Irish team return to ecstatic reception in Dublin

Thousands of Irish football fans trekked to a windswept park on the fringe of Dublin yesterday for a welcome home party for Mick McCarthy's World Cup squad.

Policeestimated that 40,000 people turned out but local media reports put the attendance at up to 100,000.

Despite being knocked out of the competition in a disappointing penalty shoot-out with Spain, there was an ecstatic reception for the team and manager when they arrived on stage. Many of the players looked tired after their long journey from Korea.

The celebrations began with an official reception hosted by President Mary McAleese at her official residence, half a mile from the party venue in Phoenix Park. In his address to the crowd, McCarthy said he was delighted at the turn-out. "We were told to expect a reception, but, honestly, we never expected anything like this," he said. "It makes you feel very humble, and also proud to be Irish."

Not only did McCarthy's side put out the highly rated Dutch team on their way to the finals, but they came from behind in three of their four matches and were judged unlucky to end up with mere draws against the more fancied Cameroon, Germany and Spain. Their dismissal at the hands of the star-studded Spanish side came after a penalty shoot-out, so according to official records the side returns unbeaten.

After the team's die-hard performance many fans ­ and some of the players ­ had hoped for a rerun of the massive street party in 1990, when half a million people thronged the streets of central Dublin to welcome Jack Charlton's squad back after losing 1-0 in the quarter-finals to the hosts, Italy.

Early yesterday, however, the government confirmed that for safety reasons it was "reluctantly" accepting a recommendation from the police that the celebrations be held two miles to the west of the city, in the 700-hectare Phoenix Park.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, told reporters that a party at College Green in the city centre would be more atmospheric, but the dense crowds that thronged there in 1990 had created "huge problems and huge tensions" that could not be risked again.

Many fans rang local newspapers and radio stations to complain that the park was too far from the city and had inadequate parking, transport links and facilities for small children. To cap it all, those planning to attend were advised to "dress appropriately" for a damp grassy area offering no shelter from fresh westerly winds and the threat of thundery showers.

The programme for the celebration, screened live on national television, included the Irish pop acts Westlife, Bellefire and Six.

"I think it's a real pity that they've been knocked out but they deserve their applause tonight," said Muireann Ni Loingsigh, a 29-year-old Irish-language teacher. "The atmosphere here was great while they were away, so now it's their chance to have a taste."

Cyril and Patrick Byrne, 17-year-old twins, travelled eight miles across the city by bus and foot to welcome their heroes home. "It's the way we kept coming back, against Germany and Cameroon," said Cyril. "And doing it without Roy Keane and all," added Patrick, referring to the captain who was sent home after a dispute.

Fiona Roche, 33, an information technology instructor from Malahide, north of the city, said that for her the celebration had more to do with national pride than sporting achievement. "I think we are great to celebrate in Ireland. Each result was a bit of a victory because we had such a sense of looming defeat in the beginning. I still think that the Irish have maybe a bit of an inferiority complex. We tend to celebrate more easily than other people might, being a small country with a small population."