff, who might be a tad irate about the perception of the women’s game, while his old teammate Ronan Finn has his ideas about what a club should be abou
S08E26 Shels/Derry review with Owen Heary & Luke Dennison Chat
It's not a standard show, as we record on Monday night after Shels scoreless draw with Derry City and it appears that the burning question is - what is the standard? Owen Heary, a multiple league winner with Shels, dials in to offer his take on the panache free situation at the top of the table and mull over what happens from here. There's plenty of love for the League of Ireland from Luke Denniso
