Big Jack is celebrated by legends
AS the step dancer delivered a slick routine which revived echoes of ‘Riverdance’, Jack Charlton’s hand drummed lightly against the dinner table, and he smiled.
Once again, he was in tune to the Irish vibe.
At 83, Charlton is not as robust as he once was, and lengthy conversation can be a struggle, but his back remains as straight as a grenadier guardsman.
Crucially, the Geordie continues to command the unswerving loyalty and respect of those players he managed over nine-and-a-half extraordinary years as Republic of Ireland manager.
That allegiance was evident in the great numbers who travelled to Kildare this week for a unique celebration of Charlton at The K Club.
Some, like Niall Quinn, who pulled the gathering together at short notice, only had to walk across the road. It helped that Quinn is ‘well in’ at the K Cub where he is incoming vice-captain next year.
Others, like Terry Phelan made a 16,000-kilometre return pilgrimage from India to be part of the celebration for his former manager.
‘I’m here for Jack,’ he said simply.
Phelan doesn’t play golf but walked the Palmer Course on a sunny Monday afternoon, while Charlton, driven by his son John in a buggy, scooted around the Ryder Cup venue to say hello to his former soldiers in green.
They included those who only got a look-in, such as Gerry Daly, who scored the first goal of the Charlton era against Uruguay in 1986, and Mark Lawrenson, who helped Ireland qualify for Euro ’88 only to be cruelly denied the stage he deserved through injury.
And there were those who never seemed to miss a game, such as Packie Bonner, Paul McGrath and Ray Houghton.
There were former captains too, from Andy Townsend and Frank Stapleton to Mick McCarthy and Kevin Moran, while Chris Hughton took a break from Brighton managerial duties to pop over.
Steve Staunton — like McCarthy, a Charlton stalwart and a former Irish captain and manager — was there, as was Kevin Sheedy, scorer of Ireland’s first goal in the World Cup finals, and Ronnie Whelan too, who finally admitted there was ‘some shin’ on his wonder strike against the USSR in Hannover.
Former Irish tennis ace Matt Doyle, who also knew what it was like to be a ‘foreigner’ embraced by the Irish as one of their own, was also in the Legacy Suite on the banks of the Liffey.
All were drawn by the opportunity to acknowledge Charlton and reflect on a golden period for Irish football when the national team had a grip on the nation’s pulse like never before.
The story of the nine years was retold with panache by RTÉ’s George Hamilton, as master of ceremonies. The peerless Belfast broadcaster, dipped in an out of Euro ’88, Italia ’90 and USA ’94, with wee vignettes of his own experiences as he recalled the unfolding story of ‘Jackie’s Army.’
Like when the Scotland team touched down in Glasgow in November 1987, how a grinning Bonner was on hand with copies of the newspapers for Hamilton detailing Scotland’s win in Sofia a few hours earlier, and the implications for Ireland.
That first tournament was ‘one of our biggest regrets’ according to Houghton, who felt Ireland could have won outright but for the late concession of a goal to Holland.
Houghton was a constant, and consistent, presence through the Charlton era, chipping in with vital winning goals against England in Stuttgart and Italy in the Giants Stadium six years later.
He also converted the second penalty in the shoot-out against Romania in Genoa — he revealed on Monday night he’d never taken a penalty in competition before.
After replays from the finals in Germany and the USA, Hamilton cleverly steered the climax to the Luigi Farraris Stadium in Genoa where he had arrived for work with a bottle of prosecco or two, ‘just in case’ there was need for celebration.
Hamilton somehow smuggled the bottle into his commentary booth and again into the flash zone for the post-match interviews with Bonner and Dave O’Leary, where he uncorked it, and offered the heroes a glass apiece.
At one point in the interview, Hamilton bent down and was promptly doused by the grinning lads. The clip is on YouTube and is worth a squint, if only for Hamilton’s garish shirt.
After watching a replay on screen of the Irish penalties, and Bonner’s save, the former goalkeeper made a point of acknowledging the contribution of the four lads who scored before O’Leary.
Three of them were in the room, the exception being Tony Cascarino who is recovering from a serious health scare.
Charlton didn’t get involved in the penalty shoot-out, and left it to the players to sort things out.
O’Leary assumed responsibility for the running order and told
Sportsmail ‘I decided to take the fifth one as no one else wanted to.’
After Bonner made THAT save, O’Leary revealed Sheedy had advised him to ‘pick your spot and don’t change your mind.’ As ‘a nation held its breath’ , as Hamilton captured it so superbly, O’Leary stuck to his guns.
Jack didn’t say much on Monday but he perked up when a video of himself popped up on the screen, recalling the final moments in Genoa before the penalties where he bummed a fag off an Irish fan to calm down.
And when presented by the K Club with an oil painting depicting a fishing scene, he nodded and smiled.
Irish football can be grateful this fisher of football men cast his net our way.
Allegiance was evident in the great numbers who travelled