Day 94 #100DaysOfOldDays

Photo Challenge by Of Maria Antonia. Choose a prompt from Maria’s list. Today I’ve chosen Black & White.

This is a mural of Englishman Jack Charlton on Ridgepool Road in Ballina, Co Mayo. Jack was a keen fisherman and often fished for salmon on the banks of the River Moy.

Jack Charlton has a very special place in the hearts of the Irish. When he led the Republic of Ireland football team to their first World Cup final in 1990, almost every human being in the country went football crazy. They had the attention and the support of people who weren’t even that much into football.

It was a month like no other! Pubs overflowed with people gathering to watch the games. Some business’s closed early to let their employees off home – others who couldn’t close had big screens up so no one would miss out on a match.

Italia ’90 lifted the spirits of the Irish people. We gathered, we sang, we laughed and we prayed – and all the grannies in the country lit candles for Jack and his team.

The buzz and excitement that we experienced at home, made us less envious of those who were lucky enough to make it to Italy for the finals.

Even though we were disappointed when we lost to the Italian team in the quarter-finals, we remained proud. Half a million people gathered in the streets of Dublin to welcome them home, myself included!

The song, Put ’em Under Pressure nearly caused an earthquake on our wee island several times during Italia ’90. It still gives me happy goose bumps!