Heroes every one of them, Ireland's Under-18 team. Their victory over Germany on a muggy night in Cyprus ensured that their names will be forever etched in Irish soccer history and in the memories of those whose pleasure it was to witness it. Now it is all over and they are preparing to play for their British league clubs in the forthcoming season - except for one man: Keith Doyle of St Patrick's Athletic. He was the sole ambassador for the League of Ireland in that European Championship-winning side.
Like his colleagues, Keith Doyle will earn his crust in a city which is soccer-mad. The difference is that only a fraction of Dublin's soccer fans file through the turnstiles of their local clubs. When it comes to local soccer, many display nothing but disdain for the teams, the stadiums and the league in which they play. In stark contrast to GAA enthusiasts, the very notion of lending their support to a team simply because it is local to them is anathema.
I feel obliged to nail my own colours to the mast. My home team is Norwich City. I attended my first match in 1975 (a 2-2 draw with Manchester City) and was hooked. Twenty-three years on and nothing has changed, the agonising disappointment of it all becoming more addictive with each passing season. Moments of greatness (beating Bayern Munich 21 away in the UEFA Cup in 1994) have been overshadowed by years of mediocrity.
A lie exposed
Recently I attended the Carlisle Grounds to watch Bray Wanderers play Norwich in a pre-season friendly. Two friends of mine - one of whom attended 37 Norwich matches last season home and away - had flown over for the Irish tour. Norwich won a fairly dismal encounter 2-1.
Two nights later we were beaten 1-0 by St Pat's. A 4-0 win over Longford Town was then followed by a 2-2 draw with Home Farm Everton.
My friends' visit also took us to Tolka Park to watch Shamrock Rovers and Tranmere Rovers play out a 1-1 draw. An enjoyable match, an impressive performance by Shamrock Rovers, some singing from the terraces and, most importantly of all, a lie exposed. The lie of Irish-based Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle fans that the standard of play in the League of Ireland is so low that there is no realistic alternative to supporting English clubs. If you can sit in the pub and watch the glamour clubs on Sky TV, no one in their right mind, they say, would turn out to watch Bohemians, Finn Harps, and the likes.
The recent European adventures of St Pat's and Shelbourne further debunk the myth perpetuated by those who eat, sleep and breathe English soccer, that there is no earthly reason to attend League of Ireland games. Nick Hornby's book Fever Pitch might as well have been written in Swahili for all it would mean to the armies of "fans" who whoop and holler in their local pubs as their heroes - Beckham, Fowler, Owen, Shearer, etc. - score for their respective clubs (though not, of course, when they are hitting the back of the net for England).
Manchester United fans
On the last day of the 1995/ 96 season I was in a pub in Dublin 8, where Manchester United fans, resplendent in replica jerseys celebrated winning the English Premiership. Their delight turned to ecstasy as news seeped through that Manchester City had been relegated. To this observer at least, such scenes are inexplicable. This is simply an example of fake fans "buying into" something that has nothing to do with them. Certainly, the obsession which many people have with Manchester United is largely driven by the hype of Sky TV, but there is something almost surreal about Irish-based fans imitating the intense local rivalry of the native fans in an English city.
Sadly, although St Pat's and Shelbourne did themselves proud against Celtic and Rangers, it won't be good enough to drag these bar-stool fans away from their pints. Doubtless, they got a few rounds in and felt all patriotic when Brian Kerr's magnificent Under-18 team beat Germany on penalties, but the majority wouldn't be seen dead watching Keith Doyle running out for St Pat's.
Over in Luton, Huddersfield, Swansea and other regions where his Ireland team-mates play, local people take a different approach. There's not a lot of glamour to be had at these grounds on a Saturday afternoon, nor on a wet autumn night watching a first round Coca-Cola Cup tie. Nor is there much glitz in supporting Manchester City, Bury, Oldham or other teams in the greater Manchester area, but many fans somehow manage to resist the temptation to support United, despite living in the region. Manchester City drew crowds averaging 28,000 last season, even though the club dropped to its lowest league position ever. This unstinting loyalty will survive to ensure impressive crowds this season in the Second Division, despite a fixture list which includes Macclesfield Town, Colchester United and Northampton Town. Success for them - and indeed for all real fans - is a bonus, not a pre-requisite.
This kind of solidarity has been totally overlooked here during the debate about Wimbledon's proposed move to Dublin. The club may attract small crowds, but many of their fans watched them in non-league matches long before they reached the dizzy heights of an FA Cup Final win over Liverpool.
Wimbledon fans
Yet these fans hardly got a mention when it was mooted that their club should be moved to Dublin, where people were drooling into their pints at the prospect of live, English Premiership football. Never mind Wimbledon fans in south London, so long as Liverpool, Arsenal and Co come to Dublin each season. As for an FA Cup tie against Torquay on a freezing winter night and league games against the likes of Southampton and Coventry, they'd have been whistling for the crowds. Should relegation have befallen them, there would have been a monumental exodus.
Much has been said of the need for the Government to inject cash into soccer in this country and there is no question that successive governments have neglected the League of Ireland. Some will feel that the FAI must also shoulder some of the blame.
In the meantime, the sceptics might ponder St Pat's performances against Celtic and actually drag themselves along to a match. After all, bigger crowds will put more money into League of Ireland coffers and might even encourage more players to stay on home soil.
Supporters of English teams are forever boasting of the Irish links which these clubs enjoy and of the large Irish communities which exist in these cities. On this basis, League of Ireland clubs should be irresistible.