Ireland down the Mighty Faroes with #Keano magic

Last evening I went to see the Ireland vs Faroe Islands World Cup qualifier match. Normally this would not be an attractive fixture to attend, 'cos the Faroe's are shite at football. But I thought it would be nice to see Ireland win a match for a change. A fine evening got off to a good start with a goal in 5 minutes by Robbie Keane (in his 126th game for Ireland) - Wes Hoolahan, who was pulling the strings all evening at midfield, set up the goal. Hoolahan and Keane were the stand out players for Ireland in a game where they never really had to get out of 2nd gear to win against a poor Faroe side. Best performance for the Faroes was by a fan behind me who kept shooting "Fi Yar" every time they got the ball - I'm a sure it is Danish for Faroe Islands. This won't be enough to get Ireland to Brazil for the World Cup finals next year, but nevertheless it was enjoyable to see a win.

I have been attending Ireland matches for over 30 years, and this is the first time I had seen an Irish player score a hat-trick. Robbie Keane is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Irish football fans - it may be many generations before we see his record of 59 goals for Ireland bettered by another Irish player. Only the legendary Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis of Hungary, and Gerd Müller and Miroslav Klose of Germany have scored more international goals for a European country than Keano. And he is still playing! Magic!

Robbie Keane (#10) celebrates a hat-trick!

Euro '88 Remembered #COYBIG

Today is the day after 24 years waiting that Ireland participates in the European Championship finals for only the second time. This evening we take on Croatia in the first group match - with Spain and Italy to come, this may be Ireland's only chance to get a result. While I'm hopeful that Ireland will do well, I'm not as confident as the thousands of Irish fans who have descended on Poland for this match. However, I have to remember that in 1988, I wasn't confident either!

Come on you boys in green!

I watched the Ireland vs England game on 12th June 1988 in my then neighbour Dave's house in Llewellyn Park in Rathfarnham. I had plenty of time on my hands because I had just finished my PhD and had not yet got a job. Perfect timing for a footie feast! The history of the game is legendary at this stage - Ray Houghton scored in the 6th minute (I still give a cheer every time I see it) and Ireland held on for a long 84 minutes to record a famous victory. I remember the game well - I even fell on my knees when Houghton scored. Ireland had won a game we should have lost.

Ray Houghton puts the ball in the English net.
Image link to Sportsfile.

In the next game against Russia, who could forget Ronnie Whelan's famous shinner, or George Hamilton's famous commentary "...and Bonner has gone 165 minutes of these championships without conceding a goal. Oh danger here..." which of course has now inspired the excellent www.dangerhere.com website. Ireland were brilliant in that game, but ended up drawing a game they should have won. In the final group game, which Ireland needed at least a draw to qualify for the semi-finals, Ireland kept Gullit, van Basten, Rijkaard, Koeman, and Co out for 82 minutes - but not Wim Kieft who scored a freekish goal to break Irish hearts. Ireland had lost a game they should have drawn, and a famous football odyssey was over.

The 1988 Euro finals inspired a nation, and Christy Moore caught the mood afterwards with his brilliant song "Joxer Goes to Stuttgart" - so in memory of the summer of 1988, here he is singing the song on RTÉ in 1990:

Chelsea 3 Bolton Wanderers 0

Saturday in London and what better way to spend the afternoon than going to the pub for a few scoops and then going to a football match with my brother Brian and Chris F. Today I went to see only my second ever Premier League game in England - Chelsea against Bolton at Stamford Bridge. Before the game we had a few beers in a local pub called The Pelican. We had been refused entry to another pub closer to the ground because our match tickets were not for "Home" supporters. Nevertheless we enjoyed our beer in The Pelican before heading up to the game.

First half, which ended 0-0, was a bit boring. Not much happening, and the crowd were also quiet. We were with the Bolton fans - awkward for Brian and Chris who are both Chelsea fans. It's impossible not to take sides at a football match and I was impressed by both Brian and Chris's ability to stay quite each time Chelsea scored in an easy 3-0 win. For a day we were Bolton fans - a place I have never been.

Goals by Luiz, Drogba, and Lampard secured Chelsea's win. A highlight for us was seeing Torres coming on for the last 15 minutes or so during which he did very little. Best for Chelsea were Lampard, Essien, and Drogba. Bolton were outclassed and are surely bound for relegation on this form. 40,999 were at the game, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Nostalgia moment - Lisbon 15th November 1995

Experimenting with Roma's new camera on the night before she left for South Africa I got a photo of myself wearing my Ireland jersey - it was also the night of Ireland's brilliant 4-0 win over Estonia in the Euro 2012 play-offs. I bought the jersey in 1995, and like to wear it when Ireland are playing (even if just watching the match on telly).

Come on you boys in green!

This photo reminds me of the night of 15th November 1995 when Ireland took on Portugal in the last game of the group stages of the Euro 1996 in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon - the only "away" international I have ever been to. I travelled with my brother Brian and we had a great time - my memories include drinking pints at 7 o'clock in the morning at Dublin airport, the rain, Brian's almost all day hilarious haggling with a persistent Brazilian selling "gold" rings, and the dancing girls at a Musgrave's bash after the game which we crashed.

Alas - the game which Ireland had to win to qualify, was not what we had hoped. We later lost a play-off to Holland. From FAI History Chapter 33:

The fans played their part and travelled in numbers as an estimated 25,000 crowded into the Stadium of Light in Lisbon on a night when the rain poured down incessantly. Ireland had to work to the limit to restrain a marvellous Portugal who made nonsense of the conditions by playing wonderful, compelling football.


Ireland succeeded in defying them for an hour but then Rui Costa conjured up a beautiful opening goal with a chip that floated over the top of the defence and dipped into the net off the underside of the crossbar. Ireland were ineffective in attack, unable to muster a revival as Portugal won emphatically 3-0.