Amid pride and passion, it’s time for clear heads at Ireland

My memory of a lot of things from my career wouldn’t be perfect, but Ireland v England at Croke Park in 2007 is as clear as it gets.

I remember exactly where I was for the anthems. You couldn’t forget the silence and respect that accompanied God Save The Queen, and then when it was our turn to sing, I’ve never heard Amhrán na bhFiann — or any anthem — sung like it was that day. An extra 30,000 people in the stadium makes a massive difference.

Although social media wasn’t a factor back then, you couldn’t escape the anxiety that was there in advance. Everything related back to the political and historical background, and you wondered what kind of crowd would turn up. Nobody imagined that we would have a repeat of the 1995 soccer international where the seats were ripped out of Lansdowne Road or anything like that, but there was a nervousness there and the players felt it too.