Aldo speaks about Athlone roots

REPUBLIC of Ireland international footballer, John Aldridge has spoken about how his Athlone lineage led to him lining out for the Irish team. He appeared as a guest on Tommy Tiernan’s new RTE 1 chatshow.
Aldridge played for Ireland from 1986, later playing club football with the famed Liverpool side.
He talked on the chat show about how he was born and raised in Liverpool, but how his grandmother being from Athlone helped him play for the Irish International team.
“All my mother’s family came from Galway and Athlone, the McNamaras, the Mills and the Keanes,” said John Aldridge.
He told about being picked by manager, Jack Charlton to play for Ireland. Aldridge was playing for Oxford Utd at the time, along with another future Irish International, Ray Houghton.
“When Jack found out about my roots, he came to see me play and asked me to play for Ireland, and I said I’d be honoured, and with Ray, he got two for the price of one,” he said.
Aldridge retired from the international side in 1996.