Reality back with bang in studio

Ominously, divisions in the Irish set-up were evident early in the evening. Tony ‘Woodward’ O’Donoghue and George ‘Bernstein’ Hamilton being persecuted for their craft.

In Gdansk, Tony had the inside track on Simon Cox’s selection but wasn’t giving up Deep Throat to Bill O’Herlihy. “I wouldn’t like to say who, but somebody very close to the Irish camp.”

Cue consternation back in Dublin, where the Dunphy Tribunal rejected the evidence as unreliable. “That’s just not credible.” Liam Brady would follow Eamo to the end of the earth for an argument, but in a game of Pros v Journos, he’d always stand firm alongside his old sparring partner.