With the launch of our brand-new Castore Women’s shirts today, we’re celebrating by taking a nostalgic look back at five of our favorite home shirts from yesteryear.
5. 2010-2011 Umbro Home Shirt
This “Tailored by Umbro” effort came in a shade of green known as St Patrick. The white V-neck and cuffs, gold stitching and cotton like material gave the shirt a real retro vibe, which was complemented by white shorts with green trim and green and white hooped socks. The shirt was worn in a glamour friendly against Argentina, which was also the first international game at the revamped Lansdowne Road (Aviva Stadium). A clean and timeless design.
4. 1986 Adidas Home Shirt
This shirt had its first airing in a friendly match against Wales, played at Lansdowne Road on 26th of March 1986. It is also associated with our participation in the triangular cup held in Iceland that same year. Victories over Iceland and Czechoslovakia meant that this was the first time we ever won a tournament! This competition also gave Big Jack his first proper chance to really work with the players and implement the style of play that would be instrumental to his tenure as Ireland boss. A simple shirt with a gorgeous shade of green, three white stripes on the sleeves and a traditional shamrock crest. Sometimes simplicity is best.
3. 1990-1992 Adidas Home Shirt
The shirt worn in that incredibly special Italian adventure in 1990. The chevrons in the material were nicely complimented by the orange and white collar, three stripes on the sleeves and the FAI badge with the green shamrock and orange surround. Who can forget Kevin Sheedy’s thunder strike against England, Niall Quinn’s equaliser against Holland, Pat Bonners save from Daniel Timofte and of course the immortal words by George Hamilton “The nation holds its breath” before David O’Leary slammed home his winning penalty in the shoot out against Romania.
2. 1978-1982 O’Neill’s Home Shirt
An absolute classic. This vivid green with yellow and white trim and shamrock on shield effort is near perfection. O’Neill’s collaboration with the Ireland soccer team on this kit was the company’s first venture into the international soccer market. This jersey is synonymous with an era which was a mixture of near misses and what ifs for the team. We narrowly missed out on qualification for World Cup 1982 after being on the receiving end of some shocking refereeing decisions. However, outstanding players such as Kevin Moran, Liam Brady, and Frank Stapleton all wore this shirt with great distinction.
1. 1988-1990 Adidas Home Shirt
The shirt that we wore in our first appearance at a major tournament – Euro ‘88. A true masterpiece. Adidas trefoil, three stripes on the sleeves, white mesh panels and the classic FAI badge. This is a jersey that is synonymous with Ray Houghton putting the ball into the English net and securing a famous 1-0 win. And who could forget Ronnie Whelan’s outrageous stunner of a goal in our brilliant performance against the USSR (the eventual runners up)? A shirt that will forever be associated with a magical summer where we introduced both our team and our fans to the big stage.
So, which is your favourite Ireland home shirt of all time? Does your choice not feature in our list? Let us know in the comments!