Nothing disgraceful about behaviour of Irish fans or team losing

I have just returned from Poland and am extremely sad for James Nolan and his family following his tragic death in Bydgoszcz.

His death casts a dark cloud on the otherwise triumphant return of our fans from Poland, but I feel compelled to comment on Roy Keane’s comments after the Spain game.

Let’s put the Spain game into perspective. We were playing the reigning World and European Champions for heaven’s sake! What was the disgrace in losing 4-0 to a team that plays with a style, pace and level of skill probably not seen in international football since the Brazil team of 1970? When Spain didn’t have the ball, they hounded Ireland into surrendering it, in short we had nowhere to go when we had the ball and we were no match for Spain when they passed us off the park, as they have done with teams better than Ireland I might add. So instead of putting the boot into the players against Spain, we should be giving proper credit to Spain for their 90 minute footballing masterclass. The performances against Croatia and Spain are not the issue here.

Now to the ‘Fields of Athenry’ that has upset Keane. This wasn’t about a sing-song, a jolly-up, or a bunch of drunks singing blindly or for no reason. This was tens of thousands of Irish people who happened to be at Euro 2012 singing their defiance at a merciless hammering at the hands of the European and World Champions. This was hardworking, honest, passionate, football-loving, decent Irish men and women declaring that despite our country being in the brown stuff, this army of ambassadors showed that Ireland’s greatest asset is its people. We were down yes, but we sure weren’t out.

I met Darren O’Dea and Aiden McGeady in Dublin airport shortly after I landed. They were kind enough to summon two friends and me over for a chat. They were embarrassed by what happened, but were 100% grateful and totally mesmerised by the support. Keane and McHugh have missed the point of the spine-tingling ‘Fields of Athenry’ marathon. That bout of singing sent a message to the world: Ireland will be ok.

Thanks and well done to everybody who went out there, it was truly wonderful.

Phelim Warren

Belgard Heights

Tallaght

Dublin 24