Post Ireland V Italia, Rome 1990
Just recieved this on email, so not too sure of authenticity, but given the amount of hours spent on the "how Irish are English born players" this may be quite amusing!
"JUST when you think you've heard all the great Irish
football stories, along comes one that goes straight
into the top ten.
Niall Quinn told it at a recent fundraising dinner for
the Retired International Players' Fund in Dublin and,
if the uproarious reaction on the night is anything to
go by, this is a yarn that, despite much stiff
opposition, could yet go all the way to Number 1.
The setting was the Irish dressing room in Rome in the
immediate aftermath of the 1-0 defeat to hosts Italy,
in the quarter-final of the 1990 World Cup. Contrary to
the popular myth of the team of that era as the
happy-go-lucky Irish, determined to have a party come
what may, the post-match scene as described by Quinn
was one of emotional devastation.
Convinced they might have nicked a game which would
have put them just 90 minutes away from - gulp! - the
World Cup Final, the players sat slumped, completely
deflated, some with their heads in their hands, others
hooded in towels, the tomb-like silence broken only by
the sound of the odd boot thudding against a wall, as a
weary foot shook it off.
Suddenly, the door to the dressing room burst open and
a man in an elegant suit entered in good cheer and loud
voice. Arms aloft he launched into a stirring speech
about the warrior sons of Erin, the brave performance
of the team, the honour they had brought to their
country, and much more in that vein. This was Charles J
Haughey in full oratorical flight.
After he'd gone on like this for a couple of minutes,
Quinn was nudged in the ribs by Tony Cascarino, who
rather loudly inquired: "Oo the fack is 'e, then?"
Quinn growled back a whispered, "For God's sake Cas,
that's the Taoiseach." Whereupon, Andy Townsend turned
to Cascarino and asked:"Oo is it, Cas?" "I dunno,"
Cascarino replied, "but Quinny says he owns a tea
shop."
