The slam is grand, but the World Cup is great

THAT clanking noise you hear is the Irish football team slouching towards Croke Park today pulling the Triple Crown and Six Nations trophies plus a world title boxing belt behind them.

“Folly dat,” has been the order the week as a nation looks to Giovanni Trapattoni’s boys to give us another Saturday of sporting joy after last week’s sensational double-helping of success.

Sport — or ‘the toy department’ to give it the title by which it’s not so respectfully known among some newspaper folk — has migrated from back page to front and, at a time of national crisis, finds itself in the unaccustomed position of being held up as an example of all that is great and good and honest and admirable in Irish life.