THE SCENES WERE joyous as the history-makers hit Irish soil.
Home were the heroes in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
That warm welcome at Dublin Airport; the Fire and Rescue service out in full force to greet Vera Pauw’s side who had finally realised the World Cup dream and qualified for a first-ever major tournament.
The sirens from the brigade, the tricolour being held aloft, the singing and the dancing.
And the tweet from the official account earlier: “Hey Glasgow Airport. Can you confirm whether a ticket to the World Cup can be carried in hand luggage or whether it should be checked in to the hold? Asking for some friends of ours.”
Joyous scenes in the early hours of this morning as Ireland's World Cup bound @FAIWomen footballers arrived back at #DublinAirport. Congratulations to the players, coaches and everyone involved. 🇮🇪 https://t.co/bqwUaP8OYp
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) October 12, 2022
A stark contrast to a few short years back.
They had come almost full circle.
At that same airport, some of those same players changed into and out of team tracksuits in the toilets.
This was revealed at, and was one of the main takeaways from, that landmark April 2017 press conference at Liberty Hall. That day saw fourteen players take on the FAI, standing together and fighting for fairness as the unacceptable treatment of the team and the extraordinarily low-quality working conditions they were expected to perform under were laid bare.
“Fifth-class citizens. The dirt on the FAI’s shoe,” as PFAI solicitor Stuart Gilhooly put it.
“What we are fighting for here is equality,” legendary goalkeeper and captain Emma Byrne noted.
“We are fighting for the future of women’s football.”
For this moment, five years on. For that final whistle in Hampden Park on Tuesday night.
Six of the fourteen played in the monumental 1-0 win over Scotland: now-skipper Katie McCabe, Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey, Áine O’Gorman and Megan Campbell.
The other eight? The injured Ruesha Littlejohn was there in full voice. Byrne, who led the charge back then, and Stephanie Roche were on co-commentary duty for Off The Ball and RTÉ respectively.
Karen Duggan was back in studio in Montrose, Julie Anne Russell, Jetta Berrill, Niamh Reid Burke and Clare Shine were undoubtedly also watching on with pride and joy, the former three still plying their trade in the Women’s National League alongside Roche and Duggan, and the latter recently stepping away from football.
“It’s for all the girls before us,” McCabe said moments after the game, name-checking Byrne and Olivia O’Toole in particular, the two greats also joining the celebrations.
“If it wasn’t for them paving the way, we wouldn’t be able to do this. This win, this monumental time to get to a major tournament is for them and for everyone before us. It’s the young girls looking up to us too. My sister [Lauryn] is here tonight, this is for her and I hope this inspires a generation of young Irish girls to dream.”
To Outbelieve, as Sky’s tagline goes, the promotion piece in Dublin Airport earlier this year was particularly striking en route to Gothenburg, where Pauw’s side secured a momentous draw with Sweden, one of the best teams in the world.
The ground-breaking sponsorship deals with Sky and Cadbury’s, the equal match appearance fees with the men’s team and many other positive developments in women’s football on these shores have been crucial; all announced before this unprecedented campaign.
It yielded five wins, two draws and one defeat — the opening fixture against Sweden in the qualifying group. 27 goals scored and just four conceded overall. Five clean sheets.
The most pleasing of all for Courtney Brosnan coming when it mattered most, in the historic Hampden showdown.
14 years on from their last, and only other, play-off, with O’Gorman, Fahey and Quinn the only survivors.
Before Ireland even kicked a ball on Tuesday, there was no shortage of twists and turns in Switzerland-Wales and Portugal-Iceland. Plenty of hmms and haws in the media room as reporters struggled to grasp permutations, and visible and audible confusion from the record crowd of 10,708 as they filtered in from the storied streets of Glasgow.
Pockets of Irish fans made the journey, though there were plenty more in the capital city preferring to support Celtic in Champions League action. Many of the latter bracket were unaware Ireland were even playing, a group of lads enquiring if it was a Gaelic football match at one point.
The first half was eventful — a saved penalty, a disallowed goal, three goal-line clearances — the second act not quite as frantic, with Ireland in the knowledge that a win in 120 minutes would guarantee direct qualification.
Ultimately, it all came down to one moment. A bit of magic from super sub Amber Barrett. The Donegal woman showed her class on and off the pitch; the perfect touch for the iconic goal, and another in her poignant celebration as she paid tribute to the ’10 beautiful souls who perished’ in Creeslough.
Raw emotion.
The epilogue had that too in abundance, amidst a fully of feelings at the final whistle: ecstasy, pride, relief, disbelief. How much it meant.
Beautiful chaos unfolded as the celebrations spilled to the edges of the pitch. Understandably, everyone wanted a bit of the players: family and friends, young fans requesting pictures and autographs, and journalists seeking immediate reaction.
All wishes were granted in the end, everyone mixed together amidst the madness.
A dream came true for one teenage girl anyway, McCabe happy to oblige with a group hug and photograph, the fan in question left stunned and shaking. Not so long ago, the world-class Arsenal star was that girl.
The squad and backroom staff reconvened on the pitch thereafter, ushering Pauw over with chants of, ‘Vera, Vera,’ for the perfect picture of all involved.
One needs little reminder of the dressing room scenes; the fallout from viral video footage of them singing Celtic Symphony by The Wolfe Tones, which includes the lines ‘Ooh ah, up the Ra,’ tainting the occasion.
It’s important this story doesn’t overshadow an historic, famous night.
The celebrations were filled with joy and happiness and not malice or hate, zero offence meant.
Don’t let this sour note outweigh the countless positives.
Best seen as the wheels of another flight hit the runway in Dublin on Wednesday: three young girls with their parents, excitedly discussing the game and reminiscing on their photographs with McCabe, Quinn et al.
Joyous scenes as the next generation hit Irish soil.
