Gavin Cooney

FAI CHIEF FOOTBALL officer Marc Canham says he stands by the process and recommendation that led to Colin Healy’s exit along with Eileen Gleeson from the Ireland women’s national team, though further confusion now reigns as Canham appeared to contradict new manager Carla Ward’s understanding that Healy was unavailable to be appointed to her staff. 

Ward said last month that she could not have appointed Healy as he was “not in the building”, but today Canham said Healy would have been available had Ward not had such a “clear vision” in wanting to appoint Alan Mahon as her assistant. 

Healy worked as assistant to Eileen Gleeson with the women’s national team, but neither had their contracts renewed following the failure to qualify for Euro 2025. Healy subsequently issued a statement claiming Canham had offered him a verbal assurance his contract would be renewed regardless of the result of the play-off against Wales.

This assurance, said Healy in a statement issued through his representatives, led him to turn down an offer to become the new manager of Cobh Ramblers which, said Healy, suited his personal circumstances, following the tragic death of his wife last year. 

Speaking to press at a media briefing today, Canham said the situation is “deeply regrettable” and that he has “deep sympathy for [Healy's] personal situation.”

But Canham says he stands over the process. 

“From a football perspective, I stand by the process and decisions”, he said. “No assurances or guarantees were given to him or his representative. We didn’t stand in his way of speaking to the club. We gave written and verbal permission. We were consistent that nothing would happen until after the Wales games.

“We were always committed to the review and decision by the board. Colin’s contract came to a natural end. It was the end and we had discussions not to renew that contract.

“That’s pretty normal in football but I stress the real regret from a human perspective but we stand by the football process.” 

In his statement, Healy also raised a discrepancy between the views of Canham and CEO David Courell. After he left the FAI, Healy says he received a text message from Courell wishing him well, in which Courell was under the impression that Healy decided to leave the organisation of his own choosing, to pursue a second job in club football, believed to be with Kerry FC. Healy told Courell that no, in fact, the board had agreed with Canham’s recommendation that his contract would not be renewed. 

When this confusion was raised with Courell at a press conference in February, Courell said Healy had misinterpreted his message. 

“In terms of the exchange I had with Colin, it was very clear that his contract had not been renewed, it could not have been any clearer,” said Courell in January. “We were made aware by his agent at that time that he had other suitors in the job market. We were always open to whoever was appointed as head coach to consider Colin as a No. Two but it’s always important for a head coach to have that choice to appoint their own No. Two.

“The exchange I had with Colin was quite clear, while we would welcome the opportunity to work with Colin in the future, there was no contract at the moment but subject to the new person expressing an interest in having Colin as their No. 2, we would be open to.” 

Healy, however, contends he was excluded from the process of being considered for the staff of new manager Carla Ward. Goalkeeper coach Emma Byrne, for instance, was retained by Ward from Gleeson’s staff, but Ward appointed her own assistant, namely ex-Irish international Alan Mahon. 

Speaking in February, Ward contradicted Courell’s earlier view when she said she could not consider Healy for her staff as he was “not in the building.” 

“All I will say on it, if he was in the building would he be considered? Yes,” said Ward. “But he wasn’t in the building.”

These comments were put to Canham today, who appeared to contradict Ward by saying the new manager was given free rein to consider who she wanted to appoint as her assistant. 

Canham said he spoke to 20 coaches as part of the recruitment process, and that one of his first questions to all was their “vision” for their coaching team. 

Canham says that Ward had a “clear vision” of the identity of her staff, but that the FAI would have been open to the appointment of Healy if the new manager was from further afield and “wouldn’t have had as much knowledge of Irish football.”

“Carla was one of those ones who had a really clear vision of who that person could be,” said Canham on the subject of Ward’s assistant. 

“Naturally there were other people from different parts of the world that wouldn’t have had as much knowledge of Irish football. If that had been the case and they had progressed, we would have been open to Colin being part of that coaching team but, as it stands, Carla had a very clear vision.” 

This does not tally with Ward’s statement that she did not have the option of considering Healy if she wanted to. 

When this was put to Canham, he replied, “We never said to anyone, including Carla, that that person wouldn’t have been an option. She already had a very clear vision on who she wanted that to be and what the coaching team looked like.”

When a follow-up question pointed out the inconsistency between Canham and Ward’s comments on whether Healy was available to her, Canham said, “I think I have answered enough questions on that. It’s very simple in my terms. She had a very clear vision on who she wanted to be in the coaching team. We never said you couldn’t have person X or Y, including Colin. If the situation was different and she didn’t have a clear vision, then Colin could have been an option for her or someone else.” 

The review process by which Gleeson and Healy’s contracts were not renewed has been criticised by players including captain Katie McCabe, who said the review process was “not good enough” and that she was not included as she missed a phone call while on European duty with Arsenal. 

Asked whether he spoke with Gleeson as part of the formal review process, Canham said, “of course.”