Despite the fact that the fans made the most of the situation, the 2012 European Championships were a sobering affair in a strictly footballing sense. Ireland were outclassed in all three group games falling to Croatia, Spain and then Italy. One of the players from that ill-fated campaign, Wexford's Kevin Doyle, was speaking about the circumstances surrounding Ireland's poor performance in the tournament.
Speaking on RTÉ's Game On Doyle talked openly about the training methods as well as the general mood of the Ireland squad in Poland:
We nearly over-trained, over-prepared. It was our first tournament for a long time.
A lot of players were really on edge by the time the tournament came around. There was a lot of snapping. A lot of lads couldn't stand each other before the tournament even started. It was such a letdown after that Croatia game.
Our second game was against Spain, which was even worse. It was all over - it didn't matter about the third game. All over in the space of four or five days after spending two years building up to this. Lads were shellshocked.
Interesting to note the tension that Doyle speaks of and the striker goes onto say that the tournament came two years too late, arguing that the team were at their peak against their World Cup play-off against France in 2010.
Doyle also spoke warmly of former manager Mick McCarthy, who brought the Adamstown native to Wolves from Reading. The current Ipswich manager is under pressure at the Championship side but Doyle had nothing but good things to say of the former Ireland boss:
Mick was very good for me, signed me for Wolves. When he took over Ipswich they were in the bottom three. They've looked like they're going to make the play-offs most seasons he's been there. The owner is not spending any money... Mick has just got on with it.
Doyle then confirmed all our suspicions about McCarthy, explaining that he was one of the managers that players felt able to socialise with:
He'd be the one manager over the years you'd say, 'Jesus you could go for a pint with Mick'. And we did actually.
He was brilliant enough to bring over the Wolves first team when we were in the Premier League to play Wexford Youths in a game. I brought him down to my parents, to my brother's pub and we had a few pints. It was good craic.
Oh to be a fly on the wall at that session.
