Last ooh-aah for Paul McGrath

The end of the finest era in the history of the national team, will be officially pronounced at Lansdowne Road tomorrow in front of a capacity crowd of more than 45,000.

Ostensibly, it is an occasion to celebrate the career and times of Paul McGrath, the most gifted Irish player of modern years, perhaps the greatest of them all. Really it has more to do with the closing of an epoch than the departure of just one individual.

Joining McGrath on stage are Ray Houghton and John Aldridge, two other players who were in the trenches during good times and bad when the Republic of Ireland team was one of football's fastest movers.

Lending the final touch of authenticity to the grand farewell will be the presence of Jack Charlton, the man who put the package together in the first instance and who now takes his leave as manager of the international selection.

By any standard it's going to be a significant occasion, heavy with emotion and designed to remind everyone of a time when Lansdowne Road was an impenetrable fortress for all visiting teams. It was largely on the back of their impressive home record that Ireland climbed into the top eight in FIFA's international rankings.

Many factors came together to fashion that opulence, but Charlton probably got it right when he said: "Every so often, small countries produce a collection of gifted people who play with their heads as well as their hearts and I was fortunate to be involved with such a group.

"It's not something that can be taken for granted or passed on from one generation of players to the next. You make the most of it when it happens and I think we in the Ireland camp did just that.

"At our best, we weren't more than a couple of players away from winning a major championship. We didn't make it to the top in the end, but, hell, didn't we have some enjoyment along the way.

"I'm happy for Paul McGrath that his big day has arrived. In a very special way Irish people saw in Paul the kind of player who would lift the country to new heights and how he responded to that expectation.

"There are so many golden memories of Paul that it's hard to pick one above the rest. But has there ever been a better performance by an Ireland player than the one he produced against Italy in New Jersey during the World Cup finals in America?"

Charlton added: "To achieve what he did and to go on doing it for so long, at a stage when his knees didn't even allow him to train, was phenomenal. That is the quality of the man we will be saluting on Sunday and nobody, I believe, is more deserving of our support".

To ensure that the occasion has a competitive edge, Mick McCarthy will be endeavouring to smooth out some off the rough edges in his rebuilt squad before completing his European Championship programme against Mexico next Saturday.

As yet, he is not in a position to finalise his team, but the likelihood is that Mark Kennedy, missing since the second of the two World Cup play-off games against Belgium but now revitalised by his move to Wimbledon, will be recalled on the left wing.

Even as the old guard prepare to take their leave, the young pretenders are beginning to storm the gates and among those from whom McCarthy will select tomorrow are four of the under-18 team who beat Greece on Thursday. They are: Richard Dunne (Everton), Gar Doherty (Luton Town), Gerard Crossley (Cetic) and Barry Quinn (Coventry).

There will be a new face in goal where in the absence of Shay Given, who is hoping to celebrate a Newcastle win at Wembley today, the relatively unknown York City player Dean Kiely will offer himself for approval by the Irish public.

Apart from Aldridge, Andy Cole, Stan Collymore and Dean Saunders will be in contention for places in the international selection. And, in defence, Vinny Jones will be on duty to ensure that the canons of bonhomie don't go unchallenged.

Essentially, however, it's all about nostalgia and the chance to watch the famous trio make their last appearance in the green shirt. There are times when testimonial games, even the more attractive, are a hard sell, but not this one.

Yesterday only a small proportion of terrace tickets remained unsold and the expectation is that the stadium will be sold out before the kick-off.

It promises to be an afternoon with few parallels in recent times, an occasion for an outpouring of emotion. The last serving members of Jack Charlton's original army are about to be stood down and thousands will count themselves privileged to be able to give witness to their going.