For the love of Ireland

It's a dreary Thursday morning in Westport when Paul J Franklin sits down with The Mayo News to remember warmer, more wondrous days when the Irish soccer team made hearts beat faster and created the greatest of memories.

“We had great fun surely,” the London-born Mayo man explains with a broad smile. Franklin was reared in Queen's Park on the edge of Kilburn in the midst of Irish culture and heritage.

The son of a Geesala mother, Anne McHugh, and a Dungravan father Michael Franklin, Paul and his sister Maria played in London Irish Pipe Band – he a drummer, she a piper. They lived near Stamford Bridge and Paul was a devotee of the blues since childhood. He ended up being part of the club's Safety and Security detail and has a treasure-trove of stories of magical moments with the famous club, but in Westport all thoughts were Ireland-related.

SUPPORTERS

The first time he set eyes on the men in green was in 1976 when Ireland played England in Wembley and the eight-year-old Franklin was brought to see the game by an Erris friend of the family, Sean Gallagher. The London-Irish boy was hooked.

As the years passed Paul and his friend, Pat Conway, a man with family from Erris and Taughnagh just outside Bellacorick, became immersed in supporting Ireland.

The two friends were part of the London Irish Sports Club who would get the ferry to Dublin on a Tuesday night for Wednesday afternoon matches in the days when there were no floodlights at Landsdowne Road.

Where was he the day Ireland qualified for Euro 88 thanks to a Gary McKay goal for Scotland against Bulgaria in Sofia?

“I actually left work in London early that day and went home to watch it. I couldn't believe it when he scored and we were on our way. I was on the phone immediately to Pat who was working for a travel agency at the time. He booked the flights and my cousin, Michael Heneghan, went in to Stephens' Green Travel in Dublin and just bought tickets to the games,” he explained with a smile.

GERMANY

When the summer sun was high in the sky, Franklin and Conway headed for Germany and Irish soccer's first great adventure. “We landed in on the Thursday and the craic was great. All of us Irish fans were in great form and we met a few older QPR English fans from East London who looked out for us too. When Sunday came around we were really looking forward to the game but nervous too. We were in the stadium really early, because we had a couple of flags that we wanted to get up in a good spot. We succeeded because one of them can still be seen in the team photograph, and the game itself is something I'll never forget.

“Ray Houghton's goal was great and Packie Bonner's saves were something else, and when the final whistle blew, the place went mad. Afterwards, we headed back into town because the stadium was just a little bit outside Stuttgart and we came across a group of English fans at a little bar along the main road.

“The police arrived with vans and sirens and everything. A few of them came over and asked us were we okay, but there was no need. The English lads we met were dead sound and there were no problems at all.

WELCOME

“We headed for Hanover after that and based ourselves there for the rest of the trip. Pat had arranged rail passes because he was working in the travel business and everywhere we went in Germany there was great welcome for us because the locals had taken to the Irish fans.

“We played Russia in Hanover on the Wednesday night and were brilliant. Ronnie Whelan got a great goal and Tony Galvin was flying up and down the wing. We only drew that one but we were buzzing and couldn't wait for the game with the Dutch in Gelsenkirchen on the Saturday.

“I'll never forget that day. It was an amazing stadium, a main stand and an open bowl and there were just two blocks of green totally outnumbered by blocks of orange, but we made ourselves heard. We nearly got the draw that would have sent us through to the semi-final but the Dutch sneaked a controversial one near the end and that was it.

“We trudged out of the stadium and were heading for the train station when a police van pulled up and the policemen were very disappointed that we had been beaten. They invited Pat and myself for a beer and we could hardly believe it when they brought us back to the barracks for a few bottles and later dropped us back at the station. It showed us how much of an impression the Irish fans had made on the German people.

“We were sad and disappointed but could hardly wait for the next great adventure to come around.” In the second part of this series next week we're taken to USA 94 and the wondrous adventure enjoyed there.