{"id":402165,"date":"2026-03-24T23:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T23:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/402165\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T23:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T23:31:15","slug":"ireland-fan-from-famous-photo-heads-back-to-prague-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/402165\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland fan from famous photo heads back to Prague \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of months after Ireland<\/a> last played in the Czech Republic<\/a>, Karl McGrath ambled through the doors of his local bank only to be greeted by an enlarged image of himself \u2013 two cigarettes dangling from his mouth, a Tricolour painted across his face and an Irish-themed Viking hat perched upon his head. Ah, yes, Prague. <\/p>\n

Steve Staunton\u2019s Ireland lost that Euro 2008 qualifier 1-0, in effect ending their ambitions of playing in the tournament. <\/p>\n

As visiting photographers scanned the stadium for Ireland fans in September 2007, David Maher of Sportsfile spotted one \u2013 in the Czech section \u2013 with two cigarettes hanging from his teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like I\u2019m staring right down the lens of the camera, but I had no idea there was even a photographer there. That photo gave me my 15 minutes of fame,\u201d McGrath says. <\/p>\n

The photo would later be shortlisted in the Press Photographers Ireland awards \u2013 hence why months later McGrath\u2019s mush was staring back at him in the bank.<\/p>\n

What the image doesn\u2019t show though, just out of shot, is McGrath\u2019s friend Jimmy Sloan \u2013 affectionately known as Jimmy the Gap \u2013 waiting for a smoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got two fags in my mouth because I was about to light them both and give one to Jimmy. They weren\u2019t both for me,\u201d says McGrath, who is originally from Dublin but lived in Galway for years before setting off on his travels. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat photo was taken just at the end of the match. Our chances of qualifying were gone and that\u2019s why I have the glum expression on my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following morning, unaware the photo even existed, McGrath got himself to the airport for an early flight home. On landing, his trip continued across the midlands until a pit stop in Tullamore, Co Offaly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mate comes out of the shop with three of the tabloid papers,\u201d McGrath recalls. \u201cHe says, \u2018Well done, langer, you are after getting yourself on page three and you didn\u2019t even have to take your top off\u2019. I started getting texts saying, \u2018Have you seen the paper today?\u2019. Turns out that picture was used nearly everywhere. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it had all died down, I was going to make a deposit or something in the bank one day and there the photo was again. I thought the whole thing was hilarious, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StephenStephen Hunt tackles Jan Polak of the Czech Republic during the European Championships qualifier in Prague in September 2007. Photograph: Donall Farmer\/INPHO <\/p>\n

It emerged there was also another photo, which appeared in one of the Czech papers and shows both protagonists. And in that picture, McGrath\u2019s friend Jimmy is holding the two cigarettes.<\/p>\n

It is 19 years since Ireland last played in Prague and indications are that several thousand ticketless Irish supporters are making their way to the Czech capital for Thursday\u2019s World Cup playoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ireland only received an allocation of 1,024 tickets for the 19,730-capacity Fortuna Arena.<\/p>\n

In 2007, the Czech game was part of a double fixture window, with Ireland having played in Slovakia four days earlier. McGrath and co spent three days in Bratislava, three days in Vienna and three days in Prague.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the lads still shudder when you mention that trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, naturally, it produced a sackful of memories. In particular McGrath remembers Irish fans congregating on Staromestske Namesti \u2013 Prague\u2019s Old Town Square tourist hotspot.<\/p>\n

One imaginative supporter somehow got hold of an umbrella and immediately began a new, impromptu career as a tour guide. A couple of fellow mischievous Irish supporters got in on the act by congregating around the umbrella-wielder, fawning attentiveness and pseudo-amazement at the pearls of Prague wisdom being dispensed by the leader of the pack. The procession grew larger.<\/p>\n

Soon, an eclectic collection of merry Irish fans and confused tourists were traipsing around the square, nodding in fascination as Swanlinbar Se\u00e1n sagely outlined the difference between the Baroque and Gothic architectural styles.<\/p>\n

\"KarlKarl McGrath during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just some Irish lad with an umbrella. I mean, he\u2019d probably never been to Prague in his life before,\u201d McGrath says with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet there was a bunch of people following him around the square listening attentively. He\u2019d point at a building, mutter something and they\u2019d all go, \u2018Ah, okay\u2019. Then he\u2019d just carry on walking and they\u2019d follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until the charade eventually reached a cultural crossroads. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt one of the corners of the square, they came across a group of Hare Krishnas coming in the opposite direction. They were chanting their mantra.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irish fans quickly considered the potential of this encounter before dutifully tucking in behind their new pals and filling the square with an impromptu melody.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all started singing, \u2018There\u2019s only one Hare Krishna, there\u2019s only one Hare Kirsihna\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swanlinbar Sean\u2019s Prague Tours officially ceased trading soon after. <\/p>\n

As for the game itself, Ireland needed to win. Slovakia had snatched a 2-2 injury-time draw in Bratislava, so Prague was a last stand. <\/p>\n

It was an Ireland team that included Shay Given, Richard Dunne, John O\u2019Shea<\/a>, Kevin Kilbane<\/a> and Robbie Keane<\/a>. But the Czechs, who had Milan Baros and Tom\u00e1s Rosicky playing, won courtesy of Marek Jankulovski\u2019s early goal.<\/p>\n

Like many supporters of a certain vintage, McGrath\u2019s flame for following Ireland teams across the globe was ignited during the Jack Charlton<\/a> era. He reckons his away trips are somewhere north of 50 at this stage. His first was USA \u201994.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually heading over there at the time to live in Boston, but of course we flew into New York for the first couple of weeks. When I finally moved up to Boston, most of the money had already been spent,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

McGrath didn\u2019t have a ticket for Giants Stadium, but watched Ireland\u2019s 1-0 win over eventual finalists Italy in Manhattan\u2019s much-loved Irish watering hole McCormack\u2019s Pub on Third Avenue. It closed its doors in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe throngs of Irish in New York that day was a sight to behold. I still say it\u2019s one of the best days of my life. I suppose that\u2019s the high I\u2019ve always been chasing ever since. Those games, they kind of give you landmarks in your life: you remember where you were and who you were with.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGrath has been living in the Spanish seaside town of Palam\u00f3s, north of Barcelona, for more than a decade now. But he won\u2019t be there for the next few days. Instead, you\u2019ll find him in Prague.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d better believe it,\u201d he says with a smile. <\/p>\n

He is not one of the fortunate 1,024 Irish supporters to get a ticket, but McGrath will still be there. He will be joined by many of his seasoned travelling comrades \u2013 some coming in from Amsterdam, others from Vienna, Dublin, Dubai, all over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have started off travelling with a group of lads, but as the years go by and lads start getting married and having kids, they sort of drop out for a bit. So you get to know other people, it keeps evolving and changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

For while it\u2019s back to Prague this week, much remains the same, but much is also different. Everything is once again on the line for Ireland against the Czechs, but the fans travel with giddy excitement on this occasion rather than gloomy resignation.<\/p>\n

As for the smokes, Karl McGrath gave those up years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple of months after Ireland last played in the Czech Republic, Karl McGrath ambled through the doors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,11022,52,18,13,14,1878,6,19,17,165323,11,12,15,16,5,2639,6634,4335,7,8,35350],"class_list":["post-402165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-czech-republic","tag-dublin","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-galway","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jack-charlton","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-prague","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt","tag-soccer","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-world-cup"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116286762759672523","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}