French connection fails to tackle Green Army blackout

THE Republic of Ireland’s performance in Paris may have brought the house down but the fans went one better - they brought down the city’s phone system.

Thousands of travelling supporters were left without mobile phone coverage from early afternoon on Saturday as the Parisian networks failed to keep up with the insatiable dialling habits of the chattering Irish.

Anxious members of the Green Army who were desperately trying to locate comrades in the city, or sworn to ring home, initially blamed Vodafone for the City of Lights’ blackout.