Away Days

Over the last thirty years, the English Premier League has grown to become the richest and most popular league in football - and the Irish have been at the heart of its success since the very beginning. In exclusive interviews with thirty former and current players, and an in-depth analysis of Irish players' involvement, Gareth Maher celebrates the astounding contribution that the Republic of Ireland has made to the most famous league in the world of sport.  With insights from Seamus Coleman, John O'Shea, Niall Quinn, Shay Given, Jonathan Walters, Richard Dunne, Andrew Omobamidele and many more, Away Days uncovers the good, the bad & the ugly of a league that has been home to almost two-hundred Irish players. This is the story of Ireland's impact on the Premier League as told through the experiences of the players who have lived through the title wins and the relegation scraps, the big-money moves and the cancelling of contracts, the villian's disdain and the hero's acclaim over three whirlwind decades.

Gareth Maher is a former award-winning journalist who is now Communications Manager with the Football Association of Ireland. A media officer at five different UEFA European Championships, he designed the award-winning National Football Exhibition and has spent his career promoting Irish football. He was the ghost writer on Clare Shine's 'Scoring Goals in the Dark' (2022).