Two days before drawing the curtain on RTÉ's World Cup coverage, Johnny Giles pulled back a cover of far greater personal significance.
The former footballer was at the house he was reared in on Ormond Square in Dublin's north inner city yesterday to unveil a plaque in his honour in front of about 200 people, many of them family, former neighbours and friends who filled the square with chatter.
The house is in a terrace close to Ormond Quay. The area is undergoing extensive renovations and bears little resemblance to the one where Giles honed his skills. However, it didn't take much to evoke memories.
"To the past residents of Ormond Square, and there's some long gone, I'd like to say a thank you for allowing us to play in the square because windows could be broken and anything could happen. We were moved along quite a few times - people used to say: 'Go on and play on your own side of the square'!" he recalled.
"It's a very, very proud day for me to come and receive this honour. Wherever I went, Ormond Square was always my roots, and you never stray too far from your roots. We played football here from morning 'til night and as far as I'm concerned it was a great grounding."
Giles (65) lived at 7a with his siblings, parents and grandparents until the age of 15, when the family moved to Navan Road. Six months later he joined Manchester United and began a glittering career in which he won two English league titles with Leeds United and 59 caps for Ireland. He later went on to manage Ireland.
Attracting much attention yesterday was the former Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles, who is married to Giles's sister, and flew over especially for the occasion.
The honour was the brainchild of Dublin's deputy lord mayor Aodhán Ó Riordáin, whose praise for the man was tempered with criticism of facilities in the inner city.
"There are no more sporting facilities in this area now than there were when Johnny Giles was kicking a ball around, and that's an indictment of . . . society, I suppose. We can change that, and this might be part of the process," he said.
On the weekend that's in it, it was little surprise when Giles's speech was interrupted by a man in the audience. "Who's gonna win on Sunday?" he shouted. Everybody laughed and Giles casually avoided replying. But he later revealed he quite fancies the look of Italy.
