Living the American dream

“I had missed out on Italia '90 but was hoping and praying we'd get to America because I was determined to be there. We hadn't qualified for the Euros in '92 and that was a huge pity because I think we'd have won that tournament, but when the World Cup qualification came around we were ready to rock.

“It all came down to the last game against Northern Ireland in Belfast and I don't think I'll ever forget that one. Obviously there was no tickets for us, because there were no away fans supposed to be in Belfast that night. In London we all looked for places to watch it and we went to the local church club, St Vincent de Paul in Paddington, where my dad was a steward. It was packed to the rafters two hours before the game and they had to stop people coming in.

It was very tense and when Jimmy Quinn scored for them it put the cat among the pigeons.

“Then Alan McLaughlin scored for us and the the whole place erupted. It was one of those moments you'll never forget. The rest of the night was full of celebration and everyone seemed to converge on Nelly's in Willsden Green.

“After that, we started planning for the trip to America and tickets for the first game against Italy in New York were very hard got. We were part of the Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Club in London, but there were 600 members and just 14 match tickets between everyone, so my friends and I went in search of them.

“We flew out of Heathrow a few days before the game in Giant's Stadium and were based in Midtown Manhattan, but we still had no tickets. I was working at Chelsea at the time and had asked Terry Phelan and Tony Cascarino, but no luck. Erland Johnsen was a big player with Chelsea at the time too and he had promised me tickets for the game with Norway, but we were stuck for the first one.

“We found out where the Irish team were staying and amazingly there was no security or anything, so we just rocked up the evening before the game. We were asked to stand in the background of a TV interview Jack (Charlton) was giving and afterwards he found out about our Mayo connections and we had a great chat.

“Amazingly, the players and their families were all there in the hotel and when they came into the foyer after dinner they were signing shirts and just chatting away with the fans, but we still had no tickets.

“Paul McGrath was there and when we asked him for a picture, he obliged straight away and told us to sit down with the family and have the craic. His kids and girlfriend were there too and we didn't want to get in the way, but he insisted.

“He was a big Chelsea fan and we had a great chat for about 15 minutes about all the players he loved when he was younger and then we asked him about the game against Italy the following day and having to mark Baggio. Paul is such a humble man, he just said, he's do his best, and we left him with his family after that. Of course, these days, we often say we gave him a few hints on how to mark Baggio, but that's not completely true.

“We were delighted to meet Paul, Jack and the players, but we still had no tickets and decided to head back into New York as time was passing quickly.

“However, when we got back to the hotel there was a message waiting for us that one of our contacts would have tickets for us the next morning. The relief was massive and sure enough, we got our hands on the tickets in the morning.

“Turns out they were top-class tickets and when we got into the stadium we were in a corporate box opposite the goal where Houghton scored. Amazingly, we were in the Gillette box with their vice-president and all the top executives. It was some experience. Most of them hadn't ever been to a match and they enjoyed having the craic with us before the game. Then, Ray Houghton scored and they went nuts, like the rest of us.

“Of course, Paul McGrath went on to have a stormer on Baggio and after what seemed like an eternity the final whistle sounded and the whole place went mad. It had been a sea of green all day and that only got better when the game ended.

“Most of us were flying out to Orlando the following day to the next game, but we took time to celebrate one of the great results in Irish soccer. We were blessed to be there and it's something we'll never forget.”