An unmarked white bus with a police escort, sirens blaring, carried the French team to the Stade de France. Inside the bus, the players were wearing Basque berets. It was obvious from the way they laughed and waved as they sped through traffic that they French team weren't worried about their imminent match. "Our best enemy," declared the headline in the sports daily l'Equipe , referring to Ireland.
Before the game even started, some Irish fans consoled themselves with the thought that if Ireland lost, at least England wouldn't win the title. Despite the French cliché about le fighting spirit des Irlandais, Ireland has won only two games in Paris in three decades, in 1972 and 2000. Thousands of green jerseys and scarves stood out in the stands, the biggest short-term migration to the continent of the year, bigger than St Patrick's Day.
Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh sat with Irish ambassador Pádraic MacKernan in Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's box. Two other Irish Ministers, Tom Kitt and Martin Cullen, blended into the crowd. The former rugby international Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his wife, Lady Chryss, held court in a private box.
There was no doubt in the minds of the Dubliners around me when I asked who was going to win. "France," they answered in unison. As the score reached 25-5 , a French fan behind me shouted, "We'll play without our arms if you want." At 36-5, I saw an Irishman cover his head with his hands, as if it was too awful to watch. Ah, but the Irish players bounced back, despite the devastating final score of 44-5, applauding the excellent French team. The Irish players stood in two rows, forming a guard of honour for the French to walk through. What good sports the Irish were! Every French commentator said so.
The evening before, Ireland's Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney was guest of honour at the 11th Ireland Fund de France gala fundraising dinner. He was presented with the Wild Goose trophy from the fund's president, Pierre Joannon.
