When the Republic of Ireland saw off Bosnia in a tense but thrilling play-off tie last autumn, they became the fourth home nation to reach the Euro 2016 finals. In doing so, they evoked memories of a glorious period for the Irish at the end of the 1980’s and the start of the 1990’s, during which time they reached the final stages of the European Championship for the first time.

Back then, star performers such as Ray Houghton, John Aldridge and Andy Townsend lit up a side that thrived under the stewardship of the iconic Jack Charlton, displaying incredible spirit, determination and organisational skills that contributed to some memorable results. The Irish will be keen to rekindle this spirit, and may see Euro 2016 as the ideal platform for this.

When the Irish were drawn in a difficult group with Poland, Scotland and world champions Germany, few gave them a chance of securing an automatic qualification. The nation performed admirably, however, earning five wins from 10 games and were only denied second place in the group by a 2-1 defeat in Poland during the final round of games. Ireland did win three of their last four matches to secure a play-off place, however, while also taking four points from world champions Germany.

Having draw Bosnia in the play-off tie, Ireland initially secured a 1-1 draw during a tense encounter away from home. This was then followed by a hugely impressive 2-0 win in front of a passionate crowd at Landsdowne Road, where two goals for Stoke City forward John Walters help to guarantee a place on the flight to France.

Despite an impressive epoch of international success between 1988 and 1994, Ireland have featured in just two European Championships since the tournament commenced back in 1960. In fact, they have played just six games during the final stages of competition, winning winning one and losing four. The first came in Germany in 1988, where Ireland went out in the group stages despite beating England with a Ray Houghton goal in Stuttgart. The last appearance at the finals came in 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine, where the Irish lost all three games and shipped nine goals in the process,

If you are interested in backing the Republic for a famous win in France, you can secure average odds of 150/1 with the major bookmakers. Some bookmakers are offering odds as low as 100/1, although it would take an optimist and a world class debating champion to make a compelling argument for them to lift the trophy in July. A lack of fire-power could well be undermine the chances of Irish success in a group containing Belgium, Italy and Sweden, although genuine experience in midfield and defence will make the side difficult to break down.

With goals hard to come by, Ireland will need to be incredibly organised if they are to overcome Belgium and Italy in particular. With the excellent Martin O’Neill in charge, however, the Republic may well ruffle a few feathers and we would not be completely surprised to see them make the knockout stages.

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