THE WELCOME BACK to Tolka Park wasn’t exactly a warm one, according to Abbie Larkin.
The Republic of Ireland teenage star was one of several high-profile players to make the move to Shamrock Rovers in the off-season. Larkin was among a five-strong former Shelbourne contingent crossing the Liffey to the Women’s Premier Division returnees.
The 17-year-old, though, came in for particular scrutiny after making a U-turn on re-signing for the Reds. There was no shortage of noise on social media, including a later-deleted Twitter post by Shelbourne which used the song lyrics, ‘Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, we’ll keep the red flag flying here’.
Larkin’s return to Drumcondra came during Saturday’s 1-1 draw between the sides.
Speaking to the media today, she explained: “It was good, it wasn’t a welcome… it wasn’t a good welcome as what I expected it to be, but I mean, I left the club and I didn’t think I was going to be welcomed back as a… idolled [sic], you know.
“It was a good game, to be fair. I enjoyed it. All the girls, they were lovely. They didn’t say anything to me, anything bad. I didn’t have a problem with any of the girls anyway. Yeah, I enjoyed the game, it was a good game.”
Larkin’s overall experience at Tallaght Stadium has been hugely positive. It’s a “real homely club” and “feels right,” the Ringsend native smiles, settled in nicely with a hectic few weeks of noise around the move firmly in the rear-view mirror.
“I didn’t really pay attention much to any of the stuff that they were saying because obviously it’s a lot of people’s opinions and to be fair as long as I know that I made the right move… and I think I did. I’m doing well with Rovers and I’m enjoying it. I think I just needed a new atmosphere and new people to surround myself with.
“For me, it was a move that I had to make just for my career. The facilities, the quality of football, it’s very good and I think it’s benefitting me a lot.
“At the start now, I think some of us had some doubts to be fair. You’re so new with each other, we have to gel together really quickly. Everyone had took a risk coming to the club and I think we’ve all worked hard, we put in hard work and, and obviously to get that result against Shels, it was phenomenal, we were all so delighted.”
Larkin is enjoying working under “deadly” Collie O’Neill and playing alongside the “unbelievable” Jaime Thompson — a former Clonee rival when she represented Cambridge aged 10 or 11.
“We do have that determination and drive to be the best,” she adds. “We took the risk, we’re working hard and we know that if we keep working right now the way we are, we can do anything really.”
Larkin has enjoyed a meteoric rise through a whirlwind few years. She made her senior international debut at the age of 16 last February, and has been a regular feature in Vera Pauw’s Ireland squads since. She has six caps and one goal — scored in the World Cup qualifier win away to Georgia – to her name now, and earned her first start in last month’s friendly against China PR in Spain.
In an alternate universe, she would be balancing her blossoming international career with her Leaving Cert studies, but Larkin left school to enrol in an Education and Training Board (ETB) course in Irishtown, which is run in partnership with the FAI.
“There’s a lot of stuff that’s been happening lately. It’s very overwhelming at times but, I mean, everything is good. It was hard at the start but I think I just adapted to everything and I just kind of realised that I’m good enough to do all that sort of things, I’m good enough to be in the Irish team so I’ll just keep working hard and see what happens.”
The big hope now is to make Pauw’s World Cup squad this summer.
“Definitely. That’s one to work hard to, to be fair. If I just keep working hard and doing what I’m doing, doing well every Saturday in our games in the league, hopefully I have a good chance of being on the plane.
“I’m focusing on my own game right now. Obviously other girls have been doing well lately. But I think if I just keep working at my rate and keep doing well, I think then I’ll have a good chance.”
- Additional reporting by Gavin Cooney.
