On Wednesday last (February 6th), 43,112 people attended the international friendly game between the Republic of Ireland and Poland at the Aviva Stadium.An estimated 25,000 of those were Polish born, which to the best of my limited mathematics meant that 18,112 Irish people turned up to watch Trapattoni’s men.
In many ways it was an extraordinary statement of how this country has changed during the past decade or so. Chants of “Polska” “Polska” rang out not only in and around the stadium, but also along the Quay in Waterford at 3pm as lots of red and white clad supporters gathered outside the bus station opposite Dooley’s Hotel as they prepared to take the trip along the motorway to the capital. It brought back memories of last summer when I spent two weeks in Poznan during the course of “Euro 2012”.
