Ireland

Home, 2010/12

I've already posted about Ireland in previous posts, so I will just talk about the shirt itself.  For me, this is the best Irish shirt in many, many years. It balances the traditional look, the white v-neck and cuffs, with a nice modern touch in the under-arm stripes.  In terms of inspiration, this harks back to the late 50s/early 60s when the old-style 'rugby' collar was replaced with a v-neck. Seasoned watchers of international shirts will also notice that my particular version is without sponsor, a rarity in Irish shirts (though sites like Classic Football Shirts have started to make these more available). This one was actually under €10 which was a real steal. 

This is part of the 'Tailored by Umbro' range, which saw a more cotton-like feeling material used by the company. As a result, the shirt is particularly nice to wear. It also brought some very nice touches in terms of stitching and the crest, as I hope you can see in the pictures.