My old uniform

I went to Synge Street in Dublin and the uniform was grey; grey shirt, grey trousers, grey jumper with a blue and white V-neck, a silver-and-blue striped tie and black blazer. This was customised with George Webb shoes which lasted a whole year and were very good for sparking on the pavement and sliding on ice.

I had no problem with the uniform – we were one of the first years to reintroduce it, a trial group starting in the 1980s, and our blazers were quite nice and the colours were those I would wear today. We were certainly identifiable around town. I believe in uniforms because it’s everyone at the one level, one playing field and when you get home you can kick into anything you want. Wearing one prepares you for life later on. For parents, it meant that one set of clothes kept us going for the whole season as workwear. Do I sound like the old rock ’n’ roll Barry?

In conversation with Deirdre McQuillan