Despite being one of the preeminent tournaments of world football’s four-year cycle, the action on the fields of the 2016 European Championships is being out-staged by the actions off the field.

Fan violence has confiscated many headlines within the international press from the games themselves. The issue has reached near epidemic levels, with two teams being threatened expulsion from the tournament because of actions by their fans.

But this isn’t the case for all fan bases, and world media has selected its early favorite: the green-clad supporters from the Emerald Isle.

The Irish supporters are everywhere, but unlike English and Russian fans, that’s not cause for concern. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. In their time in France, the Irish fans have brought the party with them, but also happiness, friendliness, and respect. Complements for the Irish fans have come from all perspectives of the tournament including local police, French citizens and even opposing supporters.

The Independent collected several telling quotes from a French police sergeant, where he does nothing but rave about the fun, happy-go-lucky nature of the Irish contingent. Even more than that, he discusses how the Irish fans are making his job easy.

The Irish have also been very respectful visitors towards their French civilian hosts. Prior to the tournament, a group of fans massed outside of an establishment with apartments on top. The fans gave repeated standing ovations for the older gentleman who decided to see what was going on below. And then there’s this example of Irish fans changing an elderly couple’s flat tire.

When opponent supporters have clashed on several occasions across France, the Irish fans took a different approach. There are videos circulating of Irish and Swedish supporters singing ABBA together and participating in a bullfighting charade.

As we know, there is a right way and a wrong way to enjoy yourself at these international celebrations. The Irish are doing it the right way. I’ll leave you with one final link of Irish fans “helping” a Hungarian reporter with his live postgame recap.

For continued coverage of the Republic of Ireland and so much more, stay tuned to The Armchair All-Americans