Tommy Martin: Football has a way of getting beyond the lies and prejudice

It is rare that the managerless Irish soccer team is a shining light at the moment, but in offering a glimpse of an Ireland that celebrates ethnic diversity then it’s pretty elite.

MAKING HIS MARK: Adam Idah is one of several players with African heritage in the Ireland squad for the current international window. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

THESE are dark times, as the contents of my letterbox keep reminding me.

There is an election on, you see, and every day little bundles of angry looking pamphlets get shoved into my house, most of them carrying pictures of scowling middle aged men representing parties with names like Ireland First or the Irish National Party or the Kill All The Darkies Party.