THE Queen might not have made it to the Aviva Stadium — or even to dear old Dalyer to doff her crown to the Jodi Stand — but Irish football had its own reasons to feel the hand of history on its shoulder this week.

THEY say that life doesn’t owe you a living but I still maintain that Irish football owes me 50p.

THOSE who still advocate the ‘Bertiebowl’ over the redevelopment of dear old Lansdowne Road should take a trip from the centre of Istanbul out to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, where tonight’s Champions’ League final between Liverpool and AC Milan will be played in front of 70,000 people.

The magic of the FA Cup weekend will have a very strong Irish flavour, especially among the lower ranked teams writes Mark Gallagher