Waterford's John O'Shea returns to Ireland senior men's coaching set-up

Republic of Ireland Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson has confirmed his coaching and performance team for the UEFA Nations League and FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaigns.

Waterford native John O'Shea will return to the Ireland senior men's coaching set-up, having stepped in as Interim Head Coach for the matches against Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary and Portugal earlier this year.

O'Shea has been appointed to the Assistant Head Coach role in the coaching team ahead of the UEFA Nations League campaign which begins on Saturday, September 7 against England at the Aviva Stadium.

Paddy McCarthy also returns to the coaching staff as Assistant Coach and will remain in his existing role at Premier League side Crystal Palace, linking up with the Ireland squad in the international windows. 

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Hallgrímsson also welcomes compatriot Gudmundur Hreidarsson as an assistant coach who will responsible for goalkeeping. Hreidarsson has worked with the Ireland Head Coach throughout his coaching career, starting in Iceland at club level before working with the Icelandic national team and with Jamaica.  

Head of Athletic Performance, Damien Doyle will remain in his role, whilst the team's performance analyst will be recruited in the coming month. 

Commenting following the announcement, Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said: "I'm delighted to secure the services of John and Paddy for the coaching team, and welcome Gudmundur to Ireland. It was an absolute priority for me to bring John into the staff when I joined the association. I travelled down to Waterford at the first opportunity to sit down with him and discuss the role. It became clear we're very much aligned in our ideas and what the future should look like, and it's fantastic he has agreed to be the Assistant Head Coach.  

"Paddy has also agreed to continue his work with the team and the wealth of experience he brings will continue to be invaluable to the team. Gudmundur has been an important part of my coaching staff throughout my career and I am delighted he can join me once again in Ireland. Work has already begun with our focus fully on the matches against England and Greece in September." 

Assistant Head Coach John O'Shea said: "Everybody knows the passion and commitment to the Irish national team I have had throughout my playing, and now, coaching career, so it was great when Heimir approached me to be part of his coaching set-up.  Since I sat down with Heimir and talked about the plans for the team, and what he saw for me in the set-up, I was delighted to accept the role for the next two campaigns and continue my work with the team ahead of two huge fixtures for the group. It was important to have some continuity for Heimir with the players and myself and Paddy will be able to provide that and support him in the role." 

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FAI Director of Football Marc Canham said: "It's great that Heimir has been able to secure John, Paddy and Gudmundur to join the new coaching set-up for the next two campaigns. It was important for him to be able to have some continuity from the previous interim coaching set-up and important for the players to have that also. We're delighted we can support Heimir to bring together such an experienced and high-quality coaching staff, and we extend a warm welcome to Gudmundur to Ireland also."

Following his playing career, John O'Shea first joined the FAI as an assistant coach with the Ireland U-21s team in April 2020. "We're delighted he continues his coaching development with the association. One of the association's key aims is the development of Irish coaches and it's great that John's involvement with Irish international football continues. The association and I would like to thank all staff that worked with the team during the March and June international windows. They displayed a fantastic professionalism and commitment to the team in their roles," added Marc Canham.