INCLUDED TODAY IN an Ireland senior squad for the first time is Mark McGuinness, another addition to the groaning stocks of Irish centre-halves.
This is McGuinness’ first senior call-up, with Heimir Hallgrimsson hinting at using the remaining Nations League windows to assess players in advance of next year’s World Cup qualifiers. Thus McGuinness gets a chance to impress ahead of Jake O’Brien, who is left out having failed to nail down a regular place in Everton’s starting team.
McGuinness, by contrast, is playing regularly for Luton Town in the Championship.
McGuinness, now 23, was born in London and joined Arsenal’s academy at the age of 10. Rising through the underage ranks at the club, he played in youth teams with Bukayo Saka and signed his first professional contract in 2019. His first-team opportunities were subsequently diminished because of injury, though he was involved in pre-season matches ahead of the 2020/21 season, scoring in a friendly win against MK Dons.
McGuinness left Arsenal on loan that same summer, joining Ipswich for a season in League One. He briefly returned to Arsenal before signing permanently for Cardiff City, then managed by former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy. He quickly became a regular under McCarthy, playing 34 games in the Championship along with an FA Cup loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
The dismissal of McCarthy’s successor Steve Morrison and the appointment of Mark Hudson saw McGuinness drop out of favour, and he spent the first half of the 21/22 season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday in League One. Hudson’s dismissal the following January saw McGuinness return and reassume a starting place at Cardiff, signing a new four-year deal at the club ahead of the 23/24 season.
He stayed put for just one more season, joining Luton in August for a reported £10 million, a fifth of which reportedly went to Arsenal.
Though born in England, McGuinness has only represented Ireland at underage international level. He first came to the attention of the FAI when he played for Arsenal at an U13 tournament in Dublin arranged by St Kevin’s Boys, and was first called up by the FAI at U16 level.
McGuinness qualifies for Ireland through his Derry-born father, and has resisted call-ups from Northern Ireland to stick with Ireland. He played in the Irish U19s team that made it to the semi-finals of the 2019 European Championship, and has been capped 13 times at U21 level.
His father and brother have both represented England internationally at bowls. but McGuinness is insistent he never considered the same sporting path. He did flirt with a tennis career before committing to football having been recruited by Arsenal.
At 6’5″, McGuinness primary strength is in the air, though Hallgrimsson says he has been impressed with McGuinness’ passing range. Playing under Rob Edwards at Luton, McGuinness has a better opportunity to showcase that passing ability, and is being asked to play in a slightly higher line than he was at Cardiff.
Given Hallgrimsson’s stated ambition to keep a settled starting team, his best hope of impressing the Irish manager will lie in training, and breaking into the Irish team as a centre-back is a daunting task at the moment, with Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea, Andrew Omobamidele, and Liam Scales all included in this squad and the likes of O’Brien and Shane Duffy left out entirely.
