James McClean was proud as punch as he returned home to the Creggan this week.
The winger made the trip home to the area of the Derry where he grew up just days after captaining the Republic of Ireland for the first time against Ukraine.
A video uploaded on McClean's Instagram shows the Wigan star visiting his former school and walking around the streets with people from the community.
Speaking in the clip about a new mural unveiled of himself in the Creggan, McClean says: "It means everything. It's where I grew up, born and raised.
"Just there is the pitch where I literally spent every single day kicking a ball from when I was no-height so to have this now in the place where I grew up, I'm absolutely over the moon and I couldn't be any more proud."
McClean captained his country in their 1-1 draw with Ukraine on Tuesday night in Poland and was full of praise for the Boys in Green's goalscorer Nathan Collins after the game.
He said: “I saw him when he was literally only a kid at Stoke and you could see his potential there. I remember saying to people back then: ‘This lad is going to be a player,’ and now he’s a very good player.
“I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on him by talking about what he can do because there will be a lot of pressure on him. I don’t want to add to that. But I think this lad is going to be absolutely special, and that’s only a good thing for Ireland.”
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