LOI Central

The gloves are off today when Shamrock Rovers defender and Andros Townsend stand-in Roberto Lopes talks tackles, derbies, past misdemeanours and Cape Verde. The gloves go back on when Johnny gets sent to Coventry and talks about the International setup with all round Portsmouth nice guy Ronan Curtis. We keep it brief this week, and with just over an hour played we finally put to bed the latest FIF...

Leaves get browner, evenings get shorter and teenage boys start to glaze over, because every autumn we do an outside broadcast and EA Sports launch the annual upgrade of their FIFA game. Wounded gunslinger, Johnny Ward, gets the miranda rights from twitter over last night’s Hobangate on the wireless while Sheriff Dan does verbal high fives with Sean Gannon after Dundalk all but secure this year's...

Dan’s back from the east and there’s a storm a brewing. Considering a second career as a tennis umpire after his 17th rehabilitation and nearly as many podcast appearances, compulsive score checker Stephen O’Donnell becomes the first player to endorse a marriage preparation type course on the pod whilst screaming for new balls please in Derry. Fresh from his celebratory glass of Pinot Noir, Droghe...

They say that Journalism is a craft that takes years to learn. It's like golf. You never get it right all the time. It's a game of fewer errors, better facts, and better reporting. Well, that said we have two Johnny Caddys in eir Towers today. Johnny McDonnell picks the clubs and Johnny Ward yells ‘fore’ for 9 handicapper and grade 2 jockey Eoghan Stokes, who sometimes plays for Bohemians as a sid...

Following Dublin’s win on Sunday we have more missing persons than a 1970’s milk carton. Paddy Kavanagh is still AWOL and so is our Location Manager. You’ve heard of the Old Ronaldo and the new Ronaldo, well this week we have the Underestimated Ronaldo who sometimes turns up at UCD and calls himself Gary O’Neill. No, not THAT Gary O’Neill! The one from Kerry, where he was the only soccer player in...

In 1966 Bob Dylan told Columbia Records that he felt the quality of the material he had recorded for ‘Blonde on Blonde’ was too good to compress onto a single long playing record. Columbia agreed and the double album was born. This weeks podcast continues in the spirit of that seminal masterpiece. Well it’s long. Kevin Kilbane, Preston North End’s 73rd ranked past player and Ireland’s third most c...

In place of an absent Paddy Kavanagh, and in these times of religious tumult we present one Darragh Markey who has embodied the struggles of his native land as he describes his odyssey from the consecrated halls of the seminary in Maynooth to the beckoning lupine financial jungles via a sporting detour in Inchicore. Is this the man 'who’s dark hair would weave a snare that Johnny might one day rue...

The craic was flying in the studio this week or maybe it was just the crackly phone line as we heard from new Bray owner Niall O'Driscoll about trying to start from scratch and get the local public back on board and Sligo Rovers midfielder Lee-J-Lynch on the squad decision to forfeit a portion of their wages following their FAI Cup loss to Longford. But the real shock of the weekend was Drogheda's...

The taxi lights were off for an hour with Johnny McDonnell and Ger Rowe joining Johnny and Dan to discuss their football history, stranded strikers in Newry and modern coaching. Dundalk's stalled European campaign is dissected, and the lads examine how Cork City might fare against Rosenborg. Ger gives the lowdown on the FAI Cup underdogs plotting to cause the biggest upset since Johnny Mc was pass...

It's an early edition this week with Johnny in studio with his bags packed for Galway and Dan bound for Cyprus. The lads hear from Paul O'Conor on changes at Bray and Tim Clancy on stadium news at Drogheda. Dundalk's Europa League chances are discussed, in addition to Johnny's achy steaky heart - he won't be able to bring one of Shanahan's finest on a night out. Sister Assumpta, Tesco Express & al...

Johnny and Dan are joined this week by debutant Robbie Benson and LOI Weekly regular Ger O'Brien. Robbie talks all things Dundalk including THAT goal by Michael Duffy, Stephen Kenny's European focus, and his belated decision to commit to life as a professional footballer. Ger reacts to this week's disappointing news on the Richmond Arena proposal and offers an update on the St Patrick's Athletic p...

Dan is back!!! The two lads are reunited and we also welcome PFAI General Secretary Stephen McGuinness into studio to update us on all of the goings on at both Limerick and Bray Wanderers. Over the course of the hour Stephen answers many of the burning questions that LOI fans have been asking over the past 7 days. We also discuss Cork's Champions League elimination and look ahead to the Europa Lea...

A European 'Detente' is called as we pour whisky on an old toothache and make it a 'Dent-ente' perhaps. Yes, Hostilities are eased and Damien Lynch googles into the top floor of LOI Towers to analyse a miffed (yes, miffed) Dan's 'Postcard from the East' which looks to the west for the most underperforming team in the league. Nice guy Ronan Finn takes a break from disassembling IKEA furniture to ta...

Our cool byline writer is off in Portugal consoling those who believed the Ronaldo hype in his inimitable Kerouacesque way. Portugals gain is LOI's loss, not least with the theme tune, but we've cobbled together a pretty kick ass show with Shane Keegan and Johnny and Sam Verdon talking about printing and Galway and lone strikers and eight month olds and lots lots more, and we'll have our regular s...

So Dan has exiled himself to Mother Russia for the World Cup exactly 44 years ago to the day when we had the biggest break up in pop history. Yes, that was the day Cher finally said Noka to Sonny and ran off with an Allman brother. The Herald’s Aidan Fitzmaurice may not be a master of that swampy southern sound but he speaks fluent Russian and Polish so he’s exactly the kind of squad depth you nee...

Like a puzzle dumped out of a box we pick up the pieces of the week that includes a conversation with Jonathan Corbett from Galway on a positive vote for Saudi invasion plans west of the Shannon. The internationally renowned and dubiously clobbered goalkeeping Bohemian, Shane Supple makes a return trip to the unfurnished studio on the 7th floor of LOI Towers to shed light on the Watergate scandal...

Hujum. That’s Arabic for attack and this weeks show is full of massive attacks. The arthritic Karl Sheppard picks up the phone to discuss Johnny's attacks on Cork, Alan Reynolds is alive, black and blue and mad as ever after his hujum. Johnny, like a big green bottle of fizz on a hospital bedside locker is 7 up on the predictions front and has news of the full on Arabian hujum down the Dyke Road....

This week we have an exclusive pitch side interview with Mike Treacy the American born Dundalk chairman who promises that there's no plans to change the spelling to 'Dundawk'. He doesn't disappoint in a very frank and in depth interview that should answer a whole lot of questions and even hurls a three word cliche into the mix much to Johnny's amusement who can't resist Tom Berengering him into so...

A suspiciously overtanned Johnny McDonnell pops in to offer his unique wit and wisdom on the International team and suggests UCD may be adopting the laid back student ethos a little too much. Reports of Alan Reynolds' demise gets exaggerated. Alan Bennett joins us on the line from Cork with his take on that Ireland v France game, he also offers an intriguing new Freudian biscuit theory and takes o...

In to celebrate Bob Dylan’s 77th birthday we have, Kevin Toner who apparently is the only player they come to watch at Richmond Park. Hailing from Little Finglas, JohnnyLoganville in County Meath, Kevin talks about Arsenal’s front three as well as playing left wing back against the Toon army. Ger O’Brien, coach at the very same club, keeps him company and weighs in on the League’s call ups to the...

After turning down 'opportunities' at corporate heavyweights Google and AIB, ex Sheffield Wednesday, UCD and Shamrock Rovers star Paul Corry took the 'opportunity' to critique a very hungover Johnny Ward's attempt at southside chic ahead of his trip to Cabinteely. Dan just beat the Ed Sheeran traffic from Bermingham and Brian Gartland took time out from Dundalk's busy schedule to drop by and discu...

After failing to reboot the EI105 red-eye from New York, a totally unprepared and jetlagged Johnny Ward had Pat Fenlons recent guest appearance on the pod completely erased from his memory as he welcomed our ‘first’ Waterford guests of the season. Dave Webster and the veteran Paul Keegan joined Dan and Johnny from the relegation threatened Waterford FC to talk down their chances of remaining in th...

Thoroughly modern manager Owen Heary drops by dressed in full Shels regalia to bat away insults about his weight and shed light on the new ownership and leadership situation at Tolka Park. The battle of Wounded Knee continues between one time serious footballer Des Curran and total pro Johnny Ward as he ducks the hard questions about the top four. Dan McDonnell is on hand to adjudicate and finally...

Total Podcasting this week! Comparisons with the Holland team of '74 will be justified as we present guest, or rather guest host, Pat Fenlon who takes to the pod like a Henrik Larsson parachuted in for January. It's the big two this week, and we have Jimmy Keohane from Cork and the controversially pronounced Patrick Hoban from Dundalk lighting up the phone lines. There's Pat's take on Rovers, Why...

The length of this weeks pod is directly proportional to the number of fixtures, upsets, red cards and media training opportunities spurned by our studio guest Trevor Croly. Fresh from victory at the Dublin Derby and defeat in Derry, the Bohs number 2 talks about the 'Peoples Club', fixture congestion, Keith Long's recruitment and an underappreciated dress sense. Johnny takes up for an under fire...