88 v England or 94 v Italy

[centre mid]

Which is you favourite between the two. 88 was amazing but most of the game was a defensive display. We played fantastic in 94 against the italians, i think Roy Keane had one of his best two displays in and Ireland shirt & Paul McGrath aswell.

[superfrank]

I was only months old for Stuttgart so definitely Giants Stadium. I can still remember running upstairs to tell my mother that Houghton had scored. She didn't believe me at all.

[jmurphyc]

I'd have to go for '94. I was also too young to remember '88, however if I was old enough at the time I'm sure I'd appreciate the England game much more.

[Qwerty]

England, no brainer. Our first finals. Our best finals - 3 unforgettabgle games. And to beat the auld enemy in the first game. It will never again be so good. We'd have to win the EC or WC to beat it :

[Metrostars]

Agree with qwerty. First time is always the best. No one, not even ourselves gave us a chance. "Galvin pulling it across, miskick by Sansom, in goes Aldridge, and Houghton! One-nill". Hanging on for dear life, Lineker missing, Packie's best ever game, also a bit of luck. Nothing like it.

[osarusan]

England in 88.

A better team, a more 'symbolic' opposition, our first ever major tournament match.

The only thing wrong with the day was that after the game, in a fit of ecstasy, I booted my "Maradona football" up in the air, and it landed in a thick patch of briars, not to be recovered for years.

[Torn-Ado]

Italy. Too young to remember England.

[rovers77]

I remember Euro 88 as a kid and thought it was the best, I still do. I'm gonna say that one was better than 94 against Italy. The match against England I'm not sure if any one player stood out. It truely was a team effort that secured the win.

Maybe I have imagined it because I haven't seen footage of the game in so long but didn't Ronnie Whelan hit the bar in the second half of this game?

[Dodge]

Poll added.

Beating England for me.

[Dunny]

Italy. Too young to remember England.

Ditto.

[stiofain]

I'd have to go for '94. I was also too young to remember '88, however if I was old enough at the time I'm sure I'd appreciate the England game much more.

Same as.

[fergalr]

Euro 88 - its was the start of an era, whereas USA 94 was the beginning of the end. Also given the opposition and the fact that it as our first appearance in any finals.

[Noelys Guitar]

Got to be Euro 88. If someone had have told me in 84/85 that in 1988 we would be beating England 1-0 at the European championships in the opening game I would have had them committed. I loved the Italy game as well but for me Euro 88 had everything.

[gspain]

At both and no contest has to be Stuttgart. If we beat Brazil 7-0 in the final in South Africa it might come close but probably not.

[lopez]

It should be Italy, for quality's sake, but there's no doubting that Stuttgart was the better of the two. Just call it the first time we played at a major tournament and the first ever victory. I'm privileged to have witnessed it.

[Emmet]

I could be wrong but I don't think anyone who is old enough to remember both has voted for Italy in 94 - that says it all really. Italy was great but beating England was very very special. England were pre-tournament favourites and were very confident they would embarrass us. We were seen as the weakest side in the whole tournament and the English genuinely believed their forward line of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Gary Lineker would get something of a cricket score. This also needs to be looked at in a wider sense too - any Irish person who lived in England in the 1980s will know there was still a certain amount of hostility and discrimination against Irish people. It's gone now but back then it was a real issue. Beating them and watching the humiliation they subsequently endured was brilliant - ****ing brilliant!!!

By the time we played Italy the players were old and it showed especially against Mexico and Holland. The win over Italy itself was good but the Italians were nowhere near as arrogant as the English had been pre-match.

[kingdomkerry]

I have no recollection of watching the england game. Wish I did! I was only 11 for the Italy game but I remember my parents had friends over for the Italian game in 94. My mother even cooked pizza during the game.

We live in a guest house in Kerry and there was an Italian couple watching the game in the guest room directly over the Living room. I never banged a roof so much after Houghton scored.

They never showed for breakfast the following morning

[kingdomkerry]

Does anyone remember Paul McGraths 3 blocks in a row in that game. Compare that with John O'Shea funk in injury time during the Slovakia away game in the last campaign

When Im on happy memories might as well mention Spain in WC02.

Although we went out I have fond memories. It was Munster final day in killarney between kerry and cork. I was watching the game in Mustang Sallys night club. The place was packed in Kerry and Cork jerseys everyone sitting on the dance floor watching the gigantic sceen. The thing I will always remember was that during the penalties everyone was standing arms around each other cork kerry mixed and all in a sort of expression of national pride.

We lost that day on the pennos but I was never as proud to be Irish

[kingoffifa]

i go to college as a mature student. i divide my classmates into two categories. those born for the england match and those not born for the english match.its the only way i feel good about being old ! the biggest soccer fan had never even seen whealans goal against the ussr. thank god for youtube...

[lopez]

I could be wrong but I don't think anyone who is old enough to remember both has voted for Italy in 94 - that says it all really. Italy was great but beating England was very very special. England were pre-tournament favourites and were very confident they would embarrass us. We were seen as the weakest side in the whole tournament and the English genuinely believed their forward line of John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Gary Lineker would get something of a cricket score. This also needs to be looked at in a wider sense too - any Irish person who lived in England in the 1980s will know there was still a certain amount of hostility and discrimination against Irish people. It's gone now but back then it was a real issue. Beating them and watching the humiliation they subsequently endured was brilliant - ****ing brilliant!!!

By the time we played Italy the players were old and it showed especially against Mexico and Holland. The win over Italy itself was good but the Italians were nowhere near as arrogant as the English had been pre-match.

Very true. The Scum - I know it's hard to believe - were apparently the favourites. Johan Cruyff after seeing the draw walked out saying England had won it already. I think Cruyff was using the same old Dutch footballing psychology of making you think you're great when in reality your sh*te. Seeing Snowflake and his chumps fell for it and that the tans lost all three games, makes my theory on this true, or that Cuyff had just lost the plot.

Yeah, it was so sexy being Irish in the seventies and eighties in Britain ...not! I read this article in my son's Arsenal mag by the bloke who played Dennis Pennis (dunno his real name). He was going on about Arsenal being an anti-establishment club back then, blah blah, loads of Irish players, blach blah, 'I always thought it was an Irish club' and wasn't it all so cooooooooll?!! B*llsh*te! There was nothing cool about being Irish in this time.

Euro 88 was great for what Emmet has written. Stories of tricolours hanging off building sites the next day are one memory. It was, for me, the first timein years the Irish in Britain could flaunt their Irishness in the mainstream.