The following passage is taken from Keane: The Autobiography, which is available to buy here
AFTER TRIPS WITH the Irish team, players would go back to their club at the end of an international week and swap stories with English players and those from other nations about the weird but wonderful Ireland camp.
Everyone had a laugh at the Irish. No one laughed harder than the Irish players telling the stories about the cock-ups, piss-ups and the various impediments you faced as a professional player representing your country. When I was young I told stories. And laughed.
Here’s a good one from Ireland’s qualifying campaign for Euro 96 – towards the end of Big Jack’s time as national team manager.
Because of injury I played only three or four games from the qualifiers. But Dennis Irwin and Paul McGrath were witnesses to this story.
(Ireland’s Tommy Coyne (centre) battles for the ball with Austria’s Christian Prosenik (left) and Johann Kogler during the 1995 European Championship qualifying group six clash at Lansdowne Road in Dublin – PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images)
Ireland were at home to Austria in a vital qualifying game. The day before the match, the team went to Lansdowne Road for a training session. On the way they stopped at a branch of Harry Ramsden’s on the Naas Road.
The photographers were on hand to capture the Irish team tackle their first big challenge of the week: Harry’s Challenge, a giant-sized haddock with chips and beans or peas, with a sweet to follow.
Eat up, lads, urged Jack. Some of the lads tucked into Harry’s Challenge. Then off to Lansdowne Road for the final training session.
Yes, Austria won 3-1. Some of the lads reported that their legs ‘went’ twenty minutes from the end. F**ked. But they’d passed Harry’s Challenge.
(Austria’s Toni Polster (not in picture) scores from a free kick – INPHO/James Meehan)
The story went down a treat in the dressing rooms around England.
Significantly, Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 96 because of that defeat. Holland beat them easily in a play-off game at Anfield. That was Harry’s Challenge.
YouTube credit: jonathanjackson
YouTube credit: CuChoileain
Two harsh reds (second yellow for Parrott) but Parrott’s reaction to the shove from Kean was embarrassing. Falls onto the ground holding his face with the intention of getting Kean sent off. Hopefully there’ll be words about it and we won’t see that carry on from an Irish player again.
@The Bloody Nine: he only did it cause Italy were at it all night, why don’t you give out about all the Italians play acting all night? Ireland played their hearts out tonight
@Darragh Morrissey: Maybe because this could be the only one of the incidents he has seen. It’s a bit hard to comment on what you haven’t seen
@Darragh Morrissey: doesn’t matter, let them do it, we don’t!!!
@The Bloody Nine: what game were you watching? Kean pushed him in his neck and he was highlighting that to the ref, he didn’t go near the ground.
@Darragh Morrissey: this article is specifically about the red cards and that is why I’m commenting about that incident. Italian footballers have been diving since I started watching football in the late 80s, but it’s not a trait I’d associate with us, and I hope it’s not one that creeps in to our game. And yes, we were brilliant tonight!
@The Bloody Nine: I wouldn’t blame Parrott, the Italians are cheats at it all night, the irish players do need to get a bit smarter when it comes to playing these bunch of cheats..
@Fino10: I’m sorry but I disagree. Our lads don’t need to lower ourselves to their level. Imagine if Kean had gone down from Parrott’s little shove, there would be uproar here and about 4 articles about it. And yet there hasn’t been a mention of Parrott’s theatrics.
@The Bloody Nine: There were several incidents throughout the match where the Italian’s went down worse than Parrot under much less contact, and instead of uproar as you suggest your attitude amongst others is indifference as that’s just typical of an Italian side.
I hate diving and play acting it’s an absolute scourge on the game, but the ref tonight booked several Irish players as a result of the Italian’s carry on, including Adam Idah for literally just running past an Italian, so I think that Parrots actions were more a case of him playing the ref on the night to get a fair shake, rather than lowering himself to the level of the Italians.
@The Bloody Nine: I said the Irish lads need to get a bit smarter, I’m not saying roll around and all that, but you certainly have to be able to deal with cheats like the Italians…
@Sean: it’s not a case of me dismissing their actions as typically Italian – I’m just mentioning one major incident, of which this article is about, and giving my opinion as an Irishman of a fellow Irishman’s poor reaction to a harmless push. He didn’t need to go down and he shouldn’t have. Just my opinion is all.
@S: you must have missed it yourself….he goes onto the ground holding his chin after he was pushed.
@The Bloody Nine: I’m just offering mine as someone who watched the whole match to give some context to the incident covered in this article.
Neither of us like that sort of carry on but I’m happy to defend Parrots actions given how the match played out and what the Irish lads had to put up with from the Italians and that ref.
@Sean: I watched the whole game myself and regardless of their carry on I can’t defend that from an Irish player as I wouldn’t from any player. Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for me you’re either against diving/feigning injury or you’re not, there is no inbetween.
@The Bloody Nine: I’m absolutely against it, in fact you wouldn’t find someone more strongly against it than me.
However, in a match situation you’re always told to adjust to the referee, Ireland had amassed several yellow cards off the back of Italian play acting and in the situation I can see why Parrot wanted to make sure the ref was aware of the push from Kean, especially given the incident in the first half, that resulted in two Irish players being booked off the back of an Italian throwing himself to the ground.
I’d like to see it eradicated from the game completely with hefty retrospective bans, but if the other team has been rewarded for it all game I’m not going to jump on an Irish lads case and judge his character for one incident in retaliation.
@Darragh Morrissey: It was beyond soft, absolute disgrace his reaction, he wasn’t even touched in the face. So nothing at all to do with Italy. He needs to be told not to do such a thing again.
@Mark Mc Donnell: well if that’s how you feel about it then you agree that it is a yellow card offense.
@The Bloody Nine: Don’t be so naive!!! Yeah, it’s ugly to see but every team is at it , nice guys win nothing ! Parrot was dead right to do it they were at it all night , we need more of this in the senior ranks at times were to nice!
@Howard wolowitz: it’s got nothing to do with naivety. We absolutely should not be diving trying to get players sent off, and throwing around a couple of cliches doesn’t make it acceptable.
A lot of really good Irish players on show tonight, players with a real edge to them…
The Italians are cheats, the referee no more than ya expect absolutely brutal, poorest I have seen in a while, but on a bright note, loads of really decent players on the Irish U21 team….
Adam Idah’s booking was one of the worst I’ve ever seen he beat his man fairly and was through when the Italian went down holding his face and the linesman called the foul you cannot be a gentleman in a game full of cheats Parrot however was already on a deserved yellow when he pushed Keane so he can have no complaints having said that that was some of the best football ive ever seen from an Irish team it almost takes the sour taste of crappitoni and O’neill from your mouth,the future looks good
After reading this comment section it’s fairly clear that only a handful of people here actually watched the game. The referee bottled it. It was easier to show 2 reds than to not, so he did. He was out of his depth all game. No control.
To reply to the people suggesting Ireland shouldn’t come down to Italian level of theatrics – honestly, if you watched the game you would know what it was night and day, even the way Parrott reacted! An Italian lad literally did a forward flip at one point.