15,000 turn out to welcome Ireland to Poland base

The Baltic Sea port town of Gdynia turned out in force to welcome Giovanni Trapattoni and his players to their home from home and tournament base for the European Championship finals.

The atmosphere in the home ground of local club Arka Gdynia, where the squad will train throughout the competition, was a mix of Superbowl, St Patrick’s Day, and street party, as Ireland’s only open training day of their stay attracted a near-capacity crowd of 15,000 locals. Outside the ground, a bouncy castle proved popular with the little ones while, for their parents, the club bar was serving green beer.

Flanked by cheerleaders waving tricolours, the Irish squad emerged from the tunnel to a huge ovation. The players carried a banner saying “thank you” in Polish, while the Polish fans in the facing stand reciprocated by unfurling a massive Irish flag bearing the greeting “welcome to Gdynia”.