Ireland

Once dropped but now revived – Shane Duffy and the old guard answer Ireland’s call

11-Nov-2021 22:20:00 | Irish Independent

IT was Portugal, on a rainy night in Lisbon, who really exposed the cracks in the fragile edifice of Jack Charlton's great Ireland team, opening gaps which Holland cruelly smashed open a few weeks later to end the most successful team Irish football ever had, quietly ushering heroes like Paul McGrath and John Aldridge that bit closer to the exit door. No longer winning matches, the senior players were also losing to Father Time.