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By Peter McDermott
When might it happen again? That's what Conor Doyle and some Irish soccer fans in New York were thinking when they made plans to go to the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.
It could be decades, and indeed it was after decades of trying that the Republic of Ireland first qualified in 1988 for a major soccer tournament. Since that first exciting European outing that involved beating England in Stuttgart, the nation has participated in three World Cup tournaments. The last, though, was in Japan and Korea, a full 10 years ago.
"I want to experience the elation of Ireland scoring a goal in a major championship," said Doyle, a Dubliner who has lived in Manhattan since 2006. "I have to sample that once in my life - that's going to be such a buzz."
"I don't know when there'll be another chance," said Brian O'Connor, an estimator with J.T. Magen, who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two small children.
He will fly out just before the tournament, but has not yet secured game tickets or accommodation. As for availability, he said: "You hear different stories." Some suggest that Spain and Italy fans will be less interested in tickets for Group C games. He said he intends to ask Polish contacts he has in Ireland and pursue other options. "By any means necessary," the Tramore, Co. Waterford, native said of the quest.
Doyle, who works for Linkedin in New York, is traveling with four Irish-based friends and they've made all the arrangements for him. (Official statistics from UEFA, though, say 135 tickets for Ireland's opening game against
Croatia were bought online in the United States.) He will fly out to Ireland later today and work in his company's offices in Dublin for a week, before going on to Hamburg. There, the quintet will pick up a hired RV and drive to Poznan on the 9th, the day before for the opener.
He is well traveled, having made cycling trips in Europe when he was younger. He has visited much of the U.S. with his Boston-born wife and they have also made trips to Puerto Rico and Argentina. However, he has never seen Ireland play abroad.
"I used to go religiously to all the home games," said Doyle, a sometime casual supporter of Premiership club Tottenham. "Ireland is my real love when it comes to following a team."
The Irish have a good record in getting past the group stage, doing so in all three World Cups they played in. But the task is particularly difficult next month: the team must finish in the top two in a group that also includes Croatia, which is ranked 8th in the world (Ireland is 18th).
Doyle is under no illusions about the severity of Ireland's task, but added: "I'm quietly confident. I think we have one or two giant-killing scalps in us."
The Irish can physically compete, in his view, and their style just might work against the world's top team, Spain, which usually enjoys 80 percent possession. "The Irish are used to not having the ball," he said. "They won't be frustrated in a way other teams might be."
For O'Connor, there is also some local pride involved. The former player for northwestern Donegal in Gaelic Park is from a southeastern county that has one of the strongest soccer traditions outside of Dublin. He pointed out that a couple of key squad members are from Waterford - John O'Shea and Stephen Hunt.
Whatever happens, both O'Connor and Doyle are coming back to their jobs and family commitments when the Group C games are over. The Waterford man said he would watch any subsequent Irish games from the comfort of a Manhattan bar. But for now, he's focused on the trip.
"I know a good few guys who are going," O'Connor said. "I'd say the craic will be good."
