Two former League of Ireland prospects took a huge gamble to progress their careers - and they say it's paying off
From Bohemians and St Patrick's Athletic to a tiny town in central Sweden, Dubliners Jack O'Reilly and Darragh Dunne are making the most of their first-team breakthroughs.
The 14-hour round trip to Thursday’s game against Skelleftea FF - a 2-2 draw - was nothing to young Dubliner Jack O’Reilly.
Just a few days earlier, the journey to another away game and back was double that.
O’Reilly is one of two League of Ireland prospects who, last winter, decided they had enough of Under-20s football and took a leap into the unknown in search of first-team action.
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Having come through the ranks at Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic respectively, O’Reilly and Darragh Dunne packed their bags and headed for a tiny town in central Sweden.
“It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere,” says O’Reilly of Ytterhogdals, “but that’s kind of a good thing, because all you are focused on is football.
“There are no distractions, there’s not much to do, whereas at home you see your friends and have loads of things to do on days off.”
O’Reilly and Dunne signed for Ytterhogdals IK, who compete in the fourth tier, in February and quickly established themselves in the first-team.
It wasn’t an entirely random call to pick up a couple of Irish youngsters - Ytterhogdals are managed by former Derry City, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk striker Thomas Stewart.
The population of the town is approximately 500, but the support for the team sometimes exceeds that number, with people coming from all around to attend their games.
It’s when they are away from home that the support thins out.
“You’d get decent enough crowds at home games, but not really at away games, because they can be so far away,” explains O’Reilly, a wide attacker.
“We had a game the other day in the north of Sweden (against Kiruna FF), a 1-1 draw, and we had to travel 14 hours for that game. It was crazy.
“We went by bus; 14 hours up and 14 hours back.
“We went there, stayed overnight, played the next day and were straight back on the bus home.
“Then there was a time when we played in another part of Sweden that was nine hours away.
“I just kind of try to sleep on the bus, but it’s hard, so I might watch a few clips of myself playing and listen to some music or watch a Netflix series to pass the time.
“It’s better now that the European Championships are on, because you can watch the matches on the journeys.”
So what is there to do around town?
“There’s one coffee shop around the corner,” says O’Reilly. “They sponsor us and if you go there on a Friday they give you free coffee.
“We do our video analysis in an old cinema across the road from the coffee shop on a Friday before a game and then on a Monday or Tuesday afterwards to reflect on things.
“There’s a supermarket, one restaurant, a gym with a sauna, a swimming pool and training facilities.”
Dunne, who played right-back and wing-back at St Pat’s before last winter’s move, adds: “We have found ways to keep busy. We’d go out and do a bit of fishing and stuff like that.
“There’s a big lake beside us and Jack used to fish at home, so he got me into it here.
“Living in Dublin, you are used to having everything you need around you, but here, being in the middle of nowhere, that was the biggest shock.
“But it was also another reason to come over, to get fully focused on football and get a good solid year out of it.”
Another adjustment that the two Dubliners had to make was the climate.
When they arrived, the ground was still carpeted with a thick layer of snow, while there was very little daylight during their first few months in Ytterhogdals.
“It was very dark when we got here in February, and up to around mid-April maybe it was still fairly hectic with snow,” says O’Reilly.
“But over the last three weeks or so, it’s been around 25 degrees - and now the sun doesn’t really go down. Last night it was still bright at around 2am.
“It’s horrible trying to sleep, because your blinds don’t block out the light.”
On the pitch, the pair are happy that they have made the right move.
Ostersund, the team managed by Graham Potter for seven years, are an hour and a half away, and the two clubs are linked.
Currently playing in the Swedish second tier, their boss Magnus Powell is always watching the young Ytterhogdals players with an eye on recruitment.
“The football is good,” says Dunne. “We are training every day and I didn’t expect the level to be as good as it is when we first came over.
“It’s a lot more physical than we would have been playing at home and I think that’s only going to help us.
“I had one more year in the Under-20s, so I’m glad I’ve made this move, everything is going well and the manager (Stewart), the amount of time he puts into his planning for games is unreal.
“We never go into a game unprepared or not knowing what’s coming.”
The pair will be home soon. Sweden’s mid-season break takes place between July 1 and 15.
But they can’t relax too much, as they will have to hit the ground running when they return.
“We have two weeks off and then the week we are back, we are playing in the semi-final of a cup competition,” explains O’Reilly.
He adds: “It was a big risk to come over, but you never get a second chance at these kinds of opportunities.
“I was with the Under-20s at Bohs and I was in and around the first-team for training, but wasn’t really getting into the matchday squads.
“I didn’t think I needed 20s football anymore, I needed to be playing first-team football. A few First Division clubs at home wanted me to go on trial, but when this came up, it was a no-brainer.
“I’m enjoying it, Darragh is too, I’m playing every minute and the physicality is really good. It’s a big step but I feel comfortable. Hopefully we can get better and progress from here.”
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