Ireland aim to close cat Trap

COME 9.30pm tonight, the cat should finally be let out of the bag at the Aviva Stadium in order to pack another one for its holidays in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

Barring a cat-astrophe, the fictional moggie introduced by Irish soccer boss Giovanni Trapattoni last Friday — as a metaphor for Ireland’s qualification for the Euro 2012 finals following his team’s 4-0 defeat of Estonia in Tallinn — is gearing up for an energetic performance.

“The cat is in the sack, but the sack is not closed. The cat is in it but it’s open — and it’s a wild cat,” said Trapattoni, something of a wily old animal himself.