officials of the Scottish and Welsh Associations on the possibility of making a joint application to host the European championship finals in 2008.

The talks took place in Zurich over the weekend and followed a proposal by Des Casey, shortly after his election as a vice-president of UEFA, that the Celtic nations should consider the possibility of submitting a joint bid.

Scotland are still considering the possibility of going it alone but were said to be "interested" in the proposition.

"The meeting in Zurich was very constructive and we will be in continuing contact with the Scottish FA in the weeks ahead," said the FAI president, Pat Quigley.

"We have already sent a letter to them on the matter and we would hope that in the coming months the attempts to stage the finals will strengthen."

A country or countries bidding for the finals must be in a position to designate a minimum of six properly equipped stadiums. The hope is that by 2008, either the proposed National Stadium or Eircom Park or, perhaps both, will have been built.

For the first time, this year's finals were hosted jointly by Holland and Belgium and applications are likely in the future from other blocs, such as Austria, Hungary and Croatia and a Scandinavian consortium of Denmark, Finland and Sweden.