With so many people involved, it’s amazing that the first mention of Harvey Vale came only over a week ago when FIFA confirmed his switch of allegiance.
First up, Mark O’Toole, Irish football’s London-based super-scout got wind of Vale’s Kerry connections and spoke with him.
And while on loan at Bristol Rovers during the 2023/24 season, where Glenn Whelan was cutting his coaching teeth, Vale was nudged closer to the Boys in Green.
By this point, he had already secured his Irish citizenship - during Covid in 2021 - and had led England to European Under-19 glory.
And then last year when he joined QPR, there was a two-pronged push.
Jimmy Dunne, their Dundalk-born centre-half and now captain, got straight to the point.
“It was one of the first questions he asked me when I joined QPR, ‘Have you got any Irish in ya?’,” Vale explained, as he settled into the squad in Dublin ahead of their flight to Prague.
Soon after came a visit from Heimir Hallgrímsson. And although injured and out for the remainder of the season, Vale pledged his international future to Ireland.
Then came, as he described it, the scramble to gather all his documents and get them into FIFA, so that the English FA could sign off on his transfer.
They did so less than a week before Hallgrímsson named his squad for the play-offs, allowing the highly-rated former Chelsea prospect to be parachuted into Ireland’s World Cup bid.
Vale qualifies for Ireland through his Kerry grandfather Michael Healy, who emigrated to London and then to Australia, before he returned to the English capital.
He was the first person that the 22-year-old telephoned when he received his call-up.
“I am so, so proud,” said the youngster, who made seven first-team appearances for Chelsea, including in the Europa Conference League against Shamrock Rovers in December 2024.
“Obviously, I heard this time last week and I was so, so happy, calling my family straight away.
“My granddad’s from Ireland, grew up in Kerry and it is a super-proud moment for everyone and I am buzzing to be here.
“I'm still really close with him, I called him straight away as soon as I found out this could be happening and when it did happen it was such a proud moment for him and for my family and for my parents.”
Unfortunately, Michael won’t be able to travel to Prague, as he is unwell. But Vale will have plenty of family members at the game tomorrow night.
He continued: “[Granddad] grew up in Kerry. I think he moved over [to London], I think it was before the age of 15 and then he went to Australia for work.
“He lived in Australia for a really long time when I was growing up and then eventually settled in London.
“My nan sort of fell ill and they came back to London to be with the family.
“I was over to Australia to visit him and we always talked about sort of coming over to Ireland together as well.”
It was on a visit to Australia that Vale discovered a passion for football, having had little interest in the sport beforehand.
“Yeah, I think my parents used to tell me I wasn't fussed about football or anything like that and then there was a game one day on the beach or whatever,” he said.
“We just started playing football and then when I came back to England it was football, football, football after that.”
As for the rest of the influences on his switch to Ireland, he said that he had spoken regularly to Dunne about the move.
“I spoke to Mark [O’Toole] a good few years ago now and then when I was at Bristol Rovers with Whelo [Glenn Whelan], we were speaking about it all the time, he was always in my ear.
“So there were definitely points along the way that pushed it and helped me.”
As for his first contact with Hallgrímsson, that came just over a year ago “when I first joined QPR.”
He added: “I met him at the stadium when I joined, a few weeks into that.
“I was injured, I joined QPR in January and missed the whole rest of the season and the first convo we had was that when I was back fit and back playing, he would be watching.
“And he has thought I played well this season and deserved this, so it has been going on for a while.
“It hasn’t just been a flick of the switch and happened quickly, it has been going on in the background.”
Once he made up his mind, it was a case of gather any necessary supporting documents.
“I got my citizenship during Covid and that took a really long time, I think that took 18 months just to get that,” Vale explained.
“It was touch and go [to be eligible for this window]. I was calling family, parents, scrambling around for documents, birth certificates, everything.
“Luckily when I did my citizenship a few years ago, we kept a folder of all the documents and we just sent it off to the FA and FIFA and it got done in the end.
“Everyone worked really hard for it.”
And now he could be World Cup bound - if Ireland progress from a tricky play-off path including the Czechs, and either Denmark or North Macedonia.
“It would be unbelievable,” said Vale. “It will be something that stays with you forever, will stay with this country forever and we are going to do our best to do that.”
“I remember watching [the Portugal and Hungary games] on the telly and what can you say, speechless.
“That was a moment that united everyone and if we can bring that spirit into the next two games, we have a real chance.”
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