Fógra eile for retired players' fundraiser

WE reported this week on a forthcoming fund-raising dinner for the FAI Retired International Players Trust - and if ever there was an event deserving of what Con Houlihan would call a “fógra eile” this is it.

The fund was set up to help former Irish players who have encountered hard times. These were men who served their country proudly and entertained thousands of people at a time when the game was not as awash with filthy lucre as it is now.

Examples of the kind of critical assistance the trust has been able to afford, include one famous player who was reduced to living in a hostel but is now back in gainful employment, and another who was housebound in London but is now able to get about on a scooter. As trustee Liam Tuohy quipped: “He’s even thinking of making a comeback.”