Malta hosted the mother of all parties when Ireland booked a ticket to World Cup 35 years ago
All flights at the airport were grounded by fog and 700 fans only left Dublin at 2am on Wednesday morning - the day of the game - having been stranded since 11.30pm on the Monday night.
After the heroics at Euro '88, hope was high that Ireland could qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
The campaign came down to a date with Malta in Valletta on November 15. We will celebrate the 35th anniversary on Friday - one of the most significant games ever played by the national team.
Six thousand Irish fans made the trip but it was touch and go whether most of them would even get out of Dublin Airport.
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All flights at the airport were grounded by fog and 700 fans only left Dublin at 2am on Wednesday morning - the day of the game - having been stranded since 11.30pm on the Monday night.
One group of fans only arrived at the Ta'Qali Stadium with just 10 minutes of the game to go.
They’d been fogbound in Dublin so got a ferry to Holyhead, then a bus to Bristol before boarding a plane to Valletta.
The day before the game, the Ireland youths thumped Malta 3-0 and Kieron Brady, the star player on that team, was blown away by the reception they got from the travelling supporters.
"I had made my first team debut for Sunderland not long before so was on a high going over there,'' he said.
"We had a good team and effectively qualified for the European finals with that win.
"Thousands of Irish fans turned up and the senior players all came along as well to support us.
"We got a penalty and I ballooned it about five yards wide. Paul McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Jack Charlton and so on were sitting behind the goal so it was a bit embarrassing for me!"
The World Cup game itself was all about John Aldridge scoring his first competitive goals for his country - three years after making his debut.
Aldridge was on a high going into the game having scored the winners for Real Sociedad against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the run-up to the match.
He put Ireland ahead after half-an-hour when Ray Houghton's corner was met at the near post by David O’Leary and his flick-on was thundered to the net by Aldridge.
With 20 minutes to go, Ronnie Whelan took a quick throw-in from Ray Houghton and played a superb ball in to Andy Townsend who was upended in the box.
Aldridge made no mistake from the spot and he could have had a hat-trick but his last minute header from another Houghton corner was headed off the line.
"John owed me one for his first goal in a friendly against Tunisia as well,'' laughed Houghton.
"I always looked at myself as a creator of opportunites for others rather than a goalscorer.
"John and I always had a good understanding, not only from Liverpool but from the Ireland team as well.
"I always knew he'd be in the right position. He had the instinct to be in the right place in the box at the right time."
Aldridge broke down in tears at the final whistle, before ripping his shirt off and throwing it into the crowd.
It had been a hugely emotional six months for him as the Hillsborough disaster had happened the previous April.
Aldridge, along with Houghton and Ronnie Whelan, returned to football for the first time after that fateful day in the 1-0 win over Spain at Lansdowne Road a couple of weeks
after Hillsborough and the Irish fans sang 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in their honour before kick-off that afternoon.
The aftermath of the game in Malta was all about the party.
Mick McCarthy had been ruled out with a knee injury but he still took three flights from his base in Lyon, France to join up with his team-mates.
Jack Charlton came into the pre-match press conference brandishing a bottle of champagne and swigged freely before heading off to do his party piece.
"He mightn't have known all the words to the song but he gave it his best shot,'' recalled Houghton.
"That was one of the features of playing for Ireland for years.
"There was a camaraderie with the fans. There was a bond between the players and the supporters.
"I remember during the Euro '88 qualifying campaign when we beat Scotland in Glasgow and people carrying a piano downstairs so that we could have a sing-song with the fans.
"That night in Malta was particularly special because the Irish just took over the whole island. It was fantastic to see."
Kieron Brady was blown away by the celebrations.
"We were all at the party with Barleycorn afterwards. I went up to them to request this song that I grew up with - 'A little place called Ireland' - but I think they'd changed singers and he didn't know it,'' he said.
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