It’s 1980, the world is locked in a cold war, Ireland is in recession, and football royalty Real Madrid travel to play little known Irish club Limerick City FC in football’s premier competition, the European Cup. This is a documentary about the opera of football, the city of Limerick, and a game that no one remembers that three men will never forget. This is Sit Down and Shut Up.
On Wednesday the 17th of September 1980, Real Madrid rolled into Ireland to play Limerick City FC in the first knockout round of the European Cup. The European Cup is considered the creme de la creme of football titles, with this being Limerick’s first foray into the competition in nearly ten years. It would also be there last.
While many in Limerick wanted the game to be played in their home ground Market’s Field, due to concerns about crowd control the match was moved to Landsdowne Road. For this reason, many locals decided to boycott the game instead of traveling to Dublin. As a result, the 30,000 predicted attendance turned out to only be a measly 6000.
