Ireland will grind to a halt for Mick's men
Irish icons James Joyce and Padre Pio will be overshadowed tomorrow by Barnsley boy Mick McCarthy.
For while Joyce will be commemorated in Dublin through the annual Bloomsday - marking events in his celebrated novel Ulysses - and Padre Pio, one of the Roman Catholic church’s most revered figures in Ireland, is being canonised by the Pope in Rome, most Irish eyes will be firmly focused on the performance of national football manager McCarthy’s World Cup squad in South Korea.
For the fourth time in just over two weeks, the whole country is set to grind to a near standstill as Ireland - now in the second round of the international soccer tournament - face up to their latest challenge in a tie against Spain.
Pubs and other venues will be showing the match on big TV screens and hundreds of thousands of fans will watch in their own homes.
Most normal activities will he halted as the nation tunes in to watch their football favourites.
Dublin Bus tonight confirmed that only a skeleton service would operate on the streets of the city for the 90 minutes or so that the occasion will last.
Pub landlords are to open their premises early to enable supporters to crowd in for TV coverage while sampling a tipple - stressing at the same time that no booze will be served until the fixture kicks off.
That news was tempered by a repeated warning from Irish health authorities to go easy on the drink.
The country’s Eastern Health Authority pointed again to a ‘‘marked increase’’ in admissions to the casualty departments of hospitals for treatment of booze-linked injuries since the international football kicked off at the start of the month.
The authority’s Dr Marie Le Foy said they were urging caution throughout the weekend and during the remaining weeks of the competition.
She declared: ‘‘Let us all have a good time - and hope that we win.
‘‘But there is certainly a need to be careful because there has been an increasing number of people turning up at accident and emergency with alcohol-related conditions.
‘‘We are particularly concerned about the possibility of road accidents.’’
And the doctor prescribed for football fans: ‘‘Get a driver or get public transport home.’’
She added: ‘‘Drink with food is a lot better than drink without food.’’
Another section of the Irish community concerned about the effects of the World Cup - particularly tomorrow - is the Catholic Church.
No rush of priests volunteering to celebrate mass at 12.30 this Sunday has been reported anywhere in Ireland, according to the church authorities.
Conversely, bars and restaurants have taken a rush of bookings for late Father’s Day lunches in the hours after the scheduled end of the big game.
