LOI Central

LOI Central

Sports EN ↓ 373 episodes

#LOICentral is a podcast with opinion, analysis and interviews on all the latest happenings in the League of Ireland, hosted by Johnny Ward & Dan McDonnell

Author

LOI Central

Category

Sports

Podcast website

soundcloud.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

S10E21 Rovers Review & Garry Buckley Chat 08.07.2026

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 29.06.2026

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 24.06.2026

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 17.06.2026

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 10.06.2026

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 26.05.2026

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 20.05.2026

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 12.05.2026

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 07.05.2026

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 30.04.2026

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 21.04.2026

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 14.04.2026

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 08.04.2026

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 01.04.2026

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 18.03.2026

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 11.03.2026

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 04.03.2026

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 24.02.2026

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 18.02.2026

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 10.02.2026

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 03.02.2026

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 29.01.2026

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 22.12.2025

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 16.12.2025

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 01.12.2025

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...

Listen to the LOI Central podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.