‘‘It was unbelievable at the time,’’ he recalled.

‘‘Some of the results - Romania, beating Italy in 1994 - you would think we’d won the World Cup.

‘‘I was at home watching it, jumping on the chairs and celebrating. In the town, all the flags were at the windows and everybody was so happy.

‘‘I think it brought the whole country together. All the lads who played in the World Cup were legends in our eyes.’’

Given knows the renowned travelling support - hopefully including his father and brothers - will follow, but that the bulk of the cheering will be done around television screens thousands of miles away.

And the prospect of returning to join the likes of Charlton, O’Leary and Houghton in the popular Hall of Fame is one which excites him.

‘‘It’s another dream come true to be actually going to the World Cup,’’ he admitted.

‘‘Hopefully, we can do something similar for the fans while we’re out there.

‘‘It’s hard to believe. It’s a great feeling, but I try not to think about it too much.

‘‘I’m sure there’ll be a good section of Irish supporters travelling as well, which will be great.

‘‘They’ll be selling their cars and re-mortgaging their houses to get out there. It was the same for the last couple of World Cups and I’m sure people will be doing that again.’’

Given has already had a taste of what may be to come after his heroics both in the stunning 10-man victory over Holland at Lansdowne Road which put the Dutch out, and the tough play-off test against Iran.

The hysteria produced by the unlikely victory over Louis van Gaal’s men, courtesy of Jason McAteer’s lone strike, may have given the players an inkling of what the response will be if they can match the achievements of their forebears in the Far East.

‘‘It was an eventful afternoon all right,’’ admitted Given.

‘‘The pressure before the game was intense because Holland had to come and win.

‘‘But we won in the end and with 10 men for half an hour. The odds were thoroughly stacked against us, but the lads all stood up to be counted and we got a great result that day.

‘‘The atmosphere was immense. Lansdowne Road was bouncing, as I’m sure the whole of Ireland was when we got through the play-off games.

‘‘We’ve had some heartache in them over the last couple of competitions, so it was nice to put that to bed as well and get through.’’

Given will head off to join up with his team-mates having established himself as one of the most consistent keepers in the Barclaycard Premiership.

His form for Newcastle has been one of the key pillars of their recent success, and he has, in part at least, deputy Steve Harper to thank for that.

Given’s ability has never been in any doubt, but the fact Harper has been breathing down his neck for three seasons now means he is never in any doubt as to the fate which awaits him if he lets his standards slip.

Now 25, he arrived at St James’ Park in the summer of 1997 from Blackburn Rovers after then boss Kenny Dalglish stumped up €2.4million to snatch him from under the nose of Sunderland counterpart Peter Reid.

He has worked hard to hone his art after at one point - he later admitted, unwisely - submitting a written transfer request after losing his place to Harper.

And the perfectionist that he is, he still feels there is room for improvement.

‘‘I’m hopefully going in the right direction,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m still learning and trying to become better. You’re always learning in every game, and the more games you play, the more experience you get.

‘‘I’m only 25 and people say goalkeepers come good when they’re maybe 30 and in their prime, so hopefully I can keep improving and become better.

‘‘I think I’ve improved, definitely. When I first came here, I didn’t have the experience I have now, and playing games like the one in Iran with Ireland gives you that.

‘‘There were 100,000 in the crowd and it was hostile. They were throwing rockets and crackers and oranges and apples, and you’ve just got to learn from those things.

‘‘It’s all good experience and you take it all on board and learn from those situations.

‘‘When I came here, I was only 21 and hadn’t played a lot of games, so I was really starting out as a goalkeeper in a way.

‘‘I just feel as if I’ve played more and gained a lot of experience, and I’ve improved.’’

Given will return to pre-season training in July with a little more experience under his belt ﷓ and maybe a place of his own in Irish football’s expanding book of fairytales.