The coolest head in the Giants’ cauldron
Paul McGrath was lionised after the game for his outstanding play at the heart of Ireland's defence and that was justified. In the second half of a momentous match, he was superb.
Yet Irwin was the best man on the pitch during the most critical period - the opening half-hour when both teams thrust forward urgently, teasing and testing the opposition.
Italy, it seemed to me, had set out to attack the right flank of Ireland's defence and Irwin came under a lot of sustained pressure.
He was foot-perfect as he countered the threat of the veteran winger Alberigo Evani, left-back Paolo Maldini and Italy's talented centre-forwards, Peppi Signori and Roberto Baggio.
That day in the broiling heat of the Giants Stadium, Irwin was immense with a typically under-stated performance that was devoid of any histrionics, feigned injuries or whinging to the referee.
He coped with the skilful challenge of the talented Italians with impeccable efficiency and despite the added complication of having to deal with the debilitating heat and humidity of a mid-Summer's afternoon in New Jersey, he met every challenge with characteristic composure.
Throughout a long and hugely successful career, at club and international level, there were many other remarkable performances by the 38-year-old Cork man that were worthy of commendation.
This is hardly surprising when you consider that he played a total of 902 matches at club level for Leeds United, Oldham Athletic, Manchester United and Wolves.
He represented Ireland in 56 internationals between 1991 and 2000 and scored four goals. He was a little unlucky in that he missed the European finals of 1988 in Germany and the World Cup in Italy in 1990, so USA '94 was his only appearance with Ireland at a major international championship.
He and his international colleagues had to accept the disappointment of losing in the qualifying play-offs for of to the European Championship finals of 1996, the World Cup of 1998 and the Europeans of 2000.
Happily, he enjoyed more success with United and he was the only player to play in the two winning European finals in the 1990s the Cup-Winners' Cup win over Barcelona in 1991 and the Champions' League victory over Bayern Munich in 1999.
Irwin's greatest success, in my view, is that he proved you could excel at the very highest level without being a bully or a whinger. It is impossible to recall an incident in his career of which he might feel ashamed for he was never guilty of a dangerous foul.
This is not to suggest he was anything other than hard and committed, but he proved that you could enjoy a hugely successful career without attracting controversy, on the pitch or off it. He was always co-operative and forthcoming when approached by media representatives and unfailingly courteous.
He was content to respond factually to their questions and never indulged in flights of fancy to satisfy their need for headlines.
Only once do I recall him departing from his own inimitable and conservative style when he expressed his anger at a reported comment by the then manager of Ireland, Mick McCarthy, after he had picked Irwin as a substitute in one match.
"Go and prove me wrong," McCarthy was reputed to have said when eventually he sent Irwin into the match and the Cork man was understandably peeved. A player of his skill and achievements had nothing to prove to anybody.
It is surprising, in a sense, to learn that Irwin has not made firm plans for his retirement. A man of his knowledge, experience and temperament would seem to be ideally equipped with all the necessary attributes to be a top-class coach, but he has not secured his coaching certificates as yet.
For the moment he will concentrate on media work and will appear regularly on RTÉ during the European Championship finals in June. He will wait a little while to see how his media career develops before considering his future as a coach.
He has reached his retirement, remarkably, free of serious injury. He never had to undergo surgery for knee or ankle injuries and that is unusual after such a long and competitive career.
THE explanation is that Irwin was such a calculating and intelligent footballer that he was seldom stretched. He played with his head as much as his feet and one incident on that memorable day in the Giants Stadium in June, 1994, illustrated that perfectly.
The game was in added time when Ireland were awarded a free near half-way. Ireland had diligently defended the first half lead that Ray Houghton had given them but were feeling the strain near the end of a long and demanding contest.
Irwin stood over the free and glanced across at the sweat-stained faces of his tired fellow defenders. His decision was perfect as always he drove the free-kick high into the crowd behind Italy's goal to remove any possible danger of Italy catching Ireland on the rebound.
It is a perfect example of why Denis Irwin was such a brilliant player and such an invaluable team-member he always retained the capacity to apply logic and common-sense in the most frantic of situations. He was unique and we will hardly see his like again.
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