Banner sends Green Army to Poland

Hundreds of soccer fans from Clare are travelling to Poland to support Trapp’s Army as they take part in the UEFA European Football Championship Finals, which begin at the weekend.  Ireland will play their first match on Sunday evening against Croatia, watched in Poznan by between 15,000 and 20,000 Irish fans including many from the Banner County.

Burren United’s Donie Garrihy is chairman of the Clare and District Soccer League and he estimates the number of people heading east from the county could be over 1,000.
“Some of my friends from Burren United are gone since Monday by campervan from Dublin and it will take them five days to get there. I will be going on Saturday. I would say there are about 20 going from our club but there are hundreds and hundreds going from around the county, if not thousands,” he told The Clare Champion.
Mr Garrihy believes it is not just Duff and Dunne who are attracting fans from the county, but also Delaney.
“They are gone supporting John Delaney [FAI chief executive] and his team. John Delaney has been very good to Burren United and extremely good to Clare.
“Last year, he visited every club in the county with John Aldridge and Ray Houghton and officially opened Burren United’s facility in Lisdoonvarna. We wanted to repay the faith that he had in us. The FAI gave a €10,000 grant to the Clare and District Soccer League for our facility on the Quin Road. We want to show we are happy to get that and not just sit on our arses. They gave Burren United a €3,500 grant when they were here last year and had left more than €100,000 in Clare by the time they went,” he explained.
Mr Garrihy leaves for Wroclaw on Saturday before driving 200 miles to Poznan. While some have splashed out on the trip, he believes fans can see the Irish team in the Euros without breaking the bank.
“There is a huge fan base of Republic of Ireland fans here and they would have gone to the qualifiers at home and away. We have been saving for this for over a year in the hope we would qualify and then we put our savings towards this trip. Yes, there are people who would have spent €2,000 on flight and accommodation packages but we are doing it on the cheap. The flights cost me €180 return and the ticket, which I got from the secretary of the Clare and District Soccer League, Oliver Fitzpatrick, cost me €75. The car we are renting to take us from Wroclaw to Poznan costs €80. Then we are planning to stay with friends of ours out there for a few nights,” he outlines.
Clare soccer official John O’Malley is a seasoned European Championships fan and will be waving his Avenue United flag at Sunday’s match and all Ireland’s group games.
“I am going in a group of six. There will be me, my young fellow, Alphonse D’Auria and his two sons and another lad, Ross McCarthy.
“We wanted to get a campervan but when we looked into it you couldn’t get insurance. So we are utterly mundane this time, flying into Germany and driving the rest of the way.
“We are flying from Kerry to Frankfurt on Friday and then spending 12 days over there. I have gone to most of the competitions in recent years. They are good fun but it is so long since Ireland qualified I have nearly forgotten. Our plan is to stay for all the group games and then home after that. We will see what happens and what we will do after that,” John said.
Donie believes the Republic of Ireland team won’t let the fans down.
“Ireland will come home unbeaten from the European Championships. They have a fighting spirit, this team. They will come home unbeaten, that is my prediction,” he concluded.