THREE HUNDRED AND fifty nine days on from an FAI statement confirming her permanent appointment as head coach of the Ireland women’s national team, Eileen Gleeson’s exit was announced in the very same manner.
Much like last year, the decision was anticipated by some, and surprising for others, but these are very different Decembers.
Then, Gleeson spoke of her appointment being “the proudest and most humbling moment of my life”, and didn’t hesitate to label the role her “dream job”. The Dubliner had previously described her FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football post in the same terms, but having unsuccessfully applied for the national team job twice before, it was third time lucky.
She was given a contract until the end of Ireland’s Euro 2025 campaign. The mandate was clear: to qualify for a second successive major tournament after the 2023 World Cup. Ireland fell short, and the FAI moved quickly to move on.
It ultimately all came down to a two-legged play-off decider against Wales. Eight days after Ireland’s dream died at the Aviva Stadium, the FAI pulled the plug.
Some will see it as harsh; others will feel it is the right call. Football has forever been a results-based business, but it equally could be argued that Gleeson and her staff shouldn’t have been judged on one tie, one which was decided by fine margins.
Now, the team await their third manager in a year and a half.
Gleeson first took interim charge following Vera Pauw’s contentious departure in August 2023. While leading a 100% Nations League campaign and promotion from League B, she repeatedly ruled herself out of the running. Until she ruled herself in.
FAI Director of Football Marc Canham confirmed Gleeson was belatedly added to a worldwide process to find Pauw’s successor, and then established herself as “the outstanding and preferred candidate”.
Her CV included spells as manager at Peamount United, UCD Waves and, briefly, at Glasgow City; her role as Pauw’s assistant manager; and her FAI brief as Head of Women and Girls’ Football. Her lack of international experience was questioned, while there was a sense in some quarters that this was an unambitious appointment. It wasn’t exactly the statement one many expected.
There’s a striking symmetry to Gleeson’s permanent reign. Her first and last home games were against Wales, opening with a 2-0 defeat where Ireland were significantly understrength, experimented, and were largely schooled in a 2-0 Tallaght friendly, and ending with last week’s play-off heartbreak.
Advertisement
Being pitted against England, France and Sweden — three of the world’s top five at the time — in the Euro 2025 qualifying Group of Death was rotten luck, and a tall order for any manager.
Five defeats followed, some narrow, others not so much, while Ireland didn’t score until the fifth time of asking when the returning Julie-Ann Russell bundled home a late consolation goal against England in Norwich.
The highest point of Gleeson’s tenure arrived in their final qualifier in Cork. Ireland beat France 3-1 on a magical night at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Already-qualified and Olympics-bound France were nowhere near full tilt, but it was a huge scalp against a top nation.
After comfortably seeing off Georgia in the first play-off round, Gleeson uncharacteristically shared her wish to stay on irrespective of the result against Wales, but insisted there had been “no formal discussions” on a new contract. It appears any such conversations were brief given how quickly the FAI moved to part ways.
Gleeson with Katie McCabe after the play-off defeat to Wales. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
There’s a sadness to how it has all ended. There’s no doubting Gleeson’s passion and commitment to Irish football, but she looked rather lost on the line as it all fell apart at Lansdowne Road last week. Rhian Wilkinson’s mind games may have seeped in, and Wales’s coach clearly won the sideline battle. Gleeson didn’t make a change until Ireland were 2-0 down, and they soon became the only League A team not to qualify from the play-offs.
On her watch, there was no radical evolution in Ireland’s style of play. In the main, Gleeson stuck with a back three/five, and at the other end, Ireland remained as dependent as ever on set-pieces for goals in big games.
Wales aside, Ireland won the games they were meant to, and in the same vein, generally lost against superior teams. Given the calibre of opposition, anything other than a 100% record and promotion from League B would have spelled underperformance, and one could make the case that the only real high Gleeson can wholeheartedly claim was that win over France.
There were positives, not least the immense personal pride Gleeson must have felt at leading out Ireland for their first-ever game at the Aviva Stadium, and there’s no doubting she steadied the ship after the turbulent end to Pauw’s time at the helm. Players spoke glowingly of the environment and backroom staff including Colin Healy, Emma Byrne and Ivi Casagrande. After criticisms of Pauw’s training methods, they seemed happy with the increased emphasis on strength and conditioning, nutrition and psychology.
Gleeson began a changing of the guard in defence, drafting in Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten, while recalling Julie-Ann Russell was a shrewd move. Russell quickly reestablished herself as one of Ireland’s best players, and Baby Rosie captured the hearts of the nation. Tyler Toland was another returnee, while Jessie Stapleton was among those to flourish.
What’s next remains to be seen. The 42 understands there was a clause in Gleeson’s contract which opens the door for her to stay on as an FAI employee. The precise nature of her next role, or if she wishes to remain at the Association, has not yet be finalised, but her former Head of Women and Girls Football post has been filled by Hannah Dingley.
The team don’t return to action until February, and the speculation around Gleeson’s successor has already started. Ten weeks out from the 2025 Nations League campaign, the next crucial appointment awaits.
Eileen Gleeson gave her ‘dream job’ a shot, but as most managerial tenures do, it ended in disappointment.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Gleeson’s quick exit leaves Ireland WNT at managerial crossroads once again
THREE HUNDRED AND fifty nine days on from an FAI statement confirming her permanent appointment as head coach of the Ireland women’s national team, Eileen Gleeson’s exit was announced in the very same manner.
Much like last year, the decision was anticipated by some, and surprising for others, but these are very different Decembers.
Then, Gleeson spoke of her appointment being “the proudest and most humbling moment of my life”, and didn’t hesitate to label the role her “dream job”. The Dubliner had previously described her FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football post in the same terms, but having unsuccessfully applied for the national team job twice before, it was third time lucky.
She was given a contract until the end of Ireland’s Euro 2025 campaign. The mandate was clear: to qualify for a second successive major tournament after the 2023 World Cup. Ireland fell short, and the FAI moved quickly to move on.
It ultimately all came down to a two-legged play-off decider against Wales. Eight days after Ireland’s dream died at the Aviva Stadium, the FAI pulled the plug.
Some will see it as harsh; others will feel it is the right call. Football has forever been a results-based business, but it equally could be argued that Gleeson and her staff shouldn’t have been judged on one tie, one which was decided by fine margins.
Now, the team await their third manager in a year and a half.
Gleeson first took interim charge following Vera Pauw’s contentious departure in August 2023. While leading a 100% Nations League campaign and promotion from League B, she repeatedly ruled herself out of the running. Until she ruled herself in.
FAI Director of Football Marc Canham confirmed Gleeson was belatedly added to a worldwide process to find Pauw’s successor, and then established herself as “the outstanding and preferred candidate”.
Her CV included spells as manager at Peamount United, UCD Waves and, briefly, at Glasgow City; her role as Pauw’s assistant manager; and her FAI brief as Head of Women and Girls’ Football. Her lack of international experience was questioned, while there was a sense in some quarters that this was an unambitious appointment. It wasn’t exactly the statement one many expected.
There’s a striking symmetry to Gleeson’s permanent reign. Her first and last home games were against Wales, opening with a 2-0 defeat where Ireland were significantly understrength, experimented, and were largely schooled in a 2-0 Tallaght friendly, and ending with last week’s play-off heartbreak.
Being pitted against England, France and Sweden — three of the world’s top five at the time — in the Euro 2025 qualifying Group of Death was rotten luck, and a tall order for any manager.
Five defeats followed, some narrow, others not so much, while Ireland didn’t score until the fifth time of asking when the returning Julie-Ann Russell bundled home a late consolation goal against England in Norwich.
The highest point of Gleeson’s tenure arrived in their final qualifier in Cork. Ireland beat France 3-1 on a magical night at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Already-qualified and Olympics-bound France were nowhere near full tilt, but it was a huge scalp against a top nation.
After comfortably seeing off Georgia in the first play-off round, Gleeson uncharacteristically shared her wish to stay on irrespective of the result against Wales, but insisted there had been “no formal discussions” on a new contract. It appears any such conversations were brief given how quickly the FAI moved to part ways.
There’s a sadness to how it has all ended. There’s no doubting Gleeson’s passion and commitment to Irish football, but she looked rather lost on the line as it all fell apart at Lansdowne Road last week. Rhian Wilkinson’s mind games may have seeped in, and Wales’s coach clearly won the sideline battle. Gleeson didn’t make a change until Ireland were 2-0 down, and they soon became the only League A team not to qualify from the play-offs.
On her watch, there was no radical evolution in Ireland’s style of play. In the main, Gleeson stuck with a back three/five, and at the other end, Ireland remained as dependent as ever on set-pieces for goals in big games.
Wales aside, Ireland won the games they were meant to, and in the same vein, generally lost against superior teams. Given the calibre of opposition, anything other than a 100% record and promotion from League B would have spelled underperformance, and one could make the case that the only real high Gleeson can wholeheartedly claim was that win over France.
There were positives, not least the immense personal pride Gleeson must have felt at leading out Ireland for their first-ever game at the Aviva Stadium, and there’s no doubting she steadied the ship after the turbulent end to Pauw’s time at the helm. Players spoke glowingly of the environment and backroom staff including Colin Healy, Emma Byrne and Ivi Casagrande. After criticisms of Pauw’s training methods, they seemed happy with the increased emphasis on strength and conditioning, nutrition and psychology.
Gleeson began a changing of the guard in defence, drafting in Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten, while recalling Julie-Ann Russell was a shrewd move. Russell quickly reestablished herself as one of Ireland’s best players, and Baby Rosie captured the hearts of the nation. Tyler Toland was another returnee, while Jessie Stapleton was among those to flourish.
What’s next remains to be seen. The 42 understands there was a clause in Gleeson’s contract which opens the door for her to stay on as an FAI employee. The precise nature of her next role, or if she wishes to remain at the Association, has not yet be finalised, but her former Head of Women and Girls Football post has been filled by Hannah Dingley.
The team don’t return to action until February, and the speculation around Gleeson’s successor has already started. Ten weeks out from the 2025 Nations League campaign, the next crucial appointment awaits.
Eileen Gleeson gave her ‘dream job’ a shot, but as most managerial tenures do, it ended in disappointment.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Eileen Gleeson Ireland WNT Review