The Republic of Ireland football team are no strangers to the big stage, having been involved in international contests at the top level since the 1930s.
The Eire football team didn’t actually qualify for a full-blown international tournament until the 1988 European Championships in Germany, but they acquired a fierce taste for the cut and thrust and went on to qualify for more of same. Irish football fans began hunting for Ireland football tickets again when they qualified for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Ireland went on to the quarter finals of the World Cup, and the fervour among the Irish was ramped up to unprecedented levels. Later World Cups proved similarly popular, as they reached the second round in the 1994 USA and 2002 Japan/Korea World Cups.
Ireland’s fans are among the most loyal and colourful in the world. They attend Ireland football games with painted faces, in costumes, and playing the fine music of their country while dancing jigs all the while. The Irish have never been involved in any major hooligan incidents, despite having many more supporters than most other nations present at tournaments, due to the wonderful temperament of the Irish people. Ireland football tickets are a magical passport to this world of humour, dance, music and song. The football is only one part of it but the Irish certainly have their talents in that department, too.
Ireland has boasted some awesome stars over the years, such as captain Roy Keane, who also led his club side Manchester United to the historic Treble in 1999. Keane had a fearsome reputation as a fire-cracker on the pitch, but he commanded with an eagle eye and a strength rarely seen in one so young. Fellow United player Dennis Irwin was another all-star, a man talented in the ways of bending the ball like a latino, but with the heart of a Celt. There are others, such as Liverpool’s John Aldridge, the penalty king, and Liam Brady, the left-footed wizard who played for Arsenal in the late 70s and early 80s.
Home fixtures are most often played at the Lansdowne Road ground, but redevelopment has meant that Croke Park has become the temporary home of Irish football. The first international football match played at Lansdowne was a friendly versus Italy in 1971. When the stadium is completed it will have a 50,000 capacity, and Ireland tickets will be scarce, as the lucky Irish ticket holders will be crammed inside, while the not so fortunate will be hunting for the remaining Irish tickets out on the pavements.
The distinctive Irish kit consists of a green shirt, white shorts and green socks. The second strip is a white shirt and green shorts. The players’ numbers appear white with a gold trim, or green with gold trim for the away strip. The Irish Football Association (FAI) logo appears under the numbers.
Ireland soccer tickets can’t be beat, if you want a great day out, some brilliant craic, and a few pints of the black stuff without having to worry about certain idiots spoiling your fun for you. Go and discover the enchantment of Irish football. You’ll never be the same.
Nickname The Boys in Green
Association Football Association of Ireland
Confederation Europe
Head coach Flag of Ireland Don Givens (caretaker)
Captain Robbie Keane
Most caps Steve Staunton (102)
Top scorer Robbie Keane (31)
Home stadium Lansdowne Road
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