Goalkeeper Jack Harrington Was Ready to Quit Football—Then Canada Came Calling

Far away from the muddy pitches of Longford and Athlone, goalkeeper Jack Harrington is enjoying an adventure across the Atlantic in Canada, getting his degree while doing what he really wants: playing football.

Studying sports leadership while representing Cape Breton University during the freezing winter months and turning out for Guelph United during the summer is how he spends his days now. A different reality to the hours of commuting and training that made him consider giving up football after injuries and releases over the past few years.

“I’m terrible at interviews; I usually just sh*te talk,” says Jack but our two-hour interview proves him wrong. It’s an interesting and wide-ranging look at the life of a young goalkeeper struggling to navigate the broken and disjointed Irish academy scene but thriving in a top-quality environment in Canada.

Jack Harrington’s Teething Troubles in Canada

Universities there have enticed players from across the globe to come and play on scholarships to strengthen the country’s fledgling league system and drive domestic football interest with the 2026 World Cup, hosted along with the U.S. and Mexico, on the horizon.

“There are people from all over the world I’m playing with here. We’ve got boys from Israel, France, Germany, all over Canada… The youngest we have is 18 and then the oldest we have is 24,” explains Jack, who at 21 sits comfortably in the middle.

While the mix of cultures is an exciting part of his experience, there were a few teething problems, some of which proved to be expensive. “I had to kind of change the way that I speak. I have to pronounce all the words properly; certain people wouldn’t understand what I’m on about.

“The worst thing was the bad language; I was getting fined all the time for it. I’d be on the pitch effing and blinding and people would be just looking at me.” Says Jack of on-pitch differences.

“No one told me that,” he laughs. “I made myself the fine master so then I can’t be fined.”

Working Under Damien Duff

Jack Harrington’s footballing journey started like most in Ireland, playing for his local club, Dunshaughlin youths, in the North Dublin Schoolboy League (NDSL). Playing football and rugby up until he was 12, Jack credits his older brother Dylan with pushing for him to stick with football when he was close to giving up.

The first step for Jack was at one of Dublin’s most revered schoolboy clubs, Belvedere F.C., where he developed for a few years before moving on to Shelbourne’s academy in “a mastermind move” by brother Dylan, who saw an opportunity for his little brother to assert himself in the U15 squad before the U18 League of Ireland was established two years later.

It took a lot of effort to play his way into the team, something Jack has grown used to throughout his career. “I’ve never been brought in to be a first choice ‘keeper, never.” He says.

During his time with Shels, Jack got to work with one of Irish football’s biggest characters, Damien Duff.

“He’s one of the best. Looking back, he actually taught me how to be a man in football. He’d always be saying to have a bit of character, a backbone. He definitely brought leadership out of me.

“When I came over here, it was something I was told – the atmosphere changed, everyone was happier and a lot better. Even if I wasn’t playing, it was always a thing of ‘be good around the place’. That was something you learnt from him too.”

The Move to Canada

Following a spell at Dundalk and four-hour commutes to Longford, Jack Harrington moved to Athlone, where he continued for a season before becoming disillusioned with the low standards of the League of Ireland’s first division. “I was just kind of going through the motions, floating around.” He explains.

Playing on frozen pitches, haphazard payment schedules and the lack of a clear pathway to first team football meant Jack almost gave up on the dream of football. That was until his agent rang him on the way home from training one evening.

“He said what do you think about Canada? And I said, ‘Well, I don’t really know anything about it’ … I didn’t really have anything else going for me; I probably would have just come to a slow stop in football.”

Since moving, Jack has slipped straight into life in Cape Breton. “I haven’t really been homesick.” Even if it isn’t exactly a metropolis, “Think of the sticks, then think 25km away.” The top-quality equipment and facilities available have helped. “Everything is top of the range here. Cold baths, hot showers – there are three or four massage therapists and physios. We have an indoor pitch and an outdoor pitch.

“I’m not going to paint a perfect picture; it’s -25°C and the place is covered in snow, but we’re treated like royalty. I’m very lucky; it just fell at the right time.”

The Difference Between US & Canadian Scholarships

However, he’s wary of the number of North American scholarship programmes appearing in Ireland and advertising to young players on social media after experiences of players left high and dry by agencies.

“People say to me it’s [the scholarship] the same as the American ones, but it’s completely different. The American ones are taking players of not good quality because they know they’re still going to get money.”

The money involved in selling the dream of professional football to hopeful youngsters is substantial, according to Jack Harrington, who discussed a scholarship with an agency when still in school.

“One of them had a €3000 processing fee for the agency, and you might only get a 50% scholarship. Then you pay for college and accommodation over in America, so you’re paying €13,000 or €14,000 for one year.”

The amount of money being paid for to dubious agencies by some disadvantaged families doesn’t sit right with him. “It’s a business at the end of the day and everyone has to make money; I understand that, but you’re taking money just to make up numbers. I’ve seen boys that have nothing getting sent out there.”

While many jet off to America or Canada with the dream life in mind, Jack went determined to make it work, no matter what.

The Future & Upcoming Summer

At the same time as turning out for his college team, he’s also focusing on completing his degree and coaching young goalkeepers at weekends before going through the draft system. “You know the way football is; it all depends on how you play so I’m not going to take a risk.”

As the summer begins, Jack Harrington will be hoping for a positive campaign with Guelph United in the Ontario Championship Division of the Canadian League One.

With just one loss in their opening four league games and the top two teams being promoted to the top division, early signs are positive for Guelph and their Irish goalkeeper.

Jack’s career so far has been a story of hard work and graft, even when he found himself at a dead end. “The journey through football hasn’t been easy and the more I look back on it, the more I think, Why did I keep going?”

That will to adapt and keep going even when the chips are down has been pivotal to Jack Harrington’s journey across the Atlantic to accomplish what he wanted to do all those years ago: play football.

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Davide Kociu

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