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French forward Thierry Henry controls the ball in front of Irish defender John O'Shea during the World Cup 2010 qualifier at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, northern Paris.

Angry Ireland blasted Thierry Henry as "Le Cheat" Thursday after the French football skipper helped knock the national team out of the World Cup with a clear handball.

The traditional luck of the Irish deserted their heartbroken team when Henry's hand seemed to control the ball before his pass let William Gallas head in an extra-time goal, giving France a 2-1 aggregate win in the play-off.

"We were robbed" said the Irish Star, "Le Cheat" added the Irish Mirror, while the Irish Sun splashed with "Henry, You Bastille" and the "Hand of the Frog" -- a play on Diego Maradona's 1986 "Hand of God" goal over England.

A Facebook page entitled "We Irish hate Thierry Henry (the cheat)" also drew hundreds of comments -- some of them unprintable -- including a call for an Irish boycott on French goods.

"I would say croissant sales will slump today," said one contributor to the social networking site page.

Irish football veteran David O'Leary said Henry handled the ball twice. "He touched it the first time to stop the ball going out of play and the second time he adjusted the ball so he could knock it across for the goal."

But O'Leary, who played for Ireland in the 1990 World Cup, refused to blame the referee, saying he had had an otherwise "excellent" game in Paris Wednesday night, but on the Henry incident, he had made "a scandalous decision".

"Thierry Henry is a lovely lad and he likes to be liked and he'll be in a very embarrassing position now because he wants to play the game in a certain way," he told BBC radio.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen issued a statement congratulating the national team on its "courageous performance," but made no mention of the handball controversy.

He said the team's efforts kept the nation enthralled for 120 minutes and they made a "heroic effort" to qualify.

But the Irish Times described the incident as "Heartbreak of Henry's hand of God, part II," saying Ireland's travelling army of fans "fell to the ground, inconsolable."

The Irish Independent said the team was "cheated" out of the World Cup finals.

"Armed robbery" its headline says, describing it as a "Massive injustice for boys in green as referee's howler sends French to South Africa".

"The end had a larcenous feel," says its soccer columnist Vincent Hogan, "a French captain, literally with guilt on his hands. 'La Marseillaise' being sung by empty voices."

"Daylight Robbery" says the Irish Examiner, "Henry's handball breaks Irish hearts".

In an editorial the Examiner says the "travesty" demonstrated again the need to use video technology for disputed incidents in matches.

Ireland's assistant manager Liam Brady said he wouldn't call Henry a cheat -- and claimed that Swedish referee Martin Hansson, who mistakenly allowed the goal, succumbed to pressure created by FIFA.

"I asked Thierry Henry after the game and he said 'I handled it but I didn't mean it'," Brady said.

"When you look at the film I think he kept the ball in play and he meant it. I wouldn't go down the road of (calling it) cheating, the players seek every advantage they can.

"But I would ask FIFA, 'Do we want to play the match again?' We would go to Paris and play again. I don't think it would come to that but we would be willing to go to Paris, on their home ground, and have a fair winner."