Republic of Ireland hero Troy Parrott talks about his hat-trick against Hungary

Asked if he would mark the goal that sent the Republic of Ireland into a joyous celebration with a new tattoo, Troy Parrott replied: “No, I think I’ll get a tattoo when we get to the World Cup then!”

It’s ironic that Parrott is into tattoos; Sunday’s injury-time victory over Hungary is now the moment Irish football is permanently written off.

Ray Houghton’s goal against Italy in the 1994 World Cup, Robbie Brady’s winner against the Azzuri again at Euro 2016 and now Parrott’s goal in Budapest in November 2025.

Legendary stuff.

And less than 24 hours after that amazing night, Parrott is speaking exclusively to BBC Sport to put some words to the goal that would change his life forever.

“How many times have I watched this? Probably about 500 times; every time I look at my phone, I see it’s there,” Parrott explained.

“Even when I went to bed last night, I couldn’t sleep because I was dreaming about this over and over again.

“I’m not a very emotional person in general, this is the first time I’ve cried in years. Look, I can sit here and try to explain it, but this is the first time I’ve felt something like this.”

“I’ve scored goals before but none were as meaningful as my last goal against Hungary. As a country we’ve had a lot of disappointing results and haven’t given the fans much to cheer about, so these were tears of joy.”

Sunday night’s events in the Hungarian capital were the culmination of an unforgettable week for Parrott and the Republic of Ireland.

The 23-year-old’s 2-0 win against Portugal on Thursday night gave Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side a chance of qualifying for the World Cup ahead of the play-offs in March.

But scoring a hat-trick against the Hungarians is something Parrott doesn’t quite understand.

“I think what happened against Portugal and last night means it has to be written off in some way,” he said.

“We are all here for a reason; we all work hard to be where we are.

“But you can lie in bed and imagine how you want scenarios to go, and last week I experienced something you can’t even imagine.

“All of this had to be scripted to happen so perfectly in that moment of the game. Everything aligned perfectly. It’s a bit of good karma for us because we’ve had a lot of bad karma as a team and as a country.”

As you can imagine, Parrott has been a Dublin hit for the last 24 hours.

Social media is awash with clips of wild celebration scenes in Parrott’s hometown.

Dublin Airport even renamed itself Troy Parrott Airport on its official X account.

“Yes, I saw the Dublin Airport incident, I love everything,” said the AZ Alkmaar striker.

“It’s crazy. I may be biased, but the Irish support ours better than anyone else. It’s really special. It’s beautiful.”

“I was out today to see how happy this made everyone and the fans are thanking me.

“I love where I come from, I love being Irish, it’s something I’ll have for the rest of my life.

“People say it was the best night they’ve ever had, so being able to contribute to that is something I’ll never forget.

“I know I won’t change, things around me may change, but even for me, I don’t think there’s enough time for that to sink in. It’s beautiful.”