reland's "Black Pearl", Paul McGrath made a record number of appearances for the Irish national team, despite being practically the antithesis of the exemplary player - he rarely trained, citing "knee injuries" as his reason, yet delivered rock-solid performances time and again on the pitch. Like another Saint of the Church, George Best, McGrath was more than a little fond of the Holy Sacraments and frequently landed in trouble with his managers for his drinking escapades. Rumour has it that he tackled harder with a hangover, and there was the famous incident during his days at Manchester United when he told his boss he had personal problems and needed a drink, only to be found several days later in Israel, suitably squiffed...
A recognisably human character, McGrath stood out a mile among his bland colleagues; nearly 40000 people came to his testimonial match in Dublin, which McGrath explained by saying: "I think a lot of people see some of the flaws that I have in themselves. I keep getting forgiven for certain things that I do, probably too often...".

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