A NEW DAWN, a new day — and another piece of history.
The Republic of Ireland women’s national team make their long-awaited Aviva Stadium bow this afternoon [KO 1pm, live on RTÉ Two], the next chapter opening on the biggest stage possible.
Eileen Gleeson is in interim charge as the post-Vera Pauw era begins with an all-island derby at Lansdowne Road. 38,000 tickets have been sold for the historic Nations League opener against Northern Ireland, with the home record attendance of 7,633 set to be smashed.
That was set just two-and-a-half months ago in the World Cup farewell friendly against France at Tallaght Stadium.
How things have changed in the meantime.
From a major tournament debut to a messy managerial exit and fallout, it’s been an eventful few weeks, to say the very least.
There has been no shortage of noise surrounding the team, with off-field negativity threatening to sour another significant milestone and landmark occasion.
But today should be a huge celebration.
An opportunity to see the knock-on effect and legacy of World Cup qualification, and to reflect on the journey of Irish women’s football and growth of the game amidst the 50-year anniversary of the national team.
“Eileen made a great point to us earlier in the week in terms of the occasion,” Katie McCabe says. “It’s not just about the squad walking out, it’s about everybody who’s played their part over the course of the last few years.
“It’s the volunteers at your local clubs, it’s the grassroots coaches that come out, it’s the referees when you’re 10 years old… it’s everyone. It’s Mams and Dads driving their kids an hour to go train two or three times a week. It’s not just about us, it’s about every single person that’s played their part in women’s football the last 20, 30 years. It’s media, it’s youse talking about it, writing about it. It’s about all of that together.
“We’re just the lucky ones that will be able to play on the pitch tomorrow and really embrace it. That’s what is so important for us as players to remember because, as I said, it’s not just the 11 players going out, it’s everybody that’s played their part over the last few years. We hold that incredibly proud and we’ll be giving it an absolute battle and our 100% as always when we put on the green shirt.”
“This is a thank you to everybody that did everything in the past when nobody wanted to know anything, but there were people that wanted to continue to push women’s football,” Gleeson, FAI Head of Women’s and Girls Football, adds.
“If you ask people about me they either hate me or love me because I’ve had a row with everybody in Ireland about pushing for standards. If we didn’t have the referees or the same pitches… it was always to drive standards and have in place for the girls what we wanted to have. I think people have stood up and responded to that, it’s all come together at this moment and it’s going to be in action in the Aviva Stadium and that will be the representation of the progress that we’ve made. We’re going to bring our passion and our pride and really play our hearts out.”
Aside from the celebration and occasion, this is a hugely important game to start a new campaign. Expect change on the pitch, but how it will manifest remains to be seen. Pauw’s defensive approach and 5-4-1 formation served Ireland well through the years, but Gleeson has spoken about a more “adaptable and flexible” style.
With Niamh Fahey, Sinead Farrelly and Ruesha Littlejohn the World Cup starters on a lengthy injury/unavailable list, the Dubliner is down several option. But Celtic defender Caitlin Hayes has since declared for the Girls In Green, and Tyler Toland and Savannah McCarthy are among the many returning faces. The choice of starting XI will be interesting. World-class stars McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan have made no secret of their desire to play in more advanced roles, with a front-footed game plan expected.
It certainly can be implemented against Northern Ireland — who are 23 places below them in the Fifa world rankings — with a first competitive win in 2023 the aim.
The last time the sides met was back in 2017 when the Republic won 4-0 — but it’s worth remembering that the North did effectively qualify for the 2022 European Championships ahead of their southern counterparts, beating Ukraine in a play-off.
“We have come a long way,” captain Marissa Callaghan recalls. “We qualified for our first major tournament, we flipped our style of play, went from a real defensively-minded team to a team who were real positive, brave on the ball and going out and trying to win games.”
They’ll be doing just that today, under the watchful eye of new manager Tanya Oxtoby. Their squad make-up is very different to the Republic, with star striker Simone Magill among just a handful of full-time professionals. They generally play 4-3-3, with the big selection question over their goalkeeper. Shannon Turner is expected to get the nod.
The past, present and future will all come together at the Aviva, with the FAI honouring all former internationals by inviting them to the fixture and recognising them with a one-off commemorative cap.
But this Lansdowne Road showpiece should not be a one-off, as McCabe stressed yesterday. Not like the Ireland women’s rugby team in the 2014 Six Nations.
“We’ve had conversations with rugby around driving our legacy piece,” Gleeson explains. “And it’s about taking care of that post-tournament sector. So when they qualified, what happened after that? What was the planning for that?
“As part of our legacy piece, it’s not just looking at the World Cup and what happened there but about developing pathways, sustaining this progress and consistent qualification for major tournaments, driving visibility, building the positive promotion of the women’s game. As long as we continue to do that and sustain a growing fandom, then I wouldn’t see why the progress shouldn’t continue to show in stadiums that represent that.
“We’ve got 38,000 tickets sold, we want those 38,000 seats filled. Could I envisage it when I was standing in the lashing rain 25 years ago? Maybe not. But as the years have gone on you watch the growth.”
Here’s to more of that.
A new dawn, a new day — and more and more history and positivity.