The Irish jersey worn by Richard Dunne on THAT night in Moscow, complete with the number 5 scrawled on by marker, has been put up for auction by the FAI.
Dunne had to throw on the replacement jersey midway through the second half against Russia last month after splitting his head open and staining his original shirt with blood when colliding with the athletics track surrounding the track at the Luzhniki Stadium.
The athletics track, of course, came off far the worse from the collision and will soon have to be replaced as a result of damage caused by the crushing impact.
With no number on the back, goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly was forced to draw a number five on the front and back of the Honey Monster’s jersey on a night in which he delivered one of the greatest performances ever seen in an Irish jersey, which prompted Irish fans everywhere to pen Chuck Norris-style tributes to his brilliance.
Our personal favourite? “Santa gave Richard Dunne a ball for Christmas, Richard Dunne then gave Santa a slap for giving the ball way.”
Now, you could be in with a chance of winning the famous shirt in an auction organised to raise money for the Barretstown charity and the National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght.
Just like Dunne isn’t your average player, this isn’t your average auction. Instead of being awarded to the highest bidder, the jersey will be awarded to the ‘lowest unique bidder’; basically the jersey will be awarded to whoever makes the lowest bid that hasn’t been made by anyone else.
Entry to the online auction is €5 and bids will be accepted until Thursday, October 20. The winner will be announced on October 21. All proceeds from the auction will go to Barretstown and the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght.
To enter the auction, you can visit the FAI’s Facebook page, or alternatively, the FAI website.
Commenting on the auction, Dunne said: “I chose two charities that are very close to my heart. One of my neighbours, Stephen Perth, attended Barretstown when he was younger and has returned since then to volunteer on a regular basis. I saw this as my opportunity to support the work he does.
“I also grew up in Tallaght, so I wanted to give something back to my community and chose the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght as the other charity to benefit from this auction. We’ll hopefully raise a fair bit, as they are both very worthy causes.”
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