Ireland v England 1995
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Forum Name: Republic Of Ireland
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URL: https://forum.ybig.ie/forum_posts.asp?TID=50889
Printed Date: 29 Apr 2024 at 5:54pm
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Topic: Ireland v England 1995
Posted By: shanejcos
Subject: Ireland v England 1995
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 7:21pm
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Hi All, I am a student journalist about to write a piece on the Ireland v England match in 1995 as it's the 20th anniversary and we are about to have a rematch in the summer. Guys, it would be great to have some feedback on the angle you believe I should take on this: - Political - Sporting - Social - Other or a mix of the above I would also love the opportunity to have an interview with anybody who was at the original game, the pints would be on me of course  Many Thanks in advance, Shane
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Replies:
Posted By: greenforever
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 9:12pm
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Remember the game well, we were in Paddy Cullens before the game, great atmosphere, don't recall any English fans in the pub, and we were seated in the East Lower down near the Havelock Sq end, went straight back to the Cullens after the match was abandoned and got hammered. Avoided town like the plague. ------------- I know nothing :-) |
Posted By: Trap junior
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 9:51pm
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I was at the game as a 12 year old in the south terrace near the trouble. ------------- Pied Piper to: Baldrick, Brendan 88, 9Fingers, Borussia and more... 97.6% chance this post will be replied to by Baldrick (source: PWC) |
Posted By: t_rAndy
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 10:10pm
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Was on the north terrace. No trouble my way but learned later there was a crush as people made their way for the exit and how it was lucky no one was seriously injured or worse |
Posted By: shanejcos
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 10:30pm
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Great stuff guys, much appreciated. I'm not sure if you can PM on this but I would like to get in touch with a few of you guys after a week or two to let others contribute. Thanks again and look forward to other contributions.
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Posted By: McG
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 10:33pm
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You need a few more points to have PM rights. Lads, hit thanks on Shane's posts to free him up. ------------- YBIG Table Quiz winner 2016 & 2017 AS YOU WERE McGx |
Posted By: Shoco
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 11:02pm
Was the east lower not all terraced, I was only 11 but remember not being able to see the game properly because of it -------------  YOUR 3 IN A ROW LEAGUE CHAMPIONS |
greenforever wrote:Posted By: drog addict
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 11:21pm
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Went to the game straight after school with a friend and his grandad. Both of them were up right beside the Tans while I was down with a few others in the school boy terrace South stand. You could feel it in the air that something was gonna happen. The english didn't stop singing no surrender etc. when it all kicked off there was a surge of our lads to the gate to have a go at the english. Met me friend and his grandad after and they said it was mental up there beside the English support. His grandad (ex boxer) gave one of them a dig straight to kidneys and yer man went down then they legged it as it was getting out of control. A match and atmosphere I will never forget in lansdowne road. ------------- Chips don't bounce |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 11:23pm
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The FAI fcuked up as usual. Thats all you need to know. They ignored the advise of The FA and NCIS Football Unit. Sure it'll be grand. |
Posted By: Cabra Hoop
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 12:04am
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The trouble at that match cannot be evaluated without analysing the prevailing political circumstances in the years prior to the game. It has been generally accepted that it was a premeditated riot orchestrated by well know far right activists with close loyalist connections. I was at the game on North Terrace quite close to a pen where a couple of hundred English fans were massed. When the trouble erupted and the match stopped, they broke through on to the pitch and ran over to the other England 'fans' in the West Stand. The ironic thing for me was despite what happened that night at the ground, there was very little trouble around town that night unlike in 1990 when there was lots of scraps all over town. ------------- " BFC always gives me a laugh........ " |
Posted By: kevincronin2000
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 12:43am
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It was my first ever Ireland game as I was studding in Dublin at the time, had a few pints in Paddy Cullen's before the game was in the East Terence when it kicked off. Left the game and walked back to the North Star Hotel after the game. Most pubs and McDonald's were shut down on the route back to the city center . Later that night we were in a pub upstairs in o Connell street ( mcgraths maybe) riot gardai came up and took a few English out of it. The most disappointing aspect of the night was that we were tearing them apart on the pitch before it was abandoned. ------------- time is the stuff that life is made of, don't waste it. |
Posted By: greenforever
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 12:50am
So true, we would have hammered them ------------- I know nothing :-) |
Posted By: d13dave
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 12:55am
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what happened in 1990 cabra? I was at it but far too young to remember any trouble around town. My mates old lad gave some English lout a belt on the dart who was picking on a Irish teenagers. 1995 was a weird one. The atmosphere was hopping but felt evil. No harm in that against the old enemy. It was great until they started throwing things. Would have happily listened to them drone on with their no surrender chants if it meant beating them and the game finishing
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Posted By: Sham157
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 6:46am
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Posted By: Shoco
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 8:51am
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ah right so, only time i was ever in that section! ------------- YOUR 3 IN A ROW LEAGUE CHAMPIONS |
Posted By: savo01
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 9:12am
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As has been said we were slaughtering them on the pitch. Warren Barton made his engurlund debut and was being run ragged. David Kelly was in great club form with Wolves if I remember at the time and was playing superbly. Had one disallowed and scored one. I remember McGrath had Shearer in his back pocket. There was a moment Shearer turned McGrath but Paul then just pivoted the other way to take the ball off Shearer. It was the finest piece of defending I've ever seen and if an England player had done it they'd still be showing it on TV! We really could have stuffed them that night. ------------- Jackie Charlton, Eoin Hand Johnny Giles. Ireland Mick McCarthy, Stephen Staunton Cascarino Tony Galvin, Niall Quinn Packie doesn't let em in North of Ireland South of Ireland Only one can go |
Posted By: forza trapp
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 9:36am
I remember been given tickets from the FAI with visiting F.A. stamped on them. I assumed they where returned from the English FA so where in or close to their section. Went into Merrion Sq to swop them for East stand tickets, they did this no problem and told me there would be NO TROUBLE as all the English fans have been vetted by the FA. I think that muppet Bernard O'Byrne was head of security at the time, |
Posted By: FREEWHEELER
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 11:04am
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I knew there'd be trouble when the fixture was announced. There was still a scum element travelling to England games. USA 94 had passed off so well with England not being there and it had been brilliant to not be worrying if there were scumbags in a bar looking to kick off as in Euro 88/Italia 90. The Gardai were hopelessly ill-prepared for it and the FAI re-sold tickets they shouldn't have and putting the English fans in the West Upper just defied logic (20 years on they still defy logic when it comes to ticketing), it was only a matter of time that night as it proved. I was opposite in the East Lower so we just shuffled off angrily when the game was abandoned and had several pints in the Burlington after. I remember me Da (rightly) giving out to me for not ringing home to say I was ok (no mobiles back then). As for the 27 minutes or whatever it was, we were killing them on the park and scored a wonderful goal and as said elsewhere, Shearer was buried deep in McGrath's pocket together with Signori from the previous June. Horrible night otherwise, I don't however see history repeating itself this year off the park. ------------- We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll keep the Green Flag flying high......Shamrock Rovers will never die, we'll keep the Green Flag Flying high. 19 Leagues and 25 Cups..... |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 12:38pm
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The filth had spotters at Holyhead and informed the FAI and the Gardai that Combat 18 were travelling and couldnt be stopped as you dont need a passport travelling by boat. They offered to travel and assist the Gards in identifying them but the Gards and the FAI declined. The FA were sh*tting themselves that it could affect the staging of Euro96. |
Posted By: roverstillidie
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 1:03pm
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1990 saw the English based in town and getting run absolutely ragged all day long by every headbanger in Dublin.
1995 saw the Brit firms much more organised, they kept their heads down pre game and most got marched from the game to the ferry after the match, so the chances of revenge attacks were minimal.
Bernard declined all help and took the laughable decision to give a load of off duty Gardai tickets on the edge of the English section in lieu of actual cops or stewards. The riot cops had to climb into LR as the gates were closed and the stewards refused to open them. ------------- He is Karl Pilkington in the LOI section and Karl Marx outwith it |
Posted By: Cabra Hoop
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 1:30pm
Bang on about 95 in that they kept a very low profile before the game.
The game in '90 had an early kick-off 2.00 or 2.30. After the game a lot of the english came into town to drink before getting the late ferries home. They were hanging around the pubs near Tara St Dart station. As the drink took hold they got a bit loud and mouthy and started throwing shapes. Some of the local nearthewells took the bait and there were little scraps all over the town.I remember being in Kennedys pub and seeing a big scrap on O'Connell Bridge being broadcast live on the RTE 6 O'clock News.
I was out in town the night before that game and there were hordes of english in groups walking up and down O'Connell Street being trailed by Guards. There was tense atmosphere around and a serious feeling of malevolance. It was the same before the game. The english in little clusters giving the guards the runaround. ------------- " BFC always gives me a laugh........ " |
Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 1:32pm
The FAI gave a free video "The Team that Jack built" (i think it was) to every home supporter at the turnstiles for the next home game by way of an apology for any inconvenience caused. That was nice.
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Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 2:14pm
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Posted By: d13dave
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 2:22pm
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haha touch of class that. remember walking out of the game in 1995 into town and there were lads around Pearse House robbing skips to get their hands on bricks and any weapons they could find : ) Was it true that there was a Bobby Sands memorial march in 1990 on OConnell Street? Was chatting to a fella in London who was at it and said it was a mad old day and swears their was some kind of republican hunger strike march that day on OConnell St and said that there were hordes of Dublin lunatics out to get them. Big difference over here i guess is our lunatics typically dont go to the match |
Posted By: gspain
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 3:12pm
There was definitely some kind of provo march on O'Connell street on the day of the 1990 game. There was trouble between the marchers and England fans afterwards. Even the U21 game in Turners Cross was tense the day before. However I can't recall seeing too much actual trouble at either game. 1995 was much more relaxed until the trouble started. |
Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 3:28pm
| Was it not Dessie Ellis getting extradited that day? |
Posted By: Sham157
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 3:35pm
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Posted By: drog addict
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 4:04pm
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Could be an urban myth but I heard in 1990 that the cops were picking the english knackers up in vans and letting them out in sherriff st and other such nice neighbourhoods so they would get a kickin. ------------- Chips don't bounce |
Posted By: The Huntacha
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 5:45pm
Heard that before, but it may have been on here that I heard it. ------------- Jimmy Bullard - "Favorite band? Elastic." |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 5:49pm
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My brother was in the Riot Squad that night. He said it was great craic. Same as Bohs-Rangers in 84. |
Posted By: Sham157
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 6:21pm
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Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 6:42pm
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Its true that some were given a bed for the night in Mountjoy in 95. The big wusses begged the judge in the morning not to send them back to the Joy. |
Posted By: daithi
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 7:23pm
 ------------- Just because it's tradition does not make it right |
Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 4:50pm
Yeah it was alright. www.youtube.com/watch?v=frUEfTtY0BY
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Posted By: Stretchryan
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 4:56pm
Correct - was in the north terrace and Gazza was getting marathons/snickers for you younger folks thrown at him as he warmed up. In 95 was in South Terrace. Robbie Fowler got a hatrick also that night i think in league cup
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Posted By: Gashley Grimes
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 6:43pm
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Yep remember Gazza warming up in front of the North Terrace for the 92 Euro qualifier and getting dogs abuse. Just remember all the stewards celebrating with Cascarino when he levelled it. We were playing them off the park @ Lansdowne in 1995 - John Sheridan probably played one of the greatest through balls for Kelly's goal...and then bang... Good article on the 1991 Wembley encounter - Niall Quinn had some life. http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/tickets-tension-and-songs-on-night-that-changed-everything-29297345.html |
Posted By: George Zip
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 6:46pm
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Alright lads first time posting but a long time lurker on the forum. I was on the North Terrace in 1990 and I remember the Mars bars etc being thrown at Gazza. Also does anyone remember the old lad in the top hat and tails who followed England all over the world? Somebody milled him with an apple or an orange from the north terrace. I wasn't in town after the game but lads I worked with at the time told me it was fairly dodgy. Didn't the English attack pubs in Kilburn in 1991 prior to the return fixture at Wembley in revenge? Was on the south terrace in 1995 and it was a venomous atmosphere, both anthems booed, Paul Ince getting monkey chants. Was brilliant though giving the brits the fingers in the West Upper when Kelly scored! The Guards should have been better prepared though because there was trouble between rival english firms in Abbey street and Marlborough street the night before the game. The London Irish fanzine "On the One Road" had decent articles after both games. |
Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 7:12pm
I couldn't get a south terrace ticket that night so was on the north. Cabra Hoop touches on what happened underneath but it rarely gets reported as the main trouble was obviously down the other end. What happened was that the English had a limited number of terrace tickets and had been housed in the old schoolboy pen on the north terrace over to the right as you look out to the pitch. The place was hopping that night, we were flying at the time and England hadn't yet had a competitive game since 93 and hadn't really found their feet under Vemables. Atmosphere was a proper old school football atmosphere that might walking up to the ground, bit of an edge despite it being a friendly but really good, everyone well up for it and very confident. Anyway game started and we were right on it, dominating the game, McGrath absolutely bossing Shearer and we were well worth the lead, place erupted when Kelly scored. Then they broke and had a goal rightly disallowed for offside, think it was Platt. They'd been waiting for a spark in the East Upper and that was it, next thing all hell broke loose, seats ripped up etc. We'd seen scenes like that involving England over the years although never over here but still thought the Gardai would sort it out and the game would resume even after the players went off but they were woefully undermanned and ill prepared. People always talk about the English being put in the East Upper as being an idiotic idea but that oversimplifies it. They were there for the Euro qualifier in 90 as well and other than a shower of lighters and coins on us in the south terrace there was no trouble in the ground because that section had a ring of uniformed Guards around them and as soon as anyone acted up they either had a quiet word in their ear or were collared. Difference in 95 was that, due to the peace process and ongoing IRA ceasefire, a decision was made to have a lower key police presence so while I believe there were plenty of plain clothes Guards in there, that was no deterrent to anyone so things escalated very quickly beyond those who had come to start it. Anyway, we were waiting on the North for the Guards to regain control but it soon became clear this wouldn't happen. Next thing there's an announcement for Ireland fans to leave the stadium as the game was being abandoned. When the stewards started unlocking gates one of them opened the gate to the schoolboy pen by mistake and the English in there burst out and ran around under the terrace to the exit people were leaving through that also led to the pitch. There were Irish lads on the top of the terrace could see over the wall and saw these English rushing through the crowd swinging boots and digs under the terrace and started shouting "Get back, get back!!" at us. We were close to the exit at the stage and next thing there's a huge surge back and a gang of English burst through screaming "ENGLAND, ENGLAND!" still swinging and kicking, they ran onto the pitch and straight down to where the trouble was. I was literally picked off my feet in the surge and moved back about 10 feet or more, hard to tell. Was lucky no one went over or it could have been a lot worse. Total buzz kill on the night though, reckon we'd have beaten them 2 or 3 that night. 90 was different, nothing in the ground but mayhem on O'Connell St after, ended up holed up in the Daniel O'Connell beside the bridge till closing, tried to leave between 6 and 7 and was stopped doing so so settled in for the evening! ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: Shedite
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 7:48pm
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Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:08am
You paint a vivid picture D69. Very scary I'd imagine. I'd be going to games about 2 years at that point from Manchester and although I desperately wanted to get over for the game in '95, myself and my mate decided to give it a miss so that we could go to the qualifier the following month against the Nordies (1-1 game). I was only earning about £50 a week at the time and as it was I was subbing off my ma and da left right and centre to get to the home games, so squeezing in another friendly wasn't really an option. As horrible as those scenes were, I'd be lying if I didn't say a part of me wishes I had made it over to the game. Its part of Irish footballing history and will be talked of forever more. Probably went to 90% of home and away games in the next 10 years so it just feels a bit odd, that I didn't get to it. Still. its in the record books as a 1-0 win (afaik?) and thankfully no one was permanently injured or worse.
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Posted By: roverstillidie
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:15am
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Nope, in the record books as match abandoned ------------- He is Karl Pilkington in the LOI section and Karl Marx outwith it |
Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:37am
FAI awarded caps and recognise Kelly's goal in his stats. English FA didn't award caps. ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:38am
Good article. Brings the memories flooding back. Was a 16 year old watching it in The Grove in Manchester (big Irish pub / club at the time). Place was packed to the rafters and when Quinner side footed it in to the net the place exploded. Pretty much set the scene for me personally for the next 25 years! Anywhere you could find that full game online? I haven't seen it since, just Quinn's goal.
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Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:39am
Thanks. Yeah, I had heard from a mate that it was recognised. Perhaps it was just the goal then, rather than the actual 1-0 result. Tried confirming this on FAI, UEFA websites but didn't have any luck.
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Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:45am
I think it was the beginning of the end for Jack's team, we had a great 1-0 home victory against Portugal the following month and thought the bandwagon was rolling again but then laboured to a 1-1 draw at home to the nordies before the Lichtenstein debacle and the Austria farce. I'd gone to Australia on a year's working holiday visa not long after the draw with the north so I'd have done my year and would be back in time to stop off in England for the Euros on the way home in Summer 96 but was only over there a matter of months and the whole campaign had fallen apart. Best laid plans and all that! ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 10:48am
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Had we beat the Nordies we only needed a point to qualify IIRC. In the end we needed the Austrians to lose to Latvia (I think) and the North for us to get into the play-off at Anfield. |
Posted By: kevjreilly
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 11:18am
Remember going to the game with my dad and in the same section. My dad use to go the games with his best mate but on Friendlies or the odd qualifier me or the bro would be brought, so the England game was my turn, was only 11 but never been so excited to go to a game as that one. I remember the goal vividly and the trouble in the East stand starting after the disallowed goal. As you say we were told to leave, we were pretty close to the exit so started to head down, some aul fella went for the staris same time i did and he motions to let me go ahead and my dad fell in behind him, he starts talking asking was i enjoying the game etc then as we get to the exit all hell brakes loose. I turned around and could see the fear in my dads face and the scramble to grab me. As we start running back towards the pitch the aul lad i was talking to falls over, he went down so quick no one could help him. At this stage im sh*tting myself. My dad just grabs me in a headlock type hold and runs with me to the west stand and out as quick as possible. The walk to the car and the ride home was so quiet. I never seen my dad so scared in my life, both of us were shaking, all i could think of was the aul lad that fell. Stopped going to games for a good while after that but eventually my dad coxed me back into going. ------------- Read it 3 times before posting |
Posted By: The Huntacha
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 12:07pm
That crowd ------------- Jimmy Bullard - "Favorite band? Elastic." |
Posted By: Cabra Hoop
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 3:30pm
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Just looked at the RTE 9 O'Clock News from the night of the game on youtube, a 60 year old man died at the match from a Heart Attack and an English fella was stabbed.
The game at Wembley in 1991 was a scary affair. I was with 3 other lads and we were in one of the English sections. The lad i got the ticket from was Manc Irish and he joined the England Travel Club to buy tickets. I was sitting beside a couple from Hartlepool and was chatting with them before kick-off. The seemed alright. England scored very early and all was ok. As the first half went on we got on top and had a 5 minute spell where we had them under intense pressure. We had to score during this period and Quinner duly converted a cross from Big Paulie. Much as i had planned on restraining myself if we scored, i couldnt and celebrated with gusto. When i went to sit down the girl from Hartlepool spat straight into my face. All the english around seen this and were waiting for me to react. They were spoiling for a fight. I just wiped the spittle away with my scarf and sat down. I was livid. A copper came and stood in the aisle keeping an eye on things. Within minutes little scuffles were breaking all over the english sections and police were in pulling people out. I was quite nervous after that and couldnt enjoy the game. God knows what would have happened if Razor hadnt missed a sitter in the last minute. At the final whistle the fella from Hartlepool offered me his hand to shake. He made a face as if to apologise for the spit.
As for the game in 1980, i had my hat and scarf nicked by a couple of skinheads.
------------- " BFC always gives me a laugh........ " |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 3:45pm
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After the 1991 Wembley game I went into work the next day in London. Some work colleagues were complimentary and said we should have won. Other work-mates wouldnt talk to me. They knew we'd absolutely bashed them. |
Posted By: FrankosHereNow
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 4:07pm
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I was at the '91 game with my Dad but was in the Irish section so it was grand. I remeber going to the U21 match the night before in Brentford. England beat us 3-0, I think Roy Keane was the captain that night. Anyway, we got some hassle on the bus that night off a couple of arseholes. I was only 8 years old, there must have been some hatred for peolple to start abusing a man going to a football match with his 8 year old son. ------------- YBIG Quiz Champion 2016, 2017 & 2018. As You Were Three in a row |
Posted By: Junior
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 4:23pm
The '95 game? If so, I stand corrected, didnt realise there were any casualties as such on the night. English Fella stabbed at the ground or in the town?
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Posted By: Cabra Hoop
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 4:31pm
------------- " BFC always gives me a laugh........ " |
Posted By: Shedite
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 5:24pm
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HEre's the late news from that night - reports were that one died. Some interesting footage!
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Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 5:45pm
From the Spanish game in 89 through to the end of the euro 92 campaign Lansdowne was something else for home games. Think we actually had a 94 qualifier before Euro 92 (Albania I think) which was the last qualifier before the bucket seats came in and put the capacity down 20k and killed the atmosphere to a large degree. That Albania qualifier was weird as the back pass rule hadn't come in yet but was in for the rest of the campaign. The atmosphere in the Euro 88 campaign wasn't great as we'd had 2 fairly uninspiring nil all draws v Belgium and Scotland and had also gone one down at home to Luxembourg before coming back to win 2-1. Tickets were still easy to come by back then as well, we only got 17k for the game v Brazil halfway through the campaign on a Saturday evening for example. But post the Euros the crowds had come back and the atmosphere at the likes of the Spain and NI games were savage. But that England game was something else, Lansdowne was a real fortress by then and even after Platt scored we never really thought we'd lose. Was on the usual spot on the South for that one and you can see the mayhem when Cas equalised, bedlam on the terrace and then everyone to a man turns to the west upper and a huge chant of "YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE IRISH!!" rang out as a shower of coins and lighters rained down, very different times. Euro 92 was the peak of that team, still gutted we blew qualification away to Poland, really think we'd a good shot at winning the tournament had we gone, we were easily the equal of Denmark as shown in the world cup qualifiers for 94, chance missed. ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: Gary McKay
Date Posted: 22 Jan 2015 at 5:49pm
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Ive always claimed we could have won Euro92. Only the Dutch were better than us at the time. |
Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 6:08pm
Only seeing this post now. Don't remember any monkey chants at Ince but I guess it's possible disgrace if true. Re the trouble in Kilburn, I don't know about 91 but I was living in London in 90 and there was trouble after the 1 all draw, gang of English lads came down looking for Irish fans and battering a few lads caught on their own, remember one lad got f**ked through a plate glass window of a laundrette... ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: George Zip
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2015 at 8:39pm
I defo remember the monkey chants, not saying there was thousands at it but it was audible, f**king gobsh*tes! See the link below for interesting article re 1995, check out the comment by 'BH' re Paul Ince, (BH is not me btw) http://comeheretome.com/2010/06/09/trouble-on-the-terraces-some-pages-from-the-programme-of-an-infamous-match/ In relation to Kilburn 91 I read an article in that 'On the One Road' fanzine. The english attacked a few pubs on the High Road before the game and i'd always assumed it was in revenge to their 1990 reception in 'Little Paddyland' as Eamon Dunphy would say! The lad that wrote the article was injured before the game and went to wembley bandaged up looking like Rab C Nesbitt. I must see if I can find it, its in the gaff somewhere. |
Posted By: depechemode
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2015 at 10:34pm
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We Defo had a chance to win euro 92. We were robbed in qualification but jammy lineaker and England always did enough. Isn't it sad to see how far we have dropped now. I was at Wembley in 91 and will never forget that miss by Houghton that would have won it. Beating England at Wembley would have been huge for Jack Great memories all the same |
Posted By: Yoco Santos
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 12:32am
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From the book Everywhere We Go which was written 1996. The Far Right So football is a game which attracts all elements of society, for both good and bad reasons, yet there is no doubt that extreme right-wing (and more recently, left-wing) political parties use football as a recruiting ground for members. When England fans rioted in Dublin, the events were relayed around the world and, in the aftermath, a great many questions were asked regarding the events leading up to the game. However, it quickly became apparent that this was more than simple football violence, because a number of political groups were said to be heavily involved. We approached a number of these groups and asked them to contribute to this book. With one exception, they declined. Here is the account that was provided. After talking to many fans who were in Dublin that night, we do feel that this tale goes a long way to answering many of those questions, but, if accurate, the implications are very disturbing. Dublin I am an active member of the BNP [British National Party] and a follower of one of the smaller northern clubs, a club which has a growing reputation for good away support and an expanding hard core intent on causing as much trouble as possible on our travels. As an active member of the BNP, I see the club as an ideal recruiting ground for new members and have been encouraged by the party to sell papers and distribute leaflets about our policies at all games, home and away. The party see football as a great place to canvass support as the majority of people who attend games are white British males who are finding life a bit of a struggle due to the lingering effects of the recession and the policies of the present political system which, we believe, are selling the very people who made this country what it was, i.e. great, down the river. It is our goal to reverse that decline by making people aware of what is going on so that we can make Britain great again. We manage to sell around 150 papers a month at the moment and the numbers are continuing to grow, which is obviously good for us and follows the trend of the last recession, when party numbers also grew. There are, of course, many people at the club who are unhappy about us selling papers outside the ground and I know that a number of letters and phone calls have been received by the local press and the club and that some people are staying away because they do not approve of us. All I can say to that is that if they do not like our papers, then they shouldn’t buy them - it is, after all, a free country. We have also had some grief in the past from groups like the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) and Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), but the lads in our group who do not agree with our beliefs will run with us against them as they see any attack on us as an attack on the reputation of the mob rather than on the party. Being an organisation that suffers attacks from all sides due to its policies means that BNP groups from all over the country keep in close contact to exchange any information on factions campaigning in any way against us. The far- right parties do have a reputation for violence and whenattacked they will respond in greater numbers, but Combat 18 [C18] (named after Adolf Hitler’s initials-A=1,H=8) is really an elite right-wing firm which holds a certain set of beliefs. They will travel anywhere and use violence and terror tactics on anyone who tries to stand up against what they see as their right. That does hold a certain fear factor for anyone who might think of trying to drive us out and away from the club. I know that there are many people who would like to do just that but would never dare attempt it, and would almost certainly never achieve it. In February 1995, a group from our club travelled with some other BNP members from another northern club to the England match in Dublin. We had been encouraged for a few months previously to try as hard as we could to attend this game - not that we needed much encouragement: we have very strong feelings regarding Ireland and the current political situation, but we were concerned that we would be stopped at the airport by the police and prevented from travelling. We knew that they would be all over us and would know our arrangements, but we were assured on more than one occasion that they did not have the power to stop us. It was also mentioned that there were certain people involved who would see to it that we would make it to the match. At the time, I personally felt that this was all talk, but looking back on what happened, I do feel it could well have been true and that there were people who wanted us at that game. Our objective was to try as best as we could to get to Dublin, to fire up the English support and, if at all possible, to disrupt the match in order to obtain as much media attention as possible. The whole point was to discredit the British government over the Anglo-Irish peace process. The media were televising the match live and there is nothing they like better than seeing the English supporters on the rampage, and we knew that as well as us, there were other groups who were doing their best to get to the game and put on a show. England fans are different from your average club fans. They feel they have a point to prove, and what better place to prove it than Dublin, and against a team made up of players of every nationality you could think of whose manager can only be described as ‘Judas’ and a traitor to his country? England supporters are proud of the fact that they are English, and although the vast majority would not call themselves racist in any way, they are very nationalistic in that they love their country. Most of the ones I know feel that they should be treated with respect when they travel, and when this does not happen, they will go on the offensive and start to play up. The fact that most have been on the receiving end of bad treatment by the foreign police on more than one occasion does not help and it is very easy to spread bad feeling among England supporters if you really want to do it. We were all surprised at how easy it was to get to Dublin. At the airport in England we had no problems and the same can be said of our arrival in Ireland. We actually travelled out on the Tuesday, along with a few other firms, and although there was a bit of grief along the way, this was just a continuation of some trouble at a Cup game earlier in the season. But I have to say that we were not attempting to hide the fact that we were England fans in any way whatsoever. Once we arrived in the city, we met up with other groups and the mood throughout was one of surprise that we were, in general, being left to get on with it. Rumour was out that a large number of C18 had arrived earlier in the week, having come via different routes to avoid being detected and deported, and that they were being looked after by members of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, one of the organisations with which C18 has established links since the introduction of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. That night we found a bar, settled in and kept being visited by small groups doing the rounds. They told us that a few of the English fans were fighting among themselves but that it was all very quiet, really, as the locals had no intention of getting involved in anything. On the day of the match, we found ourselves joined by many familiar faces and the number of England supporters grew steadily, which meant that the atmosphere grew more hostile by the minute. News of pubs being decorated with Loyalist slogans, plus the odd fight, helped to generate the kind of feeling we were expecting to find at such an important fixture. There was plenty of BNP literature being distributed and most of the talk was not about the football, but about what was going to happen once we were inside the ground. Anybody could have seen the intention that day and everyone involved was getting well fired up. When we left the pub, we marched to the ground and for the first time started to put on a bit of a show. We had accumulated a large mob by now and it looked as if the police just wanted to get us off the streets and into the ground as quickly as possible. The security system they had set up was a joke. It just did not work - we went straight through them and up to the turnstiles. It was at this point that I started to believe that we would actually make it as up to then I had been half expecting a tug at any second. Inside the stadium the atmosphere was electric, full of violence, expectation and hate. As well as the usual faces there were a lot of boys I had never seen before whipping it up. What also surprised me was that there were Irish supporters in the same section as us and, as a consequence, they were getting punched and kicked at random. The police seemed powerless to stop it, so many of these Irish fans started to leave. As kick-off time grew closer, the chants of ‘No surrender to the IRA,’ and ‘Ulster is British’ predictably became louder and you could clearly see how the majority of the English fans were being manipulated by the number of BNP members present. (This may seem an odd thing to say, but I personally believe that the majority of English people feel the same way as we do on most things but need to be with like-minded individuals or groups before they are prepared to stand up and say what it is they really think.) Some of the English lads were wearing balaclavas, which is a bit unusual for us, but these, together with a few others, had by now begun throwing things down on to the people in the section below. We had well and truly arrived, and it quickly became obvious that we were in total control of that part of the stadium and had really stirred everyone up. It was clear that it was going to go off big-time, and with the attention of the media fully upon us by now, we suddenly realised that here was the chance for us to let the world know how we really felt about Northern Ireland. Football had given us the moment, but the game itself had become what it always is for us: secondary to the objective which we had set out to achieve. As I have said, our initial aim was to disrupt the match, but by now we were getting confident that we could actually get the game abandoned. As the Irish anthem played, we did our best to drown it out with ‘Sieg Heils’ and other singing while the police were still leaving us to get on with whatever we wanted. It would have taken a very brave, or very stupid, policeman to step into such a mob and try to drag someone out at that point, and this lot did not seem ready to do it at all. By this time, people were starting to rip up the seats and arm themselves because most of us were expecting the riot police to come in at any moment, which would have been the signal for it to really kick off. As it was, things took a different direction when the Irish scored. It sent some of the lads off and suddenly there was total mayhem. I remember thinking that these pictures would be going out live in pubs and clubs all over Britain and that most places in Europe would also be watching. That gave me the biggest buzz I have ever had at a football match. Most of us could see the fans below running on to the pitch and there were fights breaking out as they were both English and Irish, but that didn’t matter to us at all because we had a political point to make. I must say, though, that once the riot police started to target the English lads on the pitch, we started to feel different and began to turn our attention towards them. It was a while before we realised that the players had been taken off, and then the announcement came that the game had been abandoned. The feeling of power that gave us was incredible. We had achieved more than we could possibly have hoped for, because news of this would travel around the world. The feelings of the BNP were well and truly known and the fact that we could orchestrate such an event would send a strong message to our opponents. The BNP would no longer be ignored and would be talked about at every breakfast table and at every place of work the following day. Once the ground was clear and we had burned ourselves out, we were introduced to the riot police. It was clear that they wanted us out of the stadium and, I suspect, away from the media eye as quickly as possible. As we left, they directed us to the ferry port and we were escorted by policemen who were more than a little unhappy by this time. The fact that we were starting to buzz again did not help, and we were now giving out as much verbal as we could to anyone we saw. As we had travelled by plane, we tried to break away from the escort but the police told us that arrangements had been made for us to be taken to the airport from the ferry terminal. But when we arrived at the port, they kept us hanging about for a while and then told us to get on the boat. When some of the lads started to play up about wanting to go to the airport, the police began to get heavy and hit out with their batons. We could see that things were starting to get a big dodgy because the police were singling people out for hidings and so we decided to run on to the ferry and travel that way. Looking back on it, I hate to think what would have happened had we insisted on being taken to the airport. As it turned out, the boat was quite a laugh because the buzz was still going and many of the BNP groups were on board, and although a few people had taken a beating, the mood was unbelievable. When we arrived back in Holyhead the media circus was in full swing, but we avoided the attention. There’s always someone who is prepared to have their face flashed across the TV screens, but it isn’t me. The thing that really surprised us about this whole incident was the cover-up in the British press over the next few days. At first most of the daily papers carried stories about the BNP involvement in starting the whole thing off as well as giving coverage to C18, but within days that had been taken out of the equation and it was merely ‘football fans’ with the same tired old cliches. No mention of the Far Right, our objective or the political situation which was the catalyst for the whole thing. I still find it unbelievable that the game was staged in the first place, and I’m sure that the government were aware of what was almost certainly going to happen from the minute the fixture was arranged. The police in both countries must have voiced their concerns all along, but still it went on and we were allowed to attend. Maybe we were just meant to be there. |
Posted By: Claret Murph
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 6:52am
 ------------- Lansdowne Road debut aged 52 and 201 days . |
Posted By: gspain
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 10:34am
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We should have won at Wembley but it was the 2 Polish games we really blew. Battered them at home and couldn't score. Then 3-1 up in Poznan and coasting and we gifted them 2 goals. Winning either game would have been enough. |
Posted By: Devrozex
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 11:27am
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From Yoco Santos's post about 'Everywhere We Go':
"That gave me the biggest buzz I have ever had at a football match."
What an utterly pathetic individual.
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Posted By: pre Madonna
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 11:32am
------------- Greed has won, big finance has won. Whatever small role elite clubs still play in the local communities from which they grew is dwarfed now by their position as global brands. |
Posted By: SuperDave84
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 11:59am
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Absolute scutter from a misguided idiot. Does he think making schoolchildren cry furthers a political point? A few choice excerpts: "Most of the [England fans] I know feel that they should be treated with respect when they travel, and when this does not happen, they will go on the offensive and start to play up." So when you aren't treated with respect, you are pretty much the opposite of magnanimous? Classy. It reads like "When anyone looks at us funny, we are happy to use it as an excuse for violence." Secondly: "It was clear that it was going to go off big-time, and with the attention of the media fully upon us by now, we suddenly realised that here was the chance for us to let the world know how we really felt about Northern Ireland." Yeah, because a riot and an abandoned football match is really going to change opinions around a centuries long struggle. Nuances are lost on idiots like this. Thirdly: "By this time, people were starting to rip up the seats and arm themselves because most of us were expecting the riot police to come in at any moment, which would have been the signal for it to really kick off." Is that why they were throwing the same stuff onto families below? By their own admission "the locals had no intention of getting involved in anything". Finally: "The thing that really surprised us about this whole incident was the cover-up in the British press over the next few days. At first most of the daily papers carried stories about the BNP involvement in starting the whole thing off as well as giving coverage to C18, but within days that had been taken out of the equation and it was merely ‘football fans’ with the same tired old cliches. No mention of the Far Right, our objective or the political situation which was the catalyst for the whole thing." Mentioning a cover up, while at the same time, earlier in the article saying this about BNP papers "All I can say to that is that if they do not like our papers, then they shouldn’t buy them - it is, after all, a free country." I wonder is this chap completely irony impaired? He seems to have a problem with newspapers printing what they like if he doesn't agree with them, but no problem where they do. I cannot believe I have to share oxygen with idiots like this guy. ------------- 
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Posted By: Devrozex
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 12:09pm
| He is hopelessly misguided/ignorant as you say - and consumed by hate. A pointless existence if ever there was one. |
Posted By: d13dave
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 3:38pm
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Ridiculous piece alright. what an oxygen thief the far right today are pathetic boneheads but no real danger to society in my opinion. Too drunk stupid and disorganized. Far more interested in having a tear up with themselves. I am still awaiting the mass thrashing of Muslim owned property in France and the UK in the wake of Charlie Hebdo, Lee Rigbys murder and even as far back as the London bombings. (function () {
return window.SIG_EXT = {};
})() |
Posted By: d13dave
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 4:18pm
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the terraces at lansdowne. miss them so much  absolutely bonkers goal celebrations. must have been 300 people on the pitch most of the 1991 game. what a header by cas
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Posted By: dunloybhoy
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 4:54pm
agreed. a total and utter moron of the highest order. ------------- put em under pressure! |
Posted By: FREEWHEELER
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 4:54pm
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[QUOTE=d13dave] the terraces at lansdowne. miss them so much absolutely bonkers goal celebrations. must have been 300 people on the pitch most of the 1991 game. what a header by cas ] Was on the North Terrace that day with a busted knee from playing ball the previous Sunday, jumped around knowing no pain when Cas's superb header went it. Scoring against England always did that. ------------- We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll keep the Green Flag flying high......Shamrock Rovers will never die, we'll keep the Green Flag Flying high. 19 Leagues and 25 Cups..... |
Posted By: d13dave
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 5:00pm
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why were there always fans in front of the south terrace? i was a bit too young and too small to notice the commotion at the front of the terrace when i stood on it. The old Landsdowne was a decrepit windy kip but it was our decrepit windy kip. A real fortress |
Posted By: brissy
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 11:23pm
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Posted By: brissy
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 11:27pm
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Interesting read. Still dont agree with the clown, some of my mates got tickets for the terrace and they said the atnosphere was unreal before they start throwing missiles, heard the garda enjoyed them selfs awell with some of the right wing clowns.
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Posted By: BabbsBalls
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 12:22am
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Would give anything to have the old Lansdowne back . The new one is cursed ------------- l hear you are a racist now, father ? |
Posted By: irish boogie
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 12:49pm
I was in terrace just beside the stand they were in and the atmosphere was unreal but you could feel the hatred from them. It was great watching the Gardai finally laying in to them. Hopefully it won't be anything like that this year. ------------- Thank You Torun and Tyskie |
Posted By: Drumcondra 69er
Date Posted: 07 Feb 2015 at 2:37pm
Kane just scored one very similar to big Cas' goal here. Gutted that lad has his heart set on England, he's exactly what we need. ------------- Blog: http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI Twitter: @afalsefirstxi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afalsefirstxi/" rel="nofollow - A False First XI |
Posted By: NewtNewbie
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2015 at 11:55am
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Interesting item about it here. http://www.the42.ie/lansdowne-roads-riots-921125-Feb2015/" rel="nofollow - http://www.the42.ie/lansdowne-roads-riots-921125-Feb2015/ From the Telegraph's Henry winter, who was there on the night: “It was an embarrassing night from the England fans’ perspective. I thought it was an embarrassing night from the English Football Association’s perspective too because if you go to someone’s house and trash the place, you apologise immediately — and they didn’t.” |
Posted By: Denis Irwin
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2020 at 12:59pm
25 years ago today  ------------- Eamonn Dunphy:"I'll tell you who wrote it, Rod Liddle, he's the guy who ran away and left his wife for a young one". Bill O'Herlihy: Ah ye can't be saying that now Eamonn |
Posted By: t_rAndy
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2020 at 1:07pm
Jaysus. I’ll be 60 in the same amount of time in the other direction
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Posted By: Double Maxim
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2020 at 1:22pm
------------- Double Maxim without doubt the greatest drink in the world |