It’s taken seven years, but the Republic of Ireland will finally avail of the opportunity to exorcise some of the ghosts from the infamous ‘Hand of Gaul’ game at the Stade de France this day week when they open their Euro 2016 account against Sweden.

Every great tournament has its rising stars. Here are ten who could really shine

Felix Healy is the only Irishman, north or south, to make the leap from domestic leagues to a major international tournament. Brendan O’Brien spoke to him about 1982, the World Cup, balancing his days playing football with nights as a gigging musician and a life less ordinary.

From ‘oh, danger here’ to ‘the nation holds its breath’, the words of RTÉ commentator George Hamilton have become part of Irish football folklore. LIAM MACKEY meets the man behind the mic

What do Ireland need to improve most?

With a population less than Cork, Iceland are the smallest nation to qualify for a major football tournament. But they have 850 Uefa-licensed coaches and outperform about 150 countries in developing players. The question is how. Brian Oliver found out

One of the best, and best-known, sportspeople of all time is selling his personal collection, writes Des O’Sullivan.

An encounter with a celebrity that showed the misery of fame inspired Maggie O’Farrell’s new novel, she tells Jonathan de Burca Butler.

Ireland 33 New Zealand 24: As winger Malo Tuitama raced in for his second try to cut the gap to six points with as many minutes remaining, up on the press bench we started preparing another hard luck story for Irish rugby against New Zealand.

There are few more stunning backdrops to an international rugby stadium than the one that greets you on your arrival at Newlands Stadium. Nestled to the rear of the imposing, rugged features that define Table Mountain, it sets the scene perfectly for what lies ahead. This is South Africa, this is Springbok rugby.

What started as a steady trickle has, in the past 24 hours, become a deluge — the Irish are here en masse.

HERE it is. The Big One. Or, as the French say, Le Gros Wan. Ireland’s opening bow at the Euros. Our recent economic turnaround, as a country, can be traced to our progress at major footballing events.