Grand Slam defence - Sport can lift Irish spirits

As is pointed out elsewhere on this page, sport played an important role for Irish immigrants in gaining social recognition and national respect in the United States, as well as helping to develop national self-esteem here during the early years of the last century.

People will remember the lift that Stephen Roche gave the nation with his victories in the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship in 1987 at the height of the last economic recession. At the same time the Irish soccer team qualified for the finals of a major championship for the first time.

The following year the Republic of Ireland beat England at Stuttgart. The team performed magnificently and only just missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals of the European Championship.