Irish darts star William O’Connor has leapt to the defence of his World Cup teammate Mickey Mansell after his nationality switch.It has been confirmed that O’Connor and Mansell will be pairing up for the tournament, representing the Republic of Ireland.O’Connor is going to be paired up with Mansell this summer at the World CupGetty Images - GettyThe 52-year-old reportedly changed his international allegiance from Northern Ireland to Ireland earlier this year.Mansell had previously represented his birthplace, Northern Ireland, at the World Cup of Darts.However, he’ll now be featuring for Ireland, taking the second qualification spot and joining O’Connor. His switch may be viewed as controversial, but his teammate has defended him, telling Oche180: “Mickey has always been Irish. “As far as I know, he changed his flag four or five years ago, it wasn’t just this year, Brendan [Dolan] done it this year.“In Ireland, under the Good Friday Agreement, you can be seen as Irish, British, whatever you want.“Mickey has always gone under the banner of Irish, even though he played for Northern Ireland down the line.”O’Connor also spoke of the potential of an all-Ireland team being created, welcoming the idea of Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, who won the 2025 World Cup, representing the nation.“I have no issue with anybody wanting to play for Ireland,” he said.“The way I see it is, it’s the island of Ireland and if Daryl andJosh want to represent the whole of Ireland then the best of luck to them.Mansell will represent Ireland for the first time at the World CupGetty“I want the two best players to represent the whole of Ireland, that’s the way it is.”O’Connor backed Mansell after his decision to switch allegiance took a qualifying spot from Keane Barry due to the PDC Order of Merit.The pair are seeded eighth for the World Cup group stage.When is the World Cup of Darts? The World Cup of Darts will get going on Thursday, June 11 and run through to Sunday, June 14.It is being held at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany.Luke Littler and Luke Humphries will be representing England, while Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen play for the Netherlands.For Scotland, it’s Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies, with Jonny Clayton playing alongside debutant Nick Kenny.Gerywn Price made himself unavailable for selection.