Róisín Ingle joined the cheering pinstripe soccer supporters who watched the big match at a €190-a-ticket corporate event where special guest Jack Charlton shared in the fans' delight
Smart shirts and cufflinks. Fillet steak and fine wine. Things are different at corporate soccer gigs, but an injury time goal is a great leveller.
Shirts were ripped off and mobile phones flung in the air as Robbie Keane's goal created the same pandemonium in the Leopardstown Pavilion - tickets, €190 - as it did in pubs, workplaces and homes everywhere.
Spilt beer meant damp patches on pinstripe shirts but nobody cared. Those who had earlier looked oddly out of place waving inflatable hands now brandished them with pride. Unlike in most pubs, green jerseys were in the minority at Leopardstown, but at that exhilarating moment it seemed that everyone would happily trade their Rolexes for one.
The event's special guest, Jack Charlton, red-faced and sweaty with delight, leapt to his feet cheering in disbelief. As the crowd pressed around him, he poured himself a celebratory glass of red wine.
In the background, Eamon Dunphy appeared on the big screen. Then Mick McCarthy moved into view, dancing on the sideline.
"Well done, Mick, oh well done boy," yelled Jack at the screen, his voice cracking with emotion. "We deserved it, we deserved it . . . well look at this place, look at me . . . I was dejected and then like everyone else I leapt to my feet." This was followed by a big Geordie cackle which never seemed to end.
Afterwards, emerging blinking into the afternoon sunshine, Lord Mount Charles said he was glad he didn't have a heart condition, such was his excitement when Keane scored. "It was absoloutely fabulous . . . those last few minutes would age you considerably."
One guest felt the event, which included a three-course lunch, a free bar and a jazz band playing Olé, Olé, Olé, was a bit too "corporate" for real football fans. "There are people here who would not normally go to soccer matches," said Gareth from Stillorgan who had been given a ticket by a friend. "They just want to come to a posh event like this but it has to be said it is all top quality."
"It's fabulous," said Martin Farrell, of Group 4, who was sitting at one of Bank of Ireland's four tables. "You are guaranteed a seat, the view is brilliant and you get to eat your dinner in peace."
Earlier, Jack Charlton had confessed he was apprehensive about the game and said that a draw would be "a wonderful result". Asked about the controversy over Eamon Dunphy's recent remarks he said: "Well, if you said black, Dunphy would say white. All I know is that Ireland qualified to play in the World Cup finals through Mick McCarthy and the lads. Most Irish people would just say that is Eamon Dunphy just being an idiot again and now he will probably have a go at me."
The name Roy Keane did not leave Jack Charlton's lips. "We shouldn't mention that name because I am sick reading about him at a time when we need him like a hole in the head," he sighed. Jack will be back at the Pavilion next week to give an analysis of Ireland's game against Saudi Arabia.