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1. Pagiamecarlitos says:

   The only thing that really surprises me about this is the facepaint. On a grown man. Incredible Putteyesque stuff.

   An even better/worse incident of Paddy-Franco aggression occurred on O’Connell St later on, when a pie went up to a couple of French guys with a flag: “Ere you, gimme tha!” He then proceeded to stuff the flag in a bin on the corner of Abbey St.

   November 17, 2009 at 2:01 pm

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2. PN says:

   I heard Ken comments about the Irish team on Wednesday morning on The Morning Show with Ivan. Besides the fact he sounded like he was sleep talking (very unprofessional) he got it wrong big time saying Ireland didn’t really believe they had a chance. I think he should act like an honest man for once and admit he was way off. He was unbelievably negative and droning on about the Irish teams belief about their chances of winning…well to a man they looked like a team who believed they could win for every second of the match last night. Cynic’s like Ken are no better than pub professor’s!! Even Dunphy hung his hat in our stable before the game last night shame on you Ken. The airwaves are not a forum for you to be venting your disillusionment with your life/ or football career on. Speak to your GP and try Prozac!!

   November 19, 2009 at 4:08 pm

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3. Edward Breastpocket says:

   I’m in a theatre set in a huge empty car park just outside Milan, pondering the events that have seen Ireland exit the World Cup at the qualifying stage. I can’t help wonder at the poor spirit of sportsmanship and lack of dignity displayed by the majority of the Nation, especially the “fans”, the media and even the Justice minister. We all know that The French striker Henry handled the ball to set up the goal but as this wasn’t given at the time, that has to be the end of it.
   There have been unfair outcomes to sporting events and competitions for as long as there has been sport. It is a part of competition and adds to the compelling nature of sport.
   To accept the results only when they go your way could be likened to cherry picking the smooth without the rough. The stakes were admittedly high for Ireland in the play offs but despite this we should not lose sight of the dignified composure that sets great sports people/teams/nations apart from transparent, self serving bad losers. The national tantrum that has been apparent in the aftermath of Ireland’s exit from the competition has been as shameless as it has been ugly. It hints of a nation in a desperate state of affairs. Teetering on the brink of self induced implosion. A portal into the heart of modern Ireland in the wake of a spectacular rise and crash.
   It is as if the nations reaction to the Soccer teams exit is like a statement saying “we just cant take any more on top of everything else – no room for any more calamity – we have had all we can take”
   These are the wider issues that have been exposed by a humble game of soccer.
   Henry has, predictably, been made a hate figure. In keeping with knee jerk reactions that seem to pervade everything in Ireland these days it makes sense to most people to accuse and blame someone, anyone just as long as the blame is projected outwards. God forbid that we might look at ourselves and our own performances. That would be unthinkable.
   Like the Jack Charlton “route 1″ game plan, the Irish approach to accepting defeat has yet to be revamped into a format more suitable for the modern perilous times we have inherited. Perhaps this current fiasco could be viewed as an opportunity to advance the way ireland approaches winning and losing in general, regardless of alleged injustices. Life in all its guises is by definition never fair or balanced and the idea that it should be is the folly of the fantasist. It is time for Ireland to try and claw back some dignity and composure and set out to the rest of the world what broad shoulders it has developed in the modern world. Anything else will further damage its already tarnished reputation.
   As an Englishman living many years in Ireland I have taken to following the National team and enjoying their progress over the last twenty years or so. It seems like this latest poor display has done a lot to hurt the reputation of a small country previously celebrated for its impressive sporting prowess.

   I have booked my tickets for South Africa next year and am all the more excited that I will be able to follow England hopefully to the final.
   I would like to call on all Irish soccer fans, especially those who follow english premiership teams, to unite behind England and support us in the finals. We would accept such a heroic gesture as it should be accepted… with huge respect.

   In closing I would like to point out that the Irish FA are ultimately responsible for the terrible knee jerk outbursts that have infected the nation.
   If i was an Irishman i would be seeking to have those at the Irish FA held responsible for bringing shame and the label of “bad losers” on the people of the country.
   And so much for all that.

   December 1, 2009 at 10:39 am

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