David Sneyd

YOU CAN’T CHOOSE your family but you can decide not to follow in their footsteps.

Mark McGuinness is in line to earn his senior Republic of Ireland debut at some stage during the upcoming Nations League games with Finland and Greece.

Born and raised in Slough, 30 kilometres from London, his older brother Tom and father John have both represented England in lawn bowls.

Tom is currently competing in the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic while John won silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He moved to England from Derry and his two sons developed their own sporting prowess.

“I can never get away from these questions,” McGuinness said, laughing. “It’s something that I’m proud of them both [for]. It’s a nice sport to be a part of actually, a nice community and it’s something completely different.

“In terms of the sport, it’s different, but the fundamentals of being a high level athlete is pretty much the same, there’s a lot of dedication that goes into it. Fair play to them. They’ve been in a fortunate position to play for their country as well.”

There are musicians in the family, too, and McGuinness plays piano as well as guitar to help provide a focus outside of the demands from professional football.

“I think it’s the most important thing to have some sort of a release… Injuries have made me learn a lot about myself and how to deal with that side of it. I was too much of a perfectionist and so focussed on the football that it was actually unhealthy in terms of getting injured and trying to get back too quickly or trying to focus on that too much and it didn’t help actually.

“So I found having another thing to focus on – whether it was music, or family, or friends or some sort of activity – really helped me to switch-off and really helped on the pitch actually.”

Hamstring trouble was one blight for the centre back while he had to withdraw from the Ireland squad last month after rolling his ankle on the eve of the 2-1 win away to Finland.

His education in the game from the age of 10 at Arsenal has helped shape the player he has become. He was part of the 2000/01-born group that included Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, while Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson were a little bit older.

Only Saka remains at the club now, becoming a cornerstone of manager Mikel Arteta’s side that continues to challenge for the Premier League title.

“A very intelligent guy, he worked hard, took his opportunities well, he was always a top player and he’s deserved everything that’s come towards him,” McGuinness said.

The other three players have since left but found homes in the Premier League. Smith-Rowe and Nelson joined Fulham, and Crystal Palace signed Nketiah. Getting to the same level is McGuinness’ aim after leaving Cardiff City for Luton Town, and the time he did spend working under Arteta before leaving permanently in 2021 was an eye-opener to the expectations.

“They’ve got the culture right there, that’s the demand he brings on the players. In training, there’s no hiding, there’s no getting away, there’s no half-heartedness in training, it’s 100% all the time.”

Liam Brady was McGuinness’ first academy manager, and he remembers the impact of the Dubliner at a time when the set-up was far from glamourous.

“We got on well and he was obviously a big influence for me, being of Irish heritage as well, it was nice having him there, he was a big role. It was nice to have him around when I was younger. I was quite fortunate when I was younger to be in an environment where there was a lot of demand on youngsters in terms of discipline and hard work.

“We didn’t have all the luxuries that some of the academies have now, even Arsenal, when I first joined Arsenal it wasn’t as luxurious as it is now. There was a few years where they had changed it all up but it was very much, head down, work, which is pretty telling of an Irish player.”

Former Arsenal and Germany centre back Per Mertesacker followed Brady as academy manager later, and he has stayed in contact with McGuinness at this stage of his career. “His personality as a leader was a big thing, something I tried to take from him,” the 23-year-old said.

Ireland are well stocked at centre back, of course, so after choosing his path in football now McGuinness must try and bowl over Heimir Hallgrímsson to show he can be relied upon.