Minute’s silence for fan ‘not planned’
Despite an outpouring of grief from fans, politicians and football stars in Poland and Ireland over the 21-year -old’s death, Uefa have said there are still no plans to allow the touching tribute.
When the IT Tallaght student’s body was recovered from the River Brda on Wednesday after a three-day search, Bydgoszcz city mayor Rafal Bruski wrote to Uefa president Michel Platini asking for the public show of solidarity with his grieving family.
“It would be a symbolic gesture of respect from all of us, showing that in such moments the great football family is united,” he wrote, adding, “let it be a day of solidarity with those who are the most affected by this untimely death”.
The politician asked for one of the tournament’s quarter-finals — the last two are Spain-France tonight and England-Italy tomorrow — to include a minute’s silence in honour of the young man from Blessington in Co Wicklow.
There was widespread support for the gesture, especially in Poland.
However, a Uefa spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that “currently a minute’s silence is not planned,” adding there was little hope of this changing over the coming 48 hours.
Mr Nolan disappeared just after 1.30am on Sunday after a night out with friends who had travelled to support the Republic of Ireland. He was found on Wednesday in the River Brda, with his credit card and phone still on him. An autopsy suggested that no foul play was involved, and that the death was a tragic accident.
James’s older brother Andrew, an uncle, and two cousins arrived in Bydgoszcz on Thursday night and identified the body, which is expected to be repatriated to Ireland this weekend.
Andrew said the support from Poland was “very, very much appreciated. Without this kind of support it would be very difficult to get through this situation.”
Irish players paid tribute to James, with Sean St Ledger posting on Twitter: “Sometimes football takes a back seat. He is in our thoughts and prayers.”
In a very real way, it’s the joke that keeps on giving.
The “Angela Merkel Thinks We’re At Work” Tricolour seen throughout Ireland’s Euro 2012 campaign has been auctioned for charity for almost €21,000. The tongue-in-cheek reference to the nation’s financial woes was auctioned by RTÉ 2fm’s Tubridy show yesterday.
In all, €20,800 has been raised for the Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and one special Belfast boy — three-year-old Oscar Knox, who has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer called Neuroblastoma,
While Barcelona-based listener Oonagh McInerney and her Australian-located brother-in-law Martin Digby eventually won the prize for €15,800, Dublin nightclub Copper Face Jacks has agreed to honour its own bid, making the total donation reach €20,800.
— Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
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