Glentoran boss Declan Devine feels 'time is right' for return of All-Ireland competition between Irish League and League of Ireland clubs

With Larne losing 4-1 to Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Conference League last month, it brought back familiar debates surrounding the potential gulf in quality between the respective leagues and also the possible reintroduction of a tournament like the Setanta Cup, which pitted teams from both sides of the border against each other.

That competition was inaugurated in 2005 and ran until 2014 while the Champions Cup was staged in 2019 with Dundalk defeating Linfield over two legs, but it hasn’t returned since with scheduling issues cited.

Devine has extensive experience in the League of Ireland having managed both Derry City and Bohemians before taking over at Glentoran on a permanent basis in April and would embrace the challenge of facing neighbouring teams.

"The one thing I'd love to see is the Setanta Cup coming back,” he said. “I understood at the time because a lot of Irish League teams were part-time and found it difficult getting to Cork or Dublin on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening, but for me the time is right now.

"If we think there's a gap then surely competing against those teams on a regular basis would help close that gap? It would be something fresh and different - I'd really welcome it.

"The landscape is changing over recent years and I'd love to see Derry City back in the Irish League too. I can understand why they are happy where they are but having a monster of a football club down the road, I'd certainly welcome it if they were back."

Shamrock Rovers, who narrowly missed out on lifting a fifth consecutive league title to Shelbourne this term, followed up their Larne victory by beating Welsh outfit TNS 2-1 in Dublin on Thursday evening – a result which sees them sitting seventh in the Conference League standings and in fine position to progress.

The ease of their victory at Windsor Park last month led many to summarise that the gap between the Irish League and League of Ireland is vast, but that’s not the view held by Devine.

"We're definitely closing the gap, there's no doubt about that,” he added. “More teams have went to a full-time schedule and even looking at teams that aren't full-time in Cliftonville and Crusaders, they've very much got experienced groups and lots of talented players.

"I've been in the League of Ireland for a long time but I've always watched Irish League games and went to games when I could - last year for instance we were interested in players from the Irish League and I'd no doubt they could make the step up to the League of Ireland.

"I don't think there's a huge gap. Shamrock Rovers are the benchmark for everybody, north and south of the border. They've qualified for Europe on a consistent basis and been in the group stages three times.

"I remember when they first went in and they struggled to earn a point and they then went and invested huge amounts of money to become competitive. They are hitting attendances of 6,000-8,000 every week which allows their budgets to increase.

"There's a slight difference with the top teams in the League of Ireland being slightly ahead, but the likes of Larne and Linfield could easily compete in the League of Ireland.

"I'm not pushing the boat out for it, but I do think the League of Ireland playing summer football plays a factor with players being at the peak of their powers when Europe comes around."