Good afternoon and welcome to the Gibson Hotel.

In about 10 minutes, Martin O’Neill will meet the media for his first press conference as Republic of Ireland manager.

Are you excited? We are.

This was the view from inside the Gibson a few minutes ago. It’s all got a little bit more hectic now as O’Neill has just entered the building and is meeting some of the invited guests.

Marty has entered the building…

Mick Rooney: Before the grand conspiracy theories begin – no, Keane isn’t there because it’s Saturday and he is attending matches this weekend, not out walking the dog to avoid Delaney and the FAI.

We’ve just been given our two-minute warning. Miraculously, it looks like this is nearly going to start on time.

If you were here, what would you ask O’Neill?

We’re up and running. O’Neill is joined by FAI chief exec John Delaney at the top table as the photographers get to work.

MON: “A genuine privilege and pleasure to be here today.”

Short and sweet from the gaffer before he opens the floor to questions. “I hope they’re not too difficult,” O’Neill jokes.

MON on turning down club jobs: That was the thing I was pondering most, stepping out of day-to-day management to managing an international team where the get-togethers are in a more condensed amount of time.

Concern is that you don’t work with players on a day-to-day basis.

MON: “When I thought about it, I thought this opportunity might not be afforded to me again.”

O’Neill says he wishes that there were more competitive games sooner.

Tony O’Donoghue asks about the decision to bring Keane on board as assistant.

“I thought you were going to say it has caused headache,” O’Neill jokes. “It has certainly caused me a headache.”

Says he is absolutely delighted to have Keane on board — an iconic figure and a great, great player.

MON: “Like all of us in the game, I think he has points to prove.”

MON: “I think he’ll be great. I think he’ll be great for me for a start but more importantly I think he’ll be great for the Republic of Ireland.”

Asked what Brian Clough would make of the decision for him and Keane to work together:

“He would have had some palpitations I’m sure. I think he would have worried for both of us.”

O’Neill says he hopes that himself and Keane will get to watch as many games as possible.

“A little bit of volatility will do nobody any harm.”

O’Neill says it took Keane “about four and a half seconds” to agree to the job.

When he explained the roles to Keane, Keane told him it would take about 10 minutes to turn them upside down.

O’Neill now answering questions about the League of Ireland and the development of Ireland’s underage structures.

MON: “Absolutely, I would like to speak to Mr Trapattoni to see how he felt about [the job].”

Asked if he plans to bring any recently retired players back, O’Neill says he has “an open mind.”

O’Neill is asked about his tendency to use strong holding forwards at Celtic and Aston Villa in the past. Says he has never stuck rigidly to one approach in the past and will use the two upcoming friendlies to assess the options.

“I felt I adjusted to the teams I was picking. I’ll have a look at it.”

O’Neill is asked if Roy Keane is his natural successor and passes off the question to Delaney with a smile.

Delaney says that he hopes Ireland won’t be appointing a manager for a long, long time due to O’Neill’s success.

If you’re wondering, Roy Keane is at Aston Villa today.

Talking about the end of his Sunderland reign: “I never lost the energy. I never lost the enthusiasm. It’s always there. It’s what keeps me going.”

O”Neill clarifies that there is no clause in his contract that would allow him to leave if a Premier League club comes in with an offer.

O’Neill on Keane: “He’s very excited and he wants to do well, so that’s good enough for me.”

O’Neill says Northern Ireland have a “very fine” manager in charge at the moment.

He adds that Enda Kenny’s all-Ireland proposal might be difficult to find time for in the hectic footballing calendar.

O’Neill says he is hopeful of bringing the disillusioned Ireland fans back. He adds that he hopes to win games and wants to do so with “a bit of style and panache”.

He’s also open to looking at players from the League of Ireland.

And so ends O’Neill’s first press conference…

Right, that’s all from us for now. We’ll have more reaction coming up shortly.

Thanks for reading and commenting.