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Well, that’s it.  Our dreams of soccer glory died yesterday as we watched the Republic of Ireland soccer team lose to Spain.  But we showed the world that we do defeat with dignity and pride.

Every member of the Irish team walked on to that pitch last night wanting to win. They hoped beyond hope that they would give us a good performance and do us all proud.  We hoped they would too. Alas, it wasn’t to be. They lost by 4 goals in a very public arena with the world watching.  But they played to win. I firmly believe that.

Our supporters have been full of good humour throughout the competition. They made us laugh with their antics, embarrassed their mammies on occasion, and they lived in hope of a victory for the Irish team.  Towards the end of the game we were 4 goals down. There wasn’t even the slightest hope of Ireland getting a score. It was then that the supporters came into their own.

Knowing we couldn’t win and we were going out of the competition, the disappointed Irish fans put their hearts and souls into singing “The Fields of Athenry” for their team, and for their country.

They sang to say:

We’re proud that Ireland got this chance to compete.

We’re glad we came all this way to join in.

We know you players did your best and we appreciate that.

We’re proud of you and we’re proud to be Irish. We’re all in this together.

If this video clip brings a little tear to your eye or makes your spine tingle, you have just got a little glimpse into what it feels to be Irish right now.

Irish and proud.

Video via kylowawa12