For anyone who grew up during the 1990s watching the Irish national team, it must have seemed like they belonged at the top table of international competition. Unlucky not to make the semi-finals at Euro ‘88, they then qualified for two World Cups on the bounce, and racked up some significant scalps on their way. At the beginning of the new millennium, there they were again, one penalty shoot-out away from a quarter-final berth. For a good 14 years, Irish…