Former Ireland star reflects on his roots and the county’s footballing future

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For one proud Wexford man, a love of football began on the pitches of his native county before eventually taking him to the highest levels of the game….

Inspired by Ireland’s famous Italia ’90 campaign, Kevin Doyle dreamed of becoming a professional footballer at a time when the pathway from Wexford to the professional game was far less established.

His journey would take him from local and county football to St Patrick’s Athletic and, ultimately, a career representing Ireland.

Now, speaking to Wexford Weekly in association with OLBG, he reflects on the influence Wexford had on his career and the remarkable progress being made in the county to give young players greater opportunities:

“Wexford, first of all, is a beautiful part of Ireland. It’s probably not as much on the tourist trail, but it’s called the sunny southeast. It gets the best of the weather when we get it, which was particularly good this summer. Soccer is massive in Wexford.

Outside of Dublin and Cork, it’s probably the biggest in the country numbers-wise. Growing up as a kid, playing soccer was my thing, I loved it.

I was definitely inspired by Ireland, particularly in Italia ’90, which inspired me and lots of other kids to play. But the county had no real track record of producing players for Ireland.

So you played for your local and county teams until you were 14 or 15, and then the normal route was for the GAA to take over and you’d go down that path. I played GAA growing up and loved it as well, but I just wanted to play soccer, that was my dream.

I didn’t know if I could become a professional footballer, but I got loads of lucky breaks and was fortunate to have people looking after me who kept me in the game. I got a chance with a League of Ireland team in Dublin, St Patrick’s Athletic, after finishing school. I finished secondary school in Wexford and joined them when I was 17, which is how I ended up becoming a professional. I had a lot of luck along the way, but talking to someone recently, I think kids in Wexford now won’t need as much luck as I got.

They’ll still need dedication and competitiveness, but with the League of Ireland setup and government funding supporting underage academy directors and heads of coaching for each team, it’s a massive improvement in just a few years.

It’s something I wouldn’t have thought possible ten years ago. Now, just down the road from me, there’s a League of Ireland team, Wexford FC. I played for them as a kid when they were Wexford Youths, but they didn’t have a League of Ireland team back then, they were just a representative side.

Now with the academy structure, kids have the option to stay in Wexford and train three nights a week with a game at the weekend. It’s coming on brilliantly.

There were fabulous footballers when I was a kid who probably missed out, but now I don’t think they’ll be overlooked. It’s brilliant to see.

If you’d told me ten years ago that we’d have full-time heads of academies in Wexford, I’d have said it wasn’t possible. But it’s there now for every League of Ireland team, and it should be a massive benefit,” Kevin Doyle told Wexford Weekly.

Although the Wexford man believes that coaching has improved, he does also pinpoint the difficulties within the county for players to progress onto the next stage:

“Players are pulled between the three, especially GAA and soccer. Everyone is fighting for their own little corner regarding fundraising, coaching, and pitches.

It’s very difficult for Ireland with a small population to create players because we’re not like other countries where football is the number one sport. We’re starting on the back foot, but the talent is definitely there.

It looks like the will, coaching, and facilities are improving. While they aren’t like facilities in England, you don’t necessarily need the best facilities in the world, most of the greatest players come from humble beginnings. You just need a clear route and setup to reach that stage, which is now in place. It’s up to the kids and families to take advantage of it,” Doyle told Wexford Weekly.

Keep your eyes peeled on Wexford Weekly to read more of our exclusive interview with former Irish international, Kevin Doyle.