TV3’s Italia ’90 in reprise (Thurs) was an enjoyable enough if elongated two hours, though the absence of RTÉ/English language footage from the games and the reaction back home, detracted from the exercise.

Jack Charlton’s co-operation was possibly dependent on the whole Dunphy ‘Birogate’ /’ashamed to be Irish’ episode not being brought up (he didn’t actually say that, but what the heck). Which is a bit like reflecting on JFK’s trip to Dallas without mentioning Lee Harvey Oswald.

The anecdotes were great, and well told. I particularly liked John Aldridge’s admission that, during the second-phase tie with Romania, his hamstring went so he decided, before being taken off, to try and knobble their playmaker and man-of-the-match Georgi Hagi. He hammered into him onto the halfway line, a tackle that would have merited a straight red nowadays, forgetting he could have been sent off and missed the World Cup quarter-final against Italy should Ireland get through, which of course they did. “Fortunately I only got a yellow,” Aldo smiled. Given the colour of Georgi’s strip, that he did, in more ways than one.