Talk:James McCarthy (footballer)

He should join LFC. Rafa seems to think a hell of alot of James. He sounds like exactly the type of player Rafa craves. NOt only that, but he would be getting the opportunity to play for the most passionate fans to be found anywhere in the world, in an invironment that is only on the way up with their new owners. You only get one chance to play infront of the Kop and nobody ever regrets it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bazza76 (talk • contribs) 15:37, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Liverpool? If passionate means illiterate (invironment?), then you're right. Otherwise, he should go to the club who really have the most passionate fans: Celtic. I imagine that he is a Celtic fan, also, as he is an Irishman from Hamilton. Thesean43 20:28, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Nationality

It has to be made clear that this boy is Scottish and a British citizen; having an Irish grandmother does not make him Irish; as far as I understand it, and maybe I'm wrong, he was born and raised in Scotland to Scottish parents. He has never played for the Republic of Ireland either; doing so, should he ever, will not make him cease to be Scottish either, as sporting teams are just sporting teams. If this teenager has any personal views on his own nationality, the outside world has not been made aware of it, as his reasons for apparently choosing to play for an Irish youth team (which wouldn't make him a legal footballing Irishman either) have not been revealed. Calgacus (ΚΑΛΓΑΚΟΣ) 02:49, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, he has now played for Ireland at under age level.--Vintagekits 19:42, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Playing for Ireland doesn't make him Irish and I'd have strong reservations about the line in the introduction which states that he's a "Scottish born Irish footballer". This just isn't accurate, he's a Scottish footballer who has represented the Republic of Ireland at under age level. He's no more Irish than, for instance, Nigel Quashie is Scottish (note the introduction to his article). This isn't just an issue with James McCarthy's article, the same format has been applied to numerous other players such as Aiden McGeady and Sean St Ledger. All politics and tit for tat debates put to one side, it just isn't accurate to call these players "Irish footballers" and has the potential to confuse readers who are not familiar with their backgrounds. I propose that these articles are all changed to follow the more conventional introduction format as used in the Nigel Quashie article. Blankfrackis (talk) 00:40, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

As football goes - he is Irish - his choice, deal with it!--Vintagekits (talk) 22:50, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

We're not talking about football, we're talking about his actual nationality. When you refer to someone as an "Irish footballer" you are not talking about what national football team they play for, you're talking about his nationality and in no way, by any definition of nationality, is James McCarthy Irish. Either make some legitimate case for his nationality being Irish (there is none) or accept that the introduction is misleading. Blankfrackis (talk) 00:27, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

...which isn't to say, of course, that the fact he has chosen to play for Ireland shouldn't be entered into this article as a legitimate decision. All we're asking here is that you word it in a way which doesn't completely violate reality. Blankfrackis (talk) 00:33, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Nationality is a really complicated issue, as it seems everyone in the world seems to have their own definition of it. In this case, unlike what the original poster said, the presence of an Irish grandmother does indeed make James McCarthy Irish, as it entitles him to Irish citizenship under Irish nationality law, I take it he has used that and become an Irish citizen, as unless there is some (ridiculous) FIFA rule that lets non-citizens play for national teams, he would have to have taken it up to play for Irish youth teams. It is also common practice to refer to athletes by the nation they represent, even in ambiguous cases such as this. If you ask me, he should be referred to as a "Scottish born Irish footballer" as it is the only wording that takes both of his nationalities into consideration, if you say he is Scottish, you ignore his Irish citizenship and his choice of national team but if you say he is Irish you ignore his country of birth and his British citizenship. 81.231.155.144 (talk) 09:33, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

I'd far rather leave the adjectives out of it entirely. The current article makes it clear that he was born in Scotland but has played at youth level for ROI. That's all we need to say. This is hardly unusual at this point, as both Scotland and ROI have fielded a significant number of "foreign-born nationals" over the last thirty years or so. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 09:59, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Vintagekits has reverted to his preferred version, an unambigous (and flatly false) "Irish" with an obscured link to the Irish FA. This should obviously be reverted as discussed above. Chris Cunningham (not at work) - talk 10:39, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

I think I might have found the best alternative by looking at the page about Giuseppe Rossi, basically say that he was born in Scotland, that he holds dual British and Irish citizenship and that he plays for Irish youth teams. Ideal in my oppinion as it doesn't favor one over the other, what do you think? 81.231.155.144 (talk) 11:32, 14 July 2009 (UTC)