Ireland were all the things we expected. Brave, passionate and unrelenting.
Niigata. Chiba. Yokohama. Seoul. Suwon. And home tomorrow. Their eyes will meet and in their heads the battle cry for the past few weeks will echo again. No regrets.
Still defiant, honour intact, we were so, so proud to be Irish.
Suddenly, through the stillness of a beautiful South Korean night, thousands of voices, thick with emotion, surrendered to the moment. It started quietly, then built to a deafening chorus, suffused with gratitude and pride, spine tingling in its passion. “Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart … And you’ll never walk alone … YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE…”
For they have been a credit to Ireland, and we will be proud and happy to see them return.
Sayonara Japan. Annyeonghigyeseyo, South Korea. Welcome home, lads.
“For a small country like Ireland to get as far as they did in this World Cup is a real achievement,” he said. “The whole world knows Ireland are a team to be reckoned with and if it wasn’t for the penalties you would always fancy Ireland to beat more teams and keep progressing.”
Jack Charlton