Gavan Reilly
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Gavan Reilly
@gavreilly.com
Politics guy @virginmedianews.bsky.social; one third of The Group Chat podcast; columns here and there; author of ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‹๐ž๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž: linktr.ee/gavreilly
A serving Garda has today been arrested under organised crime legislation, as part of an inquiry into the alleged removal of a significant quantity of drugs from a Garda station in 2024. Five other non-Gardaรญ have also been arrested
November 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Hildegarde Naughton will be new Education Minister. Simon Harris will take finance, Helen McEntee foreign affairs and defence. Emer Higgins will be the new FG super junior at Dept of Children. Frank Feighan will be a junior minister for public procurement. @virginmedianews.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 2:28 PM
NEW: Paschal Donohoe is resigning as MInister for Finance, and as a TD, in order to take up a role with the World Bank in Washington. Announcement expected after this morning's Cabinet meeting. @virginmedianews.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Theyโ€™re GPS units - thereโ€™ll be somebody logging how much running each player has done, for example, and tell the bench when someone is likely to start tiring so they can be substituted before they make a crucial error
November 18, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Broke: Watching Troy Parrott's winner with the Titanic music

Woke: Watching Troy Parrott's winner with the berserk Icelandic commentary from Euro 2016 (when Heimir Hallgrimsson was the manager!):
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Just posted it as a thread here
November 17, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Finally, manyโ€™s a slip etc, but hereโ€™s the playoff pots as they stand right now:

1๏ธโƒฃ Italy, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland
2๏ธโƒฃ Slovakia, Scotland, Czechia, R Ireland
3๏ธโƒฃ Albania, N Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo
4๏ธโƒฃ Wales, Romania, Sweden, N Ireland

Note: Macedonia will replace Wales in pot 4 if they lose on Tuesday
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The full line-up of teams in the playoff wonโ€™t be certain until after the final qualifiers take place on Tuesday night.

The playoff draw is on Thursday, 12pm Irish time.

The World Cup draw, which will include vacant spots so that the playoff winners will know what awaits them, is on December 5th.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Thatโ€™s why Ireland need Macedonia to avoid a loss to Wales - if they lose, Wales will leapfrog them into second place in that group, and Wales would be a higher-ranked side, pushing Ireland into Pot 3.

Likewise if Bosnia beat Austria, theyโ€™ll top their group; as runners up Austria would outrank us.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
If the groups all finished as they currently stand, Ireland would be in Pot 2 and would face a team from Pot 3: Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia or Kosovo.

No matter their results, none of those four can surpass Ireland in the next FIFA ranking.

The risk is that theyโ€™re replaced by a team who can.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Pot 1 sides will be drawn against Pot 4, with the Pot 1 team having home advantage.

Likewise the Pot 2 teams have home advantage against Pot 3.

Each game is one leg only, with ET and penalties if needed.

Those ties (and the question of home advantage for the final) will be drawn this Thursday.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The 12 teams are sorted by FIFAโ€™s next set of world rankings, which are due this week, with the top four going into Pot 1, the next into Pot 2, and then Pot 3.

The four Nations League teams (which will include N Ireland) will be in Pot 4.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
๐Ÿงต The playoffs will be held at the end of March next year, with 16 teams participating. Theyโ€™ll be drawn into four separate brackets, and the last team standing in each bracket gets a spot at the World Cup.

Of those 16 teams, 12 are group runners up (๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช) and 4 are there through the Nations League.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช LONG STORY SHORT ON IRELANDโ€™S WORLD CUP PLAYOFFS:

We will have home advantage for our semi-final as long as:
โ€ข Bosnia donโ€™t beat Austria on Tuesday
โ€ข Wales donโ€™t beat North Macedonia on Tuesday

The seeding pots are based on FIFAโ€™s world rankings and, as things currently stand, Ireland are pot 2.
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Footballโ€™s coming Heim.
November 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Je telephone ร  la airport police
November 14, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Gavan Reilly
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Thatโ€™s one for The Gathering tomorrow. Which is more ambitious: the housing plan or Armeniaโ€™s 4-3-3?
November 13, 2025 at 10:07 PM
rmenia, whose only goals in the group are against us, can comfortably beat Portugal by threeโ€ฆ
November 13, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Thereโ€™s an easy answer to this: I have to watch Diogo Dalot every week.
"Gavan, what's emotionally broken you more - Ireland or Man Utd?"
November 13, 2025 at 9:56 PM
All of this emotional tumult, just for the right to slip to an underwhelming playoff semi-final away loss to Kosovo
November 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Although if this jolt of national feelgood factor is too much for you, join us at 10pm where weโ€™ll take the housing plan down a peg or two
โ€œAฬถlฬถfฬถ The Group Chat has been deferred!โ€

#coybig
November 13, 2025 at 9:43 PM
๐Ÿฆœ
November 13, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Pitch to write a Limerick a day
November 12, 2025 at 2:55 PM
TIME Magazine (!!!) asked me to explain what the wider world should know about Catherine Connolly:

time.com/7333194/irel...
The Meaning of Ireland's New Anti-Establishment President
Catherine Connolly has a change mandate that may put her at odds with Ireland's own governmentโ€”and its allies in Europe and America.
time.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:41 PM