Third-time lucky for Eileen Gleeson. The new Republic of Ireland “head coach” and not manager as per the FAI’s distinct language, previously lost out on the top job to Colin Bell and Vera Pauw.
“This is the proudest time in my life,” said Gleeson on Tuesday morning at the Aviva Stadium. “I’ve been involved in women’s and girls’ football in Ireland, as you know, for 30 years.” The 51-year-old Dubliner has paid her dues.
“We had around 42 [applicants] at the start,” explained Marc Canham, the FAI director of football, “which we whittled down to 12 people that went through an extensive interview process, which then moved down to seven, which then moved down to two.”
Turns out an “expensive” recruitment plan proved unnecessary as the solution was hiding in plain sight.
“Eileen came into that process at an appropriate time [late October] and went through all the same steps as everyone did and won the role, and deservedly so.”
The role being a coach who answers directly to Canham, who reports to FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill.
“We can get into linguistics here,” said Gleeson. “Words, ‘manager’ and ‘head coach,’ it is essentially me overseeing an interdisciplinary team.” Canham added that interdisciplinary “just means that everyone is working together in a very cohesive and integrated way.”
“Eileen’s role is to focus on performance,” he continued, “get the maximum out of the players and the staff, and as we move into the next two, four and six years. There is transition, which Eileen has started already, and look at the next phase of the development of the team.”
Her backroom is due to be finalised next month despite Canham creating an interim staff of 18 people last September after the FAI board voted not to offer Pauw a new contract. The management included record Ireland caps holder Emma Byrne and former Cork City manager Colin Healy as Gleeson’s assistants. They proved a resounding success by winning all six matches in Nations League B while scoring 20 goals and conceding two.
“It was an interim structure so it was always the intention to be an interim process until the end of the campaign,” said Canham. “That all happened very quickly. We put them together quickly and they did an amazing job with Eileen. All credit to them and we thank them. We’ll assess that into the new year and look at it.”
Having already navigated a tricky post-World Cup period, Gleeson earned an 18-month contract that ideally takes Ireland to the 2025 European Championships in Switzerland. Nations League promotion guarantees two massive home ties in 2024 at the Aviva against the likes of Spain, France or second seeds England – Ireland are seeded fourth. Top two from a four-team NL group will secure qualification to the Euros. Third or fourth place goes into a winnable playoff. The draw in on March 5th.
“We have as good a chance as any we’ve had [to qualify] and we’ll get to play against good opposition which will be great for our development,” said Canham, before turning his focus to unearthing a head coach to replace Stephen Kenny.
Like Kenny, Gleeson climbed every rung of the coaching ladder in Irish football, beginning at Ballymun United and St James’ Gate before Peamount United won the treble in 2010 and reached the Champions League on her watch. A three-year stint at UCD Waves led the Uefa pro licence holder to being named Pauw’s assistant manager in 2019.
That double act ended with a famous 2-1 defeat of Finland in Helsinki as Gleeson was appointed head coach of Glasgow City midway through the 2021/22 campaign. She never finished a season in Scotland, instead returning home this year to take over a wide-ranging brief as the FAI’s head of women’s and girls’ football.
This was a permanent staff job in Abbotstown, which Gleeson has now relinquished.
“On the women’s and girls’ job, we will advertise that job immediately,” said Canham. “We had some people in the process previously who we feel will be good candidates for the role. They will have to go through the process.
“It’s absolutely key to the progression of the wider game. Eileen has the privilege and amazing opportunity of spearheading the national team but there’s absolutely loads to do to capitalise on the momentum of women and girls’ football.”
