On April 15, 1989, in homes and in pubs all across Ireland, people sat down to watch Liverpool play Nottingham Forest in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

It became a recurrent theme, on John Delaney visits to 2,000 clubs during his 14 years as FAI chief executive, to conclude by reciting the salutary advice of his mother Joan about always bringing something for his hosts.

Mick McCarthy recently admitted Troy Parrott is a ‘shoo-in’ for a call-up to the senior squad if he figures regularly for Spurs this season

Ireland’s latest trip to Copenhagen marked your correspondent’s fifth visit to the engaging Danish capital which, a couple of thunderstorms aside, presented a much sunnier, summery face than I experienced on my first trip there.

The fundraising target of €2 million has been reached by the Sean Cox fundraising campaign.

Aoife Moore Tens of thousands of fans descended on the Aviva Stadium last night to raise money for a fellow football fan.

Phil Babb has paid Virgil van Dijk a high compliment by comparing him favourably to Paul McGrath.

Almost 25,000 tickets have been sold for tomorrow's benefit game in support of Sean Cox at the Aviva Stadium.

Former Liverpool player Ray Houghton has changed his mind on his old club’s participation in both the Champions League and the Premier League this season.

The parallels are striking. For Liechtenstein in Vaduz almost 23 years ago read Gibraltar in the Victoria Stadium on Saturday.

Former Republic of Ireland Ray Houghton says the Declan Rice furor is “now part of Ireland’s history” and believes the team should be looking forward.

Ireland's all-time leading goal scorer will captain his country once more in a Sean Cox fundraiser.

Larry Ryan: Fashioning narratives out of the week’s big big game

Quotes to remember from the year in football...

In contrast to soundbites of rebuilding and transition by his predecessor Martin O’Neill, injected into the mission statement from Mick McCarthy is a reality check in pragmatism.

Thirty years after being ridiculed by his Tottenham clubmates while playing for Ireland, Tony Galvin believes the superiority complex remains alive and well amongst Europe’s elite.

Former RTE pundit Eamon Dunphy has blamed Ireland’s management team and John Delaney for failing to secure Declan Rice as an Irish player.

The 2018 FAI Festival of Football got underway today as the FAI delegation made stops at six different clubs in West Cork, including Kinsale AFC who were awarded a grant worth €100,000 for their clubhouse development.

This is the first year the Festival of Football has been in Cork.

The 2018 World Cup is barely up and running but already we know that the 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, writes Liam Mackey

It starts officially tomorrow although celebrations have been underway for a little while. The 30th anniversary of Ireland’s Euro 88 adventure. Specifically, tomorrow marks 30 years since Ray Houghton’s goal.

It was a summer when everyone was part of Jackie’s army and the nation was buoyed up by the mighty boys in green.

How many years until the last match report is carried in a print newspaper? asks Enda McEvoy.

So, sports fans are outraged that Jermaine Defoe is missing from the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award shortlist? (According to click king Mr Google Analytics). Wait til they see this evening what the chainsaw gang in Montrose have done to the array of Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moments in the 2000s, writes Tony Leen.

Comedians tend to worry a lot about the ‘too soon’ moment, that minefield of a border between the darkly funny and the wincingly crass.

Grotesque abuse hurled at Cyrus Christie online came to the fore this week, the latest example of how football, and sport in general, continues to battle the scourge of racism.

Mark Kinsella feels history will repeat itself over the next 12 months when it comes to revamping Ireland’s international squad.

This is Ireland’s ninth time to be involved in a play-off for the right to participate at a major tournament.

American director Alex Gibney was stunned by what he found for his documentary on the Loughinisland killings. It will be shown at Cork Film Festival, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

Where were you on the evening of November 18, 2014?

If not always the football, then the results continue to flow in the World Cup qualifiers. writes Liam Mackey

For all the superlatives rightly thrown in the direction of Joe Schmidt’s team the past couple of days, one aspect of Soldier Field has probably still not been fully appreciated.

Watch the build-up to the Liverpool Legends v Carrigaline which took place in Carrigaline on Saturday.

FAI chief executive John Delaney is confident the momentum generated by the Republic of Ireland’s memorable Euro 2016 campaign can carry the team through the World Cup qualifiers.

Cormac Ó hEadhra is from An Cheathrú Rua in the Conamara Gaeltacht. He broadcasts on current affairs programmes on RTE Radio 1, including Late Debate and Drivetime, and on RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta.

SOCCER fans with long memories will remember the glory of Euro 1988, when Ray Houghton scored a looping header that secured England’s defeat against the Republic of Ireland.

Tears welling up in his eyes, Robbie Brady paused to reaffirm Ireland’s tendency of thriving in the face of adversity. It’s hardly surprising the trend has surged since his arrival on the scene given the personal history he’s endured in overcoming the odds.

And still the wait goes on for a first European Championships win since that famous day in Stuttgart.