Two remarkable stories from the notoriously hostile Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland clash in 1993

25 years ago, a match unlike any other took place.

The Republic of Ireland host Northern Ireland in Dublin this week and it's a fitting occasion as, almost 25 years ago to the day, both countries met in one of the most politically-charged and important games in Irish football history. Allow us to set the scene. On 17 November, 1993, Jack Charlton's Republic of Ireland team were just one step (and one point) away from qualifying for USA '94 as they travelled to Windsor Park. Standing in their way was Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland team, who were already eliminated, but still intent on derailing the Republic's party. The atmosphere in the build up to the match was absolutely toxic as the sectarian divide, a nasty war of words between both camps and the very real prospect of violence threatened to overshadow the events on the field. Three weeks before the game, two members of the IRA planted a bomb in a fish and chip shop on the Shankill Road. They believed that leading members of the UDA were conducting a meeting in the room above the chip shop. The bomb went off prematurely, killing 10 people - including two children aged seven and 13 - and leaving many more injured. Seven days later, the UDA retaliated when gunmen burst into the Rising Sun bar in Greysteel, Co. Derry, and killed eight people. This was the environment that the match unfolded in. As documented in ESPN's brilliant 30 for 30 documentary, Ceasefire Massacre, Ray Houghton said that the build up to the game was unlike any other that he experienced. "We had police sitting on the bus with us and we were told not to sit next to the windows and to sit, on the aisles really, on the coach heading to the game. There were armoured vans in front and behind of us. It was fearsome, I've got to admit that." On that note, in the same documentary, Niall Quinn recalled a chilling anecdote as the Republic of Ireland squad approached Windsor Park. "I can remember very vividly, and it's something that will stay with me until I die, coming into Windsor Park and seeing a crowd of very, very young boys - no older than 10 - all pointing to us (Republic of Ireland bus) with imitation guns and pretending to shoot," Quinn said. "Then this man, this grotesque man, got them all to kneel down and another group stood up behind them and did the same thing." As for the match itself, the atmosphere could be best described as toxic because waves upon waves of hate, vitriol and abuse rained down from the stands. Journalist Jim Gracey described the match as one that was "taking place in the greatest state of high tension of any football match that I've ever attended," a claim corroborated by Alan Kernaghan in an interview with RTÉ when he said that "you could feel the venom in it. 'Pope-sucking whore', 'your mother's the Pope's whore'. That sort of stuff," was overheard by the players. On the pitch, Jimmy Quinn's magnificent volley gave the hosts the lead as the Republic's World Cup dreams seemed to be in tatters. Cue super sub Alan McLoughlin with his first ever international goal to level the match. The Republic of Ireland held on to secure qualification for the World Cup. https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/1060233545178906624 This was goal that Jack Charlton joked "had justified his (McLoughlin's) existence for the last few years" but as Niall Quinn said, what made it a special night was an extremely kind gesture and moment of sportsmanship from Alan McDonald, the captain of Northern Ireland. In Quinn's own words: "The thing that made it a special night was that Alan McDonald, the captain of Northern Ireland, and from the Protestant half of Belfast, came into our dressing room after the match and gave a fantastic speech about how we should go and represent this island at the World Cup. We're sports people, keep politics out of it, delighted for you guys... now go and do it in America." A true measure of the former QPR and Swindon Town player. Sadly, McDonald's words weren't heeded because sectarian violence and death overshadowed Ireland's opening day win over Italy at USA '94. On 18 June, 1994, members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, burst into a pub in Loughinisland, Co. Down, and fired on those in attendance. Six people were killed and five others were injured. The attack on the mainly-Catholic patrons of the pub coincided with the Republic of Ireland's opening match against Italy in the 1994 World Cup. That particular tragedy was documented in the brilliant No Stone Unturned, but with both teams set to meet again this week in Dublin, the attitude, dignity, and respect of men like Alan McDonald should never be forgotten. The Republic of Ireland take on Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium tonight (15 November) at 7.45pm.