"My name is Tony Considine and I am an addict. I got my first hit on June 18, 1994 in New Jersey when Ray Houghton lofted the ball over Gianluca Pagliuca in the Italian goal at Giants Stadium and I've been chasing the thrill of it ever since."
"That day was my introduction into the travails of following Ireland abroad, having been going to home games since I was nine years old in 1979. Euro '88 came too soon for a penniless student and, while working on the sites in London, I had to take in the magic of Italia '90 via the Irish bars of Kilburn."
Tony Considine frames his devotion to Irish football as an addiction rooted in a defining moment on June 18, 1994, when Ray Houghton’s goal produced an unforgettable high. He has chased similar thrills ever since. He began attending home matches at age nine in 1979 and missed Euro 1988 due to financial constraints as a student. While working in London, he experienced Italia '90 in Irish bars in Kilburn. Decades of following Ireland abroad have combined intense joy in landmark results with enduring hardships and travel-related travails.
Read at Independent
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