Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

With all the recessionary talk, it is great to have sport to raise one's spirits. Earlier this week we watched the match in Limerick which helped raise spirits there. Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Croke Park to watch the Ireland v Poland game. I was in the Polish crowd and was a little confused at the start. Given that it was Croke Park, all the red and white flags would lead one to think one was with Cork supporters. The fact that I could not understand the accents added to the impression. It was a fantastic spectacle. There were 75,000 spectators, Irish residents of different nationalities and ages, watching teams made up of 11 residents of Poland and 11 residents of England managed by an Italian.