Threetimes theThree Lions have entered Dublin den
England’s visits here for competitive games have followed familiar pattern
Avisit to Dublin by the English national team guarantees one thing: full coffers for the FAI, as the sight of the Three Lions always attracts a full house. On the three occasions England have played a competitive game in Ireland, the FAI’s bean counters may have been happy, but those games were all costly for the home side, even if the hosts went unbeaten.
Here, the Irish Independent delves into the archives to look back on those three occasions in Dublin.
May 19, 1957, World Cup qualifier, Dalymount Park Ireland 1 (Ringstead) England 1 (Atyeo)
Morale in the Ireland camp was low when England landed in Dublin on a Sunday afternoon in May 1957, as the
English had hammered Ireland 5-1 in Wembley just a week earlier.
England came with a strong side, four Manchester United players against another United boy in green, Liam Whelan. The Irish selection committee – there was no manager at the time – made a big call in reaction to the Wembley washout by making changes and there was a big gamble, bringing in Millwall defender Charlie Hurley for his debut to mark Tommy Taylor, who had punished Ireland in London.
Speaking to the Irish Independent ahead of England’s next visit in 1978, Hurley recalled his nerves in ’57.
“I had watched England trounce us 5-1 and thought they were a great team. In fact, I was so impressed that I wondered if it would not be better if I was not picked to make my debut. I was a Third Division South player and these were First Division giants,” Hurley said.
There was a lot on the line in the game, as England needed only a draw in Dublin to qualify for the World Cup finals, while Ireland had to win the game and then away to Denmark to make a play-off.
Spirits were high before a record Dalymount crowd of 47,600 at a time when, for religious reasons, Sunday internationals were rare. When local hero Whelan worked his magic and helped set up Alf Ringstead to put Ireland ahead, a World Cup in Sweden looked possible.
But with one of the most infamous goals scored in Dalymount, Johnny Atyeo headed home in the 89th minute to give England a draw, ending Irish hopes of a first World Cup appearance.
“We deserved to be three goals up when Atyeo scored,” Hurley later said.
“It was an emotional game, we did well, but it was an effort. We were poles apart in ability,” Noel Cantwell noted in Seán Ryan’s ‘The Boys In Green’. “We had only two or three First Division players in the squad.”
“Of all the disappointment which the national team had endured over the previous 30 years, nothing quite compared with this,” Peter Byrne noted in his history of the FAI. “After the humiliation of Wembley, they had fought the good fight in front of an Irish public but still ended up with only heartache.” IRELAND: Goodwin (Bournemouth), Dunne (Luton), Cantwell (West Ham, capt), Nolan (Shamrock Rvs), Hurley (Millwall), Saward (Aston Villa), Ringstead (Sheffield Utd), Whelan (Manchester Utd), Haverty (Arsenal). ENGLAND: Hodgkinson (Sheffield Utd), Hall (Birmingham), Byrne (Manchester Utd), Clayton (Blackburn), Wright (Wolves), Edwards (Manchester Utd), Finney (Preston), Atyeo (Bristol City), Taylor (Manchester Utd), Haynes (Fulham), Pegg (Manchester Utd).
October 25, 1978, Euro qualifier, Lansdowne Road Ireland 1 (Daly) England 1 (Latchford)
John Giles’ side had a mixed start to the qualifiers for Euro 1980 with a positive 3-3 draw away to Denmark followed by a dull 0-0 draw at home to Northern Ireland. So things were tense football-wise when Ron Greenwood’s England played on a cold Wednesday afternoon.
Ireland had only recently moved their home to Lansdowne Road from Phibsboro, but veteran Charlie Hurley was concerned. “If it was at Dalymount, I’d fancy our chances, the smaller pitch would not suit England, and it was always hard for visiting teams to handle the atmosphere in Dalymount,” he noted before the game.
Qualification was possible for Ireland, but they really needed a win at home against an England side that took a chance on the fitness of Liverpool’s Emlyn Hughes, while Giles took a gamble by dropping Frank Stapleton.
Ireland’s task looked even more difficult after only eight minutes when Bob Latchford scored a scrappy goal for the visitors after a poor clearance by Gerry Daly. Daly recovered to pick up a Liam Brady pass and equalise, but Ireland were denied a famous win when Gerry Ryan’s goal was disallowed.
“It was a game in which both teams definitely had and missed good chances. It was also a very fair result on the day
and one which proved that Ireland had a good and ever-improving team. I was very proud of our display, as I am sure all Irishmen were,” Liam Brady recalled.
So the points were shared, as Dublin breathed a sigh of relief that the game passed off without any crowd trouble, something which was a concern given tensions related to the Troubles.
“The Gardaí were out in force but had their easiest task for some time. The only black note of the afternoon was the booing by a tiny minority of home fans when the British national anthem was played,” the Irish Independent reported. IRELAND: Kearns (Walsall), Mulligan (West Brom, capt), D O’Leary (Arsenal), Lawrenson (Brighton), Holmes (Tottenham), Daly (Derby Co), Grealish (Orient), Brady (Arsenal), Ryan (Brighton), Givens (Birmingham), McGee (QPR). Subs: Stapleton (Arsenal) for McGee, 65; Gregg (Bohemians) for O’Leary, 73. ENGLAND: Clemence (Liverpool), Neal (Liverpool), Watson (Manchester City), Hughes (Liverpool), Mills (Ipswich), Wilkins (Chelsea), Brooking (West Ham), Coppell (Manchester Utd), Barnes (Manchester City), Latchford (Everton), Keegan (Hamburg). Subs: Thompson (Liverpool) for Watson, 22; Woodcock (Nottingham F) for Barnes, 81.
November 14, 1990, Euro qualifier, Lansdowne Road Ireland 1 (Cascarino) England 1 (Platt)
Just six months after they clashed at the World Cup in Italy, Ireland faced England again in the second game of a qualifying campaign for Euro 92, which began with a 5-0 thrashing of Turkey.
Eyebrows – and hopes – were raised in the Irish dressing room just before kickoff when news emerged that England manager Graham Taylor was starting Paul Gascoigne on the bench, a sign he didn’t trust Gazza to cope with a potentially hostile atmosphere in Dublin. Ireland’s players were pleased to see England’s most gifted player benched but were unable to take advantage.
Even with fresh blood like Denis Irwin and Mark Kelly now on the scene,
Jack Charlton stuck with the tried and tested. Ireland were exposed on 67 minutes with David Platt playing a one-two with Lee Dixon to silence the Dublin crowd. Ireland’s bench played a role in the revival as sub Alan McLoughlin played in Steve Staunton whose cross was headed home by another sub, Tony Cascarino.
“England outplayed us for long periods and probably deserved to win, we never came close to fulfilling our potential,” John Aldridge recalled in his autobiography.
In his programme notes for the next home match, Charlton praised both sets of fans for the fact that the 1990 game passed off peacefully. That peace was shattered when England and the hooligan element among their support started the Lansdowne Riot on their next visit in 1995. IRELAND: Bonner (Celtic), Morris (Celtic), McCarthy (Millwall, capt), O’Leary (Arsenal), Staunton (Liverpool), McGrath (Aston V), Whelan (Liverpool), Townsend (Chelsea), Aldridge (Real Sociedad), Quinn (Manchester City). Subs: Cascarino (Aston Villa) for Quinn, 61; McLoughlin (Swindon) for Whelan, 74. ENGLAND: Woods (Rangers), Dixon (Arsenal), Adams, (Arsenal), Wright (Derby Co), Walker (Nottingham F), Pearce (Nottingham F), Platt (Aston Villa), McMahon (Liverpool), Cowans (Aston Villa), Lineker (Tottenham), Beardsley (Liverpool).