Irish football has been rocked by the news that diehard supporter Davy Keogh has lost his famous flag.
The 57-year-old had been following the fortunes of the Irish soccer team since his youth and has become an instantly recognisable figure in the stands with his 'Davy Keogh says Hello' flag.
It's a flag that has travelled all over the World to Republic of Ireland matches, but it may be absent from the Aviva Stadium on Sunday for Martin O'Neill's side's crucial World Cup qualifier against Austria.
The ‘Davy Keogh Says Hello’ flag is an iconic part of Irish soccer history and its loss is a huge blow for Irish football.
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Keogh revealed that he lost the flag following Ireland’s 3-1 victory over Uruguay at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday night.
The Dubliner has pleaded with supporters to help him to locate the flag that has accompanied him to Irish football games for more than 35 years.
The Cabra man fell ill in the aftermath of the game and was unable to remember where he had left the famous flag.
"After the game I got a few pints", Keogh told
Newstalk Breakfast. "I got a taxi back to the local, and took bad in it, in Kavanagh's on New Street. The lads got me an ambulance."
"Between getting back to the local, and being in the ambulance and the hospital, I don't know where I left the flag. I know a few lads in St. James's Hospital. They tried to track it down and it wasn't there. I think it's in the back of a taxi," claimed the Dubliner.
Keogh has claimed that his unique flag was inspired by the lack of originality in supporters flags that surrounded him in the stands.
The Dubliner wanted to have a flag that would stand out from the crowd, and that's exactly what his flag has done throughout his lifelong support of the boys in green.
"I was looking at all the blank tricolours around me and I thought I’d make up a slogan," he said in an interview with the
Irish Independent.
"All the boys and myself were trying to come up with something to rhyme with Keogh and that’s where the ‘Davy Keogh says Hello’ came from," claimed the factory worker.
Ireland are currently sitting in second in Group D, level on points with leaders Serbia. Austria are in dire need of a win on Sunday, as anything less than three points will effectively put paid to their hopes of qualification.
A win for Martin O'Neill's men would be a huge stepping stone in their hopes of qualifying for Russia.
