Irish goals on foreign fields inspire the home fronts

There was a headline in L'Equipe two days ago: Pour mettre l'ambiance, L'Irelande est unifiee.

Roughly this means "Ireland unites to put you in the mood".

And that was pre-Robbie Brady.

It was an article about travelling fans, North and South, and how they have brought good humour and hearty atmospheres to France 2016.

Green has been the colour of songs and smiles, and if that plays into certain clichés about the happy-go-lucky Irish, France doesn’t care.

At 10am yesterday there were armed police searching people’s bags as they entered the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. An hour later the gardens were closed. This is France’s new daily reality.

Russian hoods and drunk Englishmen do little to soothe an anxious public, but when Irish supporters are bobbing up and down, mending cars or serenading life-guards, France relaxes and Euro 2016 proceeds.

Imagination

Of course, Ireland doesn’t come together on the pitch – that would require imagination and selflessness – and we will awake this morning knowing whether the UK has wrenched itself away from Europe and begin to discover what it could mean for the Irish Border and the future.

But in Gareth McAuley and Robbie Brady, Niall McGinn and Wes Hoolahan, the island of Ireland has produced four goalscorers at these finals – and four fine goals they have been.

McAuley’s was historic – Northern Ireland’s first at a European Championships.

Brady’s was euphoric – a header like McAuley’s of precision and guts that will rank as unforgettable.

Hoolahan’s cross, Brady’s nod, it may not have taken the breath away like Shane Long’s superhero wallop against Germany, but unquestionably this was a moment in Irish football history: a Houghton moment, an Armstrong moment.

Going back to 1958, it was a Wilbur Cush moment.

Cush, from Lurgan, scored the first Irish goal in a tournament.

In France those four goals, allied to some resolute defending, have taken both Irelands through to the last 16.

Both teams came third in their group and both won one game.

In previous tournament formats that would not have been enough to progress and we may have looked at their respective contributions differently.

But neither the IFA nor FAI made the rules, and for now there are 46 Irish footballers in France ready to participate in the knock-out phase of the European Championships.

We should not go overboard, but at a time when there is understandable concern about the state of domestic football, and about the calibre of boys going across the water, this is a day to acknowledge there are some pretty decent players in green jerseys.

Reflection

Michael D. Higgins’s joy in Lille was just and a reflection of his long-standing feeling for the game – home and away.

Remember, it was Brady's arm around the President in that photo that emerged after the Bosnia play-off win; and it was Seamus Coleman whom Higgins took with him to Windsor Castle to meet the Duke of Edinburgh a couple of years ago. A privilege for the duke.

Higgins, president of Galway United before he was President of Ireland, has asked those who arrange international matches in Dublin to consider the “local question”.

He was referring to the League of Ireland.

Will Brady’s moment boost the attendance at Bohemians, Dundalk and elsewhere tonight?

Domestic football needs advocates.

Before Northern Ireland faced Germany at the Parc des Princes, Brian Kerr was in the press room talking with a Derryman about this evening’s game at the Brandywell.

This is not misplaced attention – eight of the 23 men in Martin O’Neill’s squad played League of Ireland football before moving to Britain.

Coleman remembered to mention Sligo Rovers through his chaotic happiness in Lille.

Northeast of Sligo, McAuley played for Linfield, Crusaders and Coleraine in the Irish League before moving to England. McGinn was at Derry City, Stuart Dallas at Crusaders.

The Northern Ireland manager, Michael O’Neill, was signed from the Irish League by Newcastle United as a teenager; Martin O’Neill went to Nottingham Forest from Distillery. It’s a local question in international times.

Inspired

O’Neill – Michael, that is – has spoken in the build-up to the tournament about how he was inspired watching the 1982 World Cup in Spain - “Arconada, Armstrong!” and all that.

He says he wants Euro 2016 to leave a “legacy” at home, personal and structural. The Uefa money will help the latter.

But the scenes provoked by Brady and McAuley will inspire. And inspiration matters. The thread of history matters.

Prior to Northern Ireland’s opening game versus Poland, McAuley talked about Harry Gregg, one of the heroes of 1958.

“Harry was a big influence on me when I played at Coleraine,” McAuley said. “He was always offering advice and pointing things out, often with a different vision.”

A different vision. Now there’s a phrase.

You can follow full live coverage of every Euro 2016 second round match on our live blogs - beginning with Switzerland v Poland at 2pm on Saturday