AFTER KILLIAN PHILLIPS made his Ireland debut against Senegal last week, the player’s humility shone through.
The post-match interview by the midfielder was far from the dull, staid quotes sometimes associated with elite footballers.
Instead, the emotion of the occasion was palpable in the player’s words.
“I think there was bleedin’ 70 to 100 [from Kilbarrack] here,” he told reporters. “You probably heard them when I was coming on, the support that I get in my local area and from family and friends means the world to me, I have such a great support system, a lot of people who looked after me over the years, coached me, I have to thank all of them now.”
Liam McDonnell was one member of that big group.
The man who coached Phillips for six years at Kilbarrack United confirms the rough 70-100 estimation was about right.
“[The Kilbarrack group] were all spread around the stadium,” he tells The 42.
McDonnell first came across the aspiring footballer when he was about six years old.
“He still plays the same way,” the manager says. “He was up and down. His energy was unbelievable for a little kid. A ball winner. Jaysus, he was great, he’d play anywhere. No bother to him.”
The Kilbarrack coach recalls a photo of a mucky Phillips pictured with Mark and Frank Joyce, his uncle and grandfather (see below), when he was around eight years old.
“Mark promised him a fiver if he scored a goal… He went and scored four.
“He was very mannerly and had a great attitude, and he still is the same.”
A young Killian Phillips pictured with his grandfather and uncle (credit: Liam McDonnell).
McDonnell reckons most of the Phillips family played for Kilbarrack at one stage or another.
The future St Mirren footballer emerged back when they only had grass pitches. Now, they have Astros.
The player and club have grown simultaneously.
“And he’s given back, he hasn’t forgotten where he’s from,” McDonnell adds. “He sponsors our girls’ team, and he sponsors our [boys] U12s team — a brilliant lad.”
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For all the youngster’s obvious talent, McDonnell admits he didn’t foresee him as a potential future Ireland international at that age.
“Jaysus, no. He wasn’t actually the best player on the team; he was one of the best ones.
“But his attitude, you knew he just wanted to be a footballer. Even then, he just wanted to be a footballer.”
Kilbarrack, in general, would not be considered a footballing hotbed.
Only one other Ireland international has emerged from there — John Anderson, who won 16 Ireland caps between 1979 and 1988, making the squad for the Jack Charlton-managed side that reached the Euros.
Now, the community has a new hero.
“Our club and our academy at schoolboys are sort of a feeder club for the bigger clubs.
“What we work on is kids controlling the ball, their first touch and enjoying themselves. That’s what Killian did for six years with us.
“He was just one of the lads, you know? He wasn’t overly boisterous or anything.
“Even his attitude, he knows all the little head cases around that he grew up with and socialises with them still.
“But he doesn’t drink or anything, and all of these lads, they’d be out, but some of them I wouldn’t hang around with.”
During the off-season, it is not uncommon to see Phillips at Kilbarrack’s training ground.
And not so long ago, the youngster was showing up there to compete.
He originally left the club’s U12s team, joining another Dublin schoolboy side, Corduff.
After a couple of years there, Phillips made the move to one of the county’s most prestigious and best-known schoolboy clubs, St Kevin’s Boys.
However, his time there was not enough even to secure a move to the League of Ireland.
Both Shelbourne and Bohemians opted against signing Phillips for their U17 sides.
“He wouldn’t stand out as a flair player,” says McDonnell.
“There was another chap that played for Kilbarrack years ago, Liam Dunne, he ended up playing for St Johnstone. And he was the same. Not a flair player, but he had that attitude; he just wanted to be a football player.”
The League of Ireland setback meant Phillips subsequently returned to play for Killbarrack United, where McDonnell was still manager.
“There’s no linear progression, you can do it whatever way you want,” Phillips said last week. “I was playing Sunday league at 17.”
Eventually, though, a bigger opportunity arose.
“The donkey work he does goes unseen. Kevin Doherty at Drogheda saw it,” recalls McDonnell.
Doherty is one of two people credited as being particularly key to his rise.
The other is Cora, the single mother who raised Phillips along with his three brothers and whom McDonnell describes as an “absolutely legend”.
He continues: “Only for her, he wouldn’t have left Kilbarrack to go to Corduff and stayed on the sidelines up there.
“She’s the rock of the family. She was driving him up to Drogheda, waiting outside until all hours of the evening on training nights, getting someone to babysit the kids and all.”
Ireland’s Killian Phillips signs an autograph for a fan after the Ireland-Senegal game. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
McDonnell describes watching Phillips as he was about to come on at the Aviva last week as a “nerve-racking” experience.
By the end of the game, though, he was “like a proud father” as the Irish debutant walked over to the area of the stadium where a large Kilbarrack United flag was stationed.
“That was his dream. It’s all he wanted in life, and he’s done it. I’m sure he’ll get many more caps because his attitude is great. It’s all about attitude.
“He’s that type of young fella. When he comes home, he’d be up training on the astro on his own.
“He doesn’t give himself a break. He wants to stay at the top now.”
For all Phillips’ considerable achievements in football, Kilbarrack are not due any compensation for his progress, unlike, for instance, Caoimhín Kelleher’s Ringmahon Rangers, who recently secured €3 million on the back of their star graduate’s €21 million move from Liverpool to Brentford.
“But we’re okay with that,” McDonnell adds. “We’re just so proud to have him in our community. And he’s delighted to be involved in Kilbarrack United. He is still part of our club.”
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At 17, he was playing Sunday League. Now, he's an Ireland international
AFTER KILLIAN PHILLIPS made his Ireland debut against Senegal last week, the player’s humility shone through.
The post-match interview by the midfielder was far from the dull, staid quotes sometimes associated with elite footballers.
Instead, the emotion of the occasion was palpable in the player’s words.
“I think there was bleedin’ 70 to 100 [from Kilbarrack] here,” he told reporters. “You probably heard them when I was coming on, the support that I get in my local area and from family and friends means the world to me, I have such a great support system, a lot of people who looked after me over the years, coached me, I have to thank all of them now.”
Liam McDonnell was one member of that big group.
The man who coached Phillips for six years at Kilbarrack United confirms the rough 70-100 estimation was about right.
“[The Kilbarrack group] were all spread around the stadium,” he tells The 42.
McDonnell first came across the aspiring footballer when he was about six years old.
“He still plays the same way,” the manager says. “He was up and down. His energy was unbelievable for a little kid. A ball winner. Jaysus, he was great, he’d play anywhere. No bother to him.”
The Kilbarrack coach recalls a photo of a mucky Phillips pictured with Mark and Frank Joyce, his uncle and grandfather (see below), when he was around eight years old.
“Mark promised him a fiver if he scored a goal… He went and scored four.
“He was very mannerly and had a great attitude, and he still is the same.”
McDonnell reckons most of the Phillips family played for Kilbarrack at one stage or another.
The future St Mirren footballer emerged back when they only had grass pitches. Now, they have Astros.
The player and club have grown simultaneously.
“And he’s given back, he hasn’t forgotten where he’s from,” McDonnell adds. “He sponsors our girls’ team, and he sponsors our [boys] U12s team — a brilliant lad.”
For all the youngster’s obvious talent, McDonnell admits he didn’t foresee him as a potential future Ireland international at that age.
“Jaysus, no. He wasn’t actually the best player on the team; he was one of the best ones.
“But his attitude, you knew he just wanted to be a footballer. Even then, he just wanted to be a footballer.”
Kilbarrack, in general, would not be considered a footballing hotbed.
Only one other Ireland international has emerged from there — John Anderson, who won 16 Ireland caps between 1979 and 1988, making the squad for the Jack Charlton-managed side that reached the Euros.
Now, the community has a new hero.
“Our club and our academy at schoolboys are sort of a feeder club for the bigger clubs.
“What we work on is kids controlling the ball, their first touch and enjoying themselves. That’s what Killian did for six years with us.
“He was just one of the lads, you know? He wasn’t overly boisterous or anything.
“Even his attitude, he knows all the little head cases around that he grew up with and socialises with them still.
“But he doesn’t drink or anything, and all of these lads, they’d be out, but some of them I wouldn’t hang around with.”
During the off-season, it is not uncommon to see Phillips at Kilbarrack’s training ground.
And not so long ago, the youngster was showing up there to compete.
He originally left the club’s U12s team, joining another Dublin schoolboy side, Corduff.
After a couple of years there, Phillips made the move to one of the county’s most prestigious and best-known schoolboy clubs, St Kevin’s Boys.
However, his time there was not enough even to secure a move to the League of Ireland.
Both Shelbourne and Bohemians opted against signing Phillips for their U17 sides.
“He wouldn’t stand out as a flair player,” says McDonnell.
“There was another chap that played for Kilbarrack years ago, Liam Dunne, he ended up playing for St Johnstone. And he was the same. Not a flair player, but he had that attitude; he just wanted to be a football player.”
The League of Ireland setback meant Phillips subsequently returned to play for Killbarrack United, where McDonnell was still manager.
“There’s no linear progression, you can do it whatever way you want,” Phillips said last week. “I was playing Sunday league at 17.”
Eventually, though, a bigger opportunity arose.
“The donkey work he does goes unseen. Kevin Doherty at Drogheda saw it,” recalls McDonnell.
Doherty is one of two people credited as being particularly key to his rise.
The other is Cora, the single mother who raised Phillips along with his three brothers and whom McDonnell describes as an “absolutely legend”.
He continues: “Only for her, he wouldn’t have left Kilbarrack to go to Corduff and stayed on the sidelines up there.
“She’s the rock of the family. She was driving him up to Drogheda, waiting outside until all hours of the evening on training nights, getting someone to babysit the kids and all.”
McDonnell describes watching Phillips as he was about to come on at the Aviva last week as a “nerve-racking” experience.
By the end of the game, though, he was “like a proud father” as the Irish debutant walked over to the area of the stadium where a large Kilbarrack United flag was stationed.
“That was his dream. It’s all he wanted in life, and he’s done it. I’m sure he’ll get many more caps because his attitude is great. It’s all about attitude.
“He’s that type of young fella. When he comes home, he’d be up training on the astro on his own.
“He doesn’t give himself a break. He wants to stay at the top now.”
For all Phillips’ considerable achievements in football, Kilbarrack are not due any compensation for his progress, unlike, for instance, Caoimhín Kelleher’s Ringmahon Rangers, who recently secured €3 million on the back of their star graduate’s €21 million move from Liverpool to Brentford.
“But we’re okay with that,” McDonnell adds. “We’re just so proud to have him in our community. And he’s delighted to be involved in Kilbarrack United. He is still part of our club.”
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a true underdog story Interview Kilbarrack United Killian Phillips Liam McDonnell Soccer St Mirren Ireland Republic