Stephen Kenny’s race is run and after a torrid 2023, it couldn’t really be any other way. And yet it all started so positively. Monday, March 27th saw Kenny’s charges slip to a narrow 1-0 loss to France in the Aviva Stadium and it could have been so
different but for the acrobatics of French stopper Mike Maignan, who somehow defied gravity to claw Nathan Collins’ bullet header away from his top corner.

It felt different to the ‘noble defeats’ from the past. This wasn’t a backs-to-the-wall affair, where we parked the bus and prayed for a set-piece. We went toe-to-toe with the World Cup finalists and were far from out-classed, with only a rare misplaced pass from Josh Cullen and a stunning finish from Benjamin Pavards the difference between the two sides.

Former manager of the Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny

After that game, Irish captain Séamus Coleman said that Ireland needed to kick-on and use that performance as a springboard. Instead, when we next took to the pitch against Gus Poyet’s Greeks in the Athens heat, we wilted, as has frustratingly been the case throughout Kenny’s tenure, where one positive step forward (games against Portugal, Scotland and Serbia) were followed by abject showings, including the ignominy of a home defeat to Luxembourg back in 2021, surely Irish football’s nadir.

Nobody but a misguided optimist would have expected Ireland to qualify from a group that contained both France and The Netherlands, but our failure to land a glove on the Greeks home or away ensured we came fourth in a three-horse race, and so Kenny had to go. We can admire his stubborn refusal to play any way other than on-the-deck, but even this football purist was wishing for the odd punt down the channels as Ireland’s centre-halves struggled to play out from the back against high-pressing opposition.

There aren’t exactly a host of big name managers kicking down the door at FAI HQ to take on the job, but this writer hopes that history may be kinder to Kenny’s tenure than his critics would desire. Hopefully, in a couple of years’ time, when we’re perhaps qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in America, we can look back and see how many of that squad were blooded by Kenny, including Dara O’Shea, Andy Moran and a certain Evan Ferguson.

Conversely, we are in something of a golden age for women’s football. Vera Pauw took Ireland to the World Cup Finals for the first time ever, and while they struggled in a very tough group in Australia, Katie McCabe and Co. enjoyed a generally positive 2023, winning all six of their Nation’s League games to top their group. The fallout from the end of the Pauw regime was a tad on the toxic side, which could and should have been handled better by Irish football’s governing body, but the fact
remains that heading into qualifiers for Euro 2025, our women’s team should prove a far better draw for a top level manager than their male counterparts.

5 December 2023; Katie McCabe of Republic of Ireland celebrates after scoring her side's fourth goal during the UEFA Women's Nations League B match between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

In the English game, Manchester City finally won their holy grail, taking home a Champions League to sit alongside their league and FA Cup trophies. There will always be question marks over City’s achievements, given the whopping 115
charges they face for alleged breaches of financial regulations, but there is no denying the quality and consistency of the squad that Pep Guardiola has built. At the time of writing, the 2023-24 season looks a more open affair, with Arsenal and
Liverpool threatening to run Pep’s charges close, but given the fact that City usually only really get into their stride after Christmas, and the fact that they’ve played the first half of the season without the talismanic Kevin DeBruyne, the smart money is on the blues.

Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (Manchester City, Cheftrainer, head coach); Enttäuschung, enttäuscht, Frustration, disappointed

Over to rugby, where on paper Ireland flattered to deceive once again at a World Cup, failing to get past the quarter-final for the eighth time. But that doesn’t tell the full story, where an Irish team ranked number one in the world entered the tournament knowing that they were on the wrong side of a draw that would more than-likely see them face either the All Blacks or the French side at home in the last eight.

The pool game against South Africa was as tense a sporting occasion as I can remember, while the subsequent defeat to New Zealand was barely a hair’s-width behind. It’s a cliché to point out the small margins that separate winners from losers in elite sport, but Jordie Barrett somehow keeping substitute hooker Ronan Kelleher from touching down in the 73 rd minute felt pivotal. And so it ended in heartbreak again for the Andy Farrell-led team who had so confidently won a Six Nations Grand Slam back in March.

14 October 2023; Peter O’Mahony of Ireland wins a lineout from Scott Barrett of New Zealand during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

On the provincial side, Leinster again fell at the final hurdle to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in Europe – one of O’Gara’s expletive-laden pre-game speeches was amongst the highlights of this or any other year when it went viral on social media. His old muckers Munster, meanwhile, defied the odds to land the URC title, with a stirring final against the Stormers ending a memorable season for Graham Rowntree’s team.

In the GAA world, Limerick made light enough work of lifting their fourth Liam McCarthy in a row, John Kiely’s team always seeming to have an extra gear that even a resurgent Kilkenny couldn’t match – I was in Croke Park for the final and it was a privilege to watch the Munster champions in action.

23 July 2023; Limerick playing captain Cian Lynch, left, and injured team captain Declan Hannon celebrate as they lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup after the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

For a change, it was the football that threw up a real surprise, with Dessie Farrell’s Dublin team rolling back the years, and welcoming back some old faces like Paul Mannion, Jack McCaffrey and the true blue legend that is Stephen Cluxton, to turn over Kerry in a pulsating All Ireland Final. It must be said, however, that while 34-year-old Mick Fitzsimons was rightly lauded for his marking job on David Clifford, but for the Kerryman’s uncharacteristically poor day with the boot, the result could easily have gone the other way, and Clifford undoubtedly has more All Irelands ahead of him.

30 July 2023; Dublin players Michael Fitzsimons, left, and Paul Mannion lift the Sam Maguire Cup after their side's victory in the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Elsewhere, our track and field stars performed creditably at the World Athletics Championships, where Ciara Magean and Rhasidat Adeleke both came within a whisker of silverware in the 1500- and 400-metres respectively, and alongside our rowers and boxers, look Ireland’s best hope for medals in the Paris Olympics next summer. And speaking of boxers, warrior queen Katie Taylor wrote herself into history with a stunning victory over Chantelle Cameron in November, having been beaten by the same opponent six months earlier, the first defeat in Taylor’s magnificent professional career.

So roll on 2024: new managers, Olympic Games, more VAR controversies and
maybe Katie in Croker?