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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Eamon Doggett

Dublin cricketer Eoin Morgan accused of 'selling his soul' after accepting a CBE on New Year's honours list

Dublin cricketer Eoin Morgan has been accused of "selling his soul" after accepting a CBE on the UK's New Year's honours list.

The former Ireland player captained England to win the 2019 Cricket World Cup and has been made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Rush-born Morgan's acceptance of the title has raised some eyebrows on social media though, with some calling him a "turncoat" and another saying he is "selling his soul for the Queen's shilling".

Others were happy for Morgan, who said himself: "I'm very proud to have been awarded a CBE.

"Winning the World Cup has been a dream come true and the honours and awards that have come since that day at Lord's really mean a lot to everyone connected with the team.

"The events of that day at Lord's were the result of many years of hard work and dedication, and I see this honour - and the honours for my team-mates - as honours for the whole team, for everything they put into winning that tournament and getting over the line."

Eoin Morgan playing for Ireland in 2009 (©INPHO/Barry Chambers/ICC/CricketEurope)

Morgan never made any secret of his dreams to play for England even when he was lining out in the green of Ireland.

He told the Sunday Times in 2010: "From the age of 13, I wanted to play cricket for England. I’ve never felt any shame in saying this is what I wanted to do.

"And the people at home involved in cricket, they were like, 'Fair play, it’s going to be unbelievable if you make it'. So I’ve never had any shame about this and my father’s never had any shame about it."

Morgan's mother is English and he has previously told of having a British passport since he was born.

The 33-year-old was joined on the honours list by England teammates Jos Buttler and Joe Root, who have both been given MBEs.

Also included among this year's recipients is Snow Patrol lead singer Gary Lightbody, who along with his songwriting has been honoured for his extensive charity work.

If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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