Milford footballer Amber Barrett may not have had much game time at the World Cup, but she made up for it in stage time at the Dublin homecoming.
The Ireland striker treated a crowd of 8,000 people to a performance of ‘Wild Rover’ yesterday.
Barrett earned a rapturous applause for her singing, as flags flew high across O’Connell Street.
The Ireland team beamed as they took in the cheers from young and old and revelled in their historic first World Cup.
“We’re proud, we’ve done well,” Manager Vera Pauw told the crowd.
Captain Katie McCabe added: “We’re only just getting started, we’ve got a taste of it now. There’s so much more potential and growth within this group.”
“Thank you for the unbelievable welcome home,” Amber wrote on Instagram.
Looking back on the team’s campaign, Amber commented that the team were hungry for more.
“I can personally say I am disappointed with our swift exit and my personal lack of game time. But that’s football,” Barrett wrote earlier this week.
“Eventually we will look back on this tournament with pride and joy but now I think there is an element of hurt and the “what if” question, it shows the progression of this team, we want more.”
Sharing her pride in her teammates and fans, she said: “Take me at my word, this is without doubt one of the best groups of people I’ve had the pleasure of playing and working with every day for the last 8 weeks and all the preparation that has went on to get us to this point. I am so proud to represent this team of players and staff who have worked tirelessly to get Women’s Football in Ireland to this point.
“We need to continue to raise standards and push boundaries and demand more from everyone, this team has so much more success to bring and we need the support to continue.
“The fans have given us memories that will never be forgotten and I can safely say, hearing our national anthem, at a World Cup is one of the greatest moments I’ll ever have in my life. Thank you to everyone who has backed us, home or away, you were all absolutely terrific.”