Green Army wins award for sportsmanship

THE Green Army has been congratulated for winning a prestigious French award for sportsmanship.

Irish fans have been applauded across Europe for their exemplary behaviour and the positive atmosphere they brought with them as they travelled from match to match during the Republic of Ireland’s recent Euro 2016 campaign.

Minister for European Affairs, Dara Murphy, congratulated the fans following the announcement by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, that she is to award the Medal of the City of Paris to supporters.   

Speaking in Brussels last week, Minister Murphy said: “The Irish team and supporters who travelled to Euro 2016 really did us proud in France and on the European stage over the last few weeks.

“The fans showed true sportsmanship and the very best of the Irish spirit while in France, which has been a source of great pride for all of us following the championship at home.

 “This is a prestigious award and is great recognition of the positive contribution Irish fans have made to the overall spirit of Euro 2016 and in representing our country abroad. It’s very well-deserved and an award that we can all be proud of.”

As a brief member of the Green Army for the historic win over Italy in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday, June 22 I can attest to the behaviour of the brilliant Irish fans who really made the game an exciting and fun encounter.

All the way, from the packed city centre of Lille to the ground and beyond into the night, their joyful celebrations embodied all that is great about the Irish soccer fan abroad.

We joined the ‘ole, ole, ole’ chanting masses that had completely taken over the Place Charles de Gaulle while, much to the amusement of locals, they kicked footballs high into the air and sang songs about their heroes.

By late afternoon the excitement was reaching fever pitch and it was time to cram onto a sweaty metro for the journey out to the stadium located a few kilometres from the city.

Even though by this stage in the campaign the Irish fans had already earned their reputation for fun and frolics it was still impressive the patience local commuters and families going about their business showed while tens of thousands of young men and some women took over their town.

The atmosphere at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy was electric. I’ve been to a few sporting fixtures both at home and abroad but I’ve never experienced anything like the pre-game thrill that night.

The green and white colours of the Irish fans vastly outnumbered the blues of the Italians but despite the loud and raucous behaviour the French police could only grin and smile at their antics as the hordes descended on the stadium.

There clearly was no sense of tension among the police as they happily posed for pictures, a far cry and a different picture from the images that emerged from the opening stages of the tournament when English fans clashed with rivals in Marseilles.

The noise of the fans inside the stadium nearly took the roof off and when we scored it sealed what had been a great and proud night to be Irish.