Postcard from London: Folly to write off new-look Ireland for Wembley encounter?

Back in the late 19th century, Edward Watkin took a trip to Paris to visit the magnificent Eiffel Tower; the Victorian magnate proceeded to plan for something similar, yet grander, as the star attraction of his London pleasure ground, Wembley Park.

A sprawling estate of manicured gardens, sports facilities, a music hall and bandstands, and a boating lake, designed to woo the workers out of London, allowing them to live among the splendour, while commuting along the newly built Metropolitan Railway.

Watkin's Tower began in earnest, and by 1896, the first section, complete with viewing platform 47 metres above the hilltop, opened for the public.

Alas, soon after, its foundations started to sink, the money ran out, and Watkin’s Folly, as it was now known, was demolished in 1904, and completely eradicated in 1907 when the foundations were blown out of the ground with dynamite.

The British Government stepped in and by 1923 the new Empire Stadium – later to become Wembley Stadium – complete with iconic twin towers, opened in time for the 1923 FA Cup final.

Wembley Park would then host the 1948 Olympic Games when the Flying Dutch Woman Fanny Blankers-Koen famously won four gold medals, and while the venue welcomed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, it reached its peak in 1966 when England hosted and won the World Cup.

In the 1980s, Wembley Stadium was centre of the world for the famous Live Aid concert, when Freddie Mercury stole the show in his famous white singlet, with U2 taking an admirable silver for their stirring performance.

But for football fans, the stadium was all about one Saturday every May when the FA Cup final would dominate the airwaves, as television viewers followed the two teams from breakfast at the hotel, on the