IFA Programme 2016

EURO 2016 IT WAS MAGNIFIQUE!

Cunningham Peacock reflects on the ‘magic’ of Northern Ireland’s participation at Euro 2016 in France.

I travelled back from the homecoming party in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter with a great feeling of satisfaction. There was magic in the air. I had seen our team and the backroom staff come on stage to take a bow and to enjoy the cheering and singing of us fans. I had heard Michael O’Neill’s stirring speech about the team’s achievement and about his hopes of a bright future. My mind was full of the sheer joy of being a Norn Iron fan when things go well. Arriving home I found that we had a visitor. My English mate Charlie has no television and had called round to watch England versus Iceland. The match was still in progress but England were way off the pace. It was certain that the Three Lions would not be having a ‘welcome home’ party. My family, always good neighbours, were serving Charlie tea and sympathy. It was then that I grasped for the first time the enormity of what Michael and the lads had achieved. The European Championship finals tournament of 2016 was not just another one that we watched with wistful longing, dreaming of what might have been. Instead our dream came true - and how! It was sheer magic. My experience of Euro 2016 began way back on 12 December last year when I sat down to watch the draw live from Paris. I dressed for the occasion, of course. I hunted in the back of the wardrobe and found my Mexico ’86 World Cup jersey (the authentic white alternative strip). I took it out of the cellophane for the first time in 30 years. This was a very special day. Europe was throwing a party and my favourite team, so often also-rans, were part of the show. At the draw Michael O’Neill did us proud, smiling and looking confident as we drew the world champions. Well, as the song says, if you don’t have a dream how you gonna have a dream come true? I had started to believe in magic. My experience of France was one of sheer joy. The fans of the different countries dressed in team colours mingled with friendly banter and raucous songs. They got together for group photos. Everyone entered into the carnival atmosphere. In Paris there was a tourist display put on by all the qualifying countries. The two girls in charge of the Visit Northern Ireland stand told us that they usually work in premises opposite Belfast City Hall. But some

kind of magic had whisked them away and placed them in the sunshine on the banks of the Seine. Yes, magic was in the air. How else could it be that so many fans shared my experience in Lyon? Lots of my mates claim that, like me, they knew in advance how we would score. As Oliver Norwood took that free-kick on the left wing in the 49th minute, I knew, I just knew for certain that big Gareth McAuley would get his head to it and that those powerful neck muscles would send the ball like a bullet into the back of the Ukrainian net. How did we all know in advance? It was part of the magic of the occasion. Then there were the magic celebrities. Was that really the Coleraine-born film star Jimmy Nesbitt swanning around the centre of Lyon, saying hello to everyone? Isn’t he a hobbit? Seeing a hobbit in the street is magic. I met Chris Brunt at the airport in Paris and told him how sorry I was that injury had ruled him out of the greatest show on earth in 2016. He was philosophical. “It’s just one of those things,” he said. On the flight home I recognised one of my favourite Norn Iron players of all time. Big Iain Dowie noticed my Mexico ’86 jersey and said hello. The singing of our fans was magic too. We didn’t beat the Germans, but we outsang their fans. As Michael McGovern was saving every shot and header from Muller, Ozil, Goetze and co, we were giving him massive musical encouragement. In one priceless moment, when our fans paused for breath, we actually could hear the Germans singing, so we struck up “We didn’t know you were there”. That evening in a Paris bar packed with fans of many nations we watched on television the match between Turkey and the Czech Republic, a match which would decide our future at the tournament. When the final whistle ended the game with a Turkish victory, we all burst into song. “We’re not going home,” we sang. A group of Austrian fans nearby looked totally bewildered. “Was ist das?” they asked, not realising that they were witnessing yet another Northern Ireland team making history. What is the German word for magic? Now for the Russian World Cup…

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