Graham Finegan (right) and his son James with their Troy Parrott candles. TheJournal / DavidSneyd
TheJournal / DavidSneyd / DavidSneyd
AMID THE USUAL throng of tourists milling about Prague’s Staroměstské náměstí (old town square) on this crisp Wednesday morning, two Republic of Ireland supporters stand out.
From a distance it is clear they are likely father and son, and it seems to be the latter leading the march.
It soon becomes apparent that their destination is the historic Chrám Matky Boží (Church of Our Lady).
“We have candles to light,” Graham Finegan says.
But not just any aul candles. No, sir. Not in a week like this. Not on a day like this. On the eve of the World Cup qualifier with Czechia, the Newry natives are lighting their homemade Saint Troy Parrott candles.
“Everything is possible for one who believes,” is the message written on the front.
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The old town square is filled with wooden cabins selling sausages and chocolate pastries.
It might be no harm for the Finegans to set up their own stall to cater for the thousands of Ireland fans convening in the Czech capital.
Twelve-year-old James explains just why he decided to get into business.
“So, whenever it was the Portugal match at home, I said, ‘oh, Daddy, can you phone Granny and tell her to light a candle for Ireland so they might win?’ And then whenever we got home, we just decided to make a candle,” he says.
He has got to work since the Miracle of Budapest, making hundreds more for those fans who wish to seek divine intervention.
“He’s a really good footballer. You can trust him with the football. I was so happy when he scored [against Hungary] like,” James says.
Father and son have been season ticket holders at Aviva Stadium for the last four years. “Santa was good enough to bring us two tickets,” Graham says.
“This is our first away game. He’s fairly young and we were sort of focusing on the home games but I think now, you know, when it comes to big games like this, and you realise, ‘oh geez, you need to be going to the away games to get to the big away games’, we’re sort of thinking to ourselves, ‘yeah, we’ll make an effort to get to more of them.’”
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Home fixtures bring an excitement of their own and have quickly become a cornerstone of their relationship.
“Do you know what,” Graham begins. “The games we get to go to together, we really look forward to them immensely. We’ve got the same routine, we drive down from Newry, we park in the same place, all the time we walk we talk the same nonsense on the way to the Aviva, we go into the Mary Cobbler for a fish and chip, we go to the Bath pub for half a pint of Guinness 0.0, because he doesn’t let me finish the whole pint and then we get a wee katsu curry chip in the Aviva.
“You know, that’s the routine, it’s the same all the time, so yeah, it’s class. It’s a brilliant father-son sort of activity, I think, you know what I mean? It’s brilliant.”
Graham and James will be lighting a candle in the hope they secure tickets but, more importantly, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team can keep the World Cup dream alive.
“If we win tonight and if we get to Dublin and win there, then we’ve got a few months of selling candles. We’ll be busy.”
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This father-son team has brought along homemade Saint Troy Parrott candles for a Prague miracle
AMID THE USUAL throng of tourists milling about Prague’s Staroměstské náměstí (old town square) on this crisp Wednesday morning, two Republic of Ireland supporters stand out.
From a distance it is clear they are likely father and son, and it seems to be the latter leading the march.
It soon becomes apparent that their destination is the historic Chrám Matky Boží (Church of Our Lady).
“We have candles to light,” Graham Finegan says.
But not just any aul candles. No, sir. Not in a week like this. Not on a day like this. On the eve of the World Cup qualifier with Czechia, the Newry natives are lighting their homemade Saint Troy Parrott candles.
“Everything is possible for one who believes,” is the message written on the front.
The old town square is filled with wooden cabins selling sausages and chocolate pastries.
It might be no harm for the Finegans to set up their own stall to cater for the thousands of Ireland fans convening in the Czech capital.
Twelve-year-old James explains just why he decided to get into business.
“So, whenever it was the Portugal match at home, I said, ‘oh, Daddy, can you phone Granny and tell her to light a candle for Ireland so they might win?’ And then whenever we got home, we just decided to make a candle,” he says.
He has got to work since the Miracle of Budapest, making hundreds more for those fans who wish to seek divine intervention.
“He’s a really good footballer. You can trust him with the football. I was so happy when he scored [against Hungary] like,” James says.
Father and son have been season ticket holders at Aviva Stadium for the last four years. “Santa was good enough to bring us two tickets,” Graham says.
“This is our first away game. He’s fairly young and we were sort of focusing on the home games but I think now, you know, when it comes to big games like this, and you realise, ‘oh geez, you need to be going to the away games to get to the big away games’, we’re sort of thinking to ourselves, ‘yeah, we’ll make an effort to get to more of them.’”
Home fixtures bring an excitement of their own and have quickly become a cornerstone of their relationship.
“Do you know what,” Graham begins. “The games we get to go to together, we really look forward to them immensely. We’ve got the same routine, we drive down from Newry, we park in the same place, all the time we walk we talk the same nonsense on the way to the Aviva, we go into the Mary Cobbler for a fish and chip, we go to the Bath pub for half a pint of Guinness 0.0, because he doesn’t let me finish the whole pint and then we get a wee katsu curry chip in the Aviva.
“You know, that’s the routine, it’s the same all the time, so yeah, it’s class. It’s a brilliant father-son sort of activity, I think, you know what I mean? It’s brilliant.”
Graham and James will be lighting a candle in the hope they secure tickets but, more importantly, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team can keep the World Cup dream alive.
“If we win tonight and if we get to Dublin and win there, then we’ve got a few months of selling candles. We’ll be busy.”
Written by David Sneyd and posted on TheJournal.ie
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