Ahead of taking on Iceland on Tuesday night – live on the RTÉ Player from 18:00 – Vera Pauw’s squad has been able to reflect on the diversity within their 25-player set-up.
There are players who grew up in Australia, Canada, England and the United States but they are no different to those from counties Donegal or Wicklow, for example. As a squad, they are one.
It is something that the players have openly discussed when speaking proudly about their Irish roots, why singing Amhrán na bhFiann matters to them, and why it’s important that a modern Ireland is representative of a multicultural society.
For the Football Association of Ireland, the #WeAreOne campaign sends out a strong, positive message of equality. This has been showcased, very powerfully, in recent times by the Men’s & Women’s Teams both taking the knee before games to support anti-racism.
WNT captain Katie McCabe said: “As a team, it is vital that we are one. As a group of players lucky enough to represent our proud nation, it should always be expected that we are one. And as role models for girls & women of all ages, it is imperative that we are one in everything that we do.
“It a huge part of the Irish DNA to be welcoming and that sense of inclusion has always existed in the Women’s National Team, whether it is players, staff or supporters we come across. As we move forward towards the goal of qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we know that we will only achieve our dream if we are one.”
FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said: "We are completely committed to the ethos of the #WeAreOne campaign which we want to touch all areas of Irish football moving forward. So it is great to have our Senior Irish Women’s Team express their commitment to that spirit of inclusivity and all being in this together in such a brilliant way. And I am pretty certain that spirit of reciprocal support is sent back by all of us to Vera and the team ahead of the game tonight.”
A breakdown of the players in the current squad who grew up abroad…
Australia – Aoife Colvill
Canada – Eve Badana
England – Grace Moloney
United States – Courtney Brosnan
A breakdown of which counties the players in the current squad are connected with…
Cork – Megan Connolly, Saoirse Noonan, Éabha O’Mahony, Denise O’Sullivan
Donegal – Amber Barrett, Aoife Colvill*, Ciara Grant, Roma McLaughlin
Dublin – Diane Caldwell, Niamh Farrelly, Jamie Finn, Keeva Keenan, Katie McCabe, Jess Ziu
Galway – Niamh Fahey
Kerry – Courtney Brosnan*
Kilkenny – Ellen Molloy
Limerick – Claire O’Riordan
Roscommon – Heather Payne
Tipperary – Grace Moloney*
Tyrone – Eve Badana*
Wexford – Rianna Jarrett
Wicklow – Áine O’Gorman, Louise Quinn, Claire Walsh
*Indicates the player qualifies through an Irish-born parent or grandparent
**Other recent call-ups have roots to six other counties in Antrim (Ruesha Littlejohn), Cavan (Leanne Kiernan), Clare (Alli Murphy), Kildare (Hayley Nolan), Laois (Kyra Carusa) and Louth (Megan Campbell)