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Irish put faith in Mick's men

Keane: Do not be fooled by the smile

DUBLIN, Republic of Ireland (CNN) -- It has been eight years and three major championships, but the Green Army is finally on the move again.

Big Jack Charlton, who led the heroic 1990 and 1994 campaigns, is now spending his retirement fishing. But fans have a new talisman in manager Mick McCarthy, who was the no-nonsense centre-half in Charlton's team.

McCarthy has done wonders. When Ireland drew Holland and Portugal in the qualifying group, who would have believed that a 10-man Irish team would beat the mighty Dutch to take second place?

That meant a play-off with Iran -- safely negotiated. Now Cameroon, Germany and Saudi Arabia await and the mood among Irish fans is one of hope -- and, for a change, expectation.

The Irish traditionally have a large away following but this summer poses problems. For those with fat wallets or understanding bank managers, the bullet trains of Japan beckon, but many cannot afford it.

For those cheering from home, the worry is if pubs will be open for early kickoffs and whether employers will be sympathetic.

The government has said no to changes in pub licensing hours and you will only be able to drink legally in official "early houses". National holidays have been ruled out.

Some supporters have petitioned outside Government House for Irish working hours to be switched to match Japan's. But their shouts have fallen on deaf ears.

At least captain Roy Keane, the tough-tackling midfielder, is back from injury. (Full story)

Keane's hero status for Manchester United can be multiplied 10-fold once he pulls on the green shirt. The intimidation factor alone gives the Irish a harder edge.

And come kick-off, some sort of solution -- legal or otherwise -- will have been found to get a pint and shout Ireland on towards the "Holy Grail" -- or at least to make sure they do better than England.