Perspiration of Big Jack's success story mirrored in economic boom

26-Jul-2020 01:30:00 | Irish Independent

May 1988. My first visit to Lansdowne Road. Republic of Ireland 3 Poland 1. It was the penultimate warm-up game for Euro '88 and the beginning of Ireland's arrival on the world football stage. Not long after, I was brought on return trips to Dublin 4 to see Malta, Wales and the Soviet Union. It was easy to fall in love with the place. The stadium was alive. The atmosphere infectious. And Ireland always seemed to win.