ERIN MCLAUGHLIN WENT out with her college housemates in Maynooth to watch the Republic of Ireland’s historic World Cup play-off win over Scotland.
A little under a month later, and the Donegal 19-year-old is in Vera Pauw’s squad for the very first time.
McLaughlin received her first senior call-up alongside 16-year-old Shelbourne goalkeeper Katie Keane last week, and they’re now in Marbella preparing for an international friendly against Morocco next Monday to kick off the preparations for Australia next summer.
No longer watching on television in awe.
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side.
It’s all been very unexpected, as the midfielder explains from Spain.
“I actually just found out whenever the squad was released. It was my sister who saw it first, she called me over and said, ‘Ah look, you made the Ireland squad!’ I was just shocked, but it was great to hear.
“I had been in the home-based sessions and I was building towards it, but I wasn’t really expecting it so soon.
“I suppose I’m just grateful that Vera has given me the chance. It’s a nice camp to come into, two friendlies [one the official international against Morocco, the other on Friday], show what I can do. It’s a great ambition to go to the World Cup, have a look now and see.”
A recent U19 international, an underage star for Ireland through the ranks, and now a key midfielder for Peamount United, McLaughlin has been in home-based senior squads for the past few years now.
“I was first brought in when I was U17 because Colin Bell was the manager and he was our U17 manager as well and brought a few of us up to the home-based squad,” she explains.
“It’s just a great year of training with all the top-class players in the league and in Ireland, you improve so much in that high intensity and that environment and you learn so much, I think it’s brilliant for young players to come in. To have that under the belt is good.”
McLaughlin originally hails from Culdaff, a village on the Inishowen Peninsula. The local club just had a boys’ team in her younger years, so she played there from five or six up to U14s. Then it was to Sea Rovers, a women’s club based in Malin Head, but she was also allowed to keep playing with the boys.
After balancing both, and when she came of age, she signed for Sion Swifts in the Northern Ireland Women’s Premiership, before making the move to Peamount in the Women’s National League [WNL] ahead of the 2022 season.
A switch to the WNL was always on her mind, but only became a reality through college.
Studying Primary School Teaching in Maynooth University, she’s certainly cut out some of the constant “up and down the road” from before college, and reflects fondly on an impressive debut season, which she finished with six goals.
“Peas are a great club and I have really enjoyed playing there. It was always a club I wanted to play for and when I was asked to come and train with them, I was delighted. As soon as I started training with them, I knew the club was for me. It took me a few weeks to settle in and once I got going then, I eventually found my position and just went from there.
“It wasn’t the most glamorous season. We’d probably would have hoped for better. But I think in the end, it was a season where we’d probably be stronger for what we went through.”
It’s interesting to hear her compare and contrast the two top-flight women’s leagues on these shores.
“I suppose it’s more challenging, and out of my comfort zone. I find up the North, all the games are played on astroturf, there is no grass, so I feel like that makes a bit of a difference. There are more teams in the south, there are 10 teams. When I played in the north last year, there was only six teams now I think it has gone up to eight, so it is better. But last year, it felt repetitive because you were playing the same teams over and over, but now they have eight teams so that is good to see.”
“It’s amazing,” she adds, with a nod to Sunday’s FAI Women’s Cup final and the record attendance in Tallaght Stadium.
“You can see everyone is buzzed about women’s football in Ireland, the team qualifying for the World Cup, everyone is getting more involved, it shows because there are 5,000 people at the women’s final, you’d never have thought you’d see that like.”
McLaughlin is one of three Donegal representatives in the current squad — play-off goal-scoring hero Amber Barrett and Ciara Grant the other two, with others like Roma McLaughlin and statistician Niamh McDaid also in and around the set-up.
There was serious county pride watching Barrett etch her name into history in Hampden; the Milford striker dedicating the iconic goal to Creeslough with a poignant celebration.
“You know how proud she is about being from Donegal and she is just class to look up to and knowing that you are from Donegal as well,” McLaughlin beams.
“I would have known of her obviously and it was just ‘Ah jeez, there’s Amber Barrett,’ and she was always role model around Donegal and stuff. And I would know Ciara Grant as well. Ciara Grant was my team doctor when I was U17s, so it was actually really interesting and she was with Sion Swifts as well.”
A far cry from that now, in the same international senior set-up, chasing the World Cup dream.
No longer watching on television in awe.
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side.
