The hockey road to Dublin...
Our hockey legends get a rapturous welcome
THERE was mass jubilation yesterday for the Irish women’s hockey team’s homecoming.
The underdogs who reached the final of the World Cup were met with songs, banners and flag-waving – both in Dublin Airport and later at an official ceremony in the city centre.
Thousands lined the streets as it emerged that the team had also helped win an extra €1.5million in funding for highperformance Olympic teams.
MANY of the supporters gathered at Dublin Airport were players themselves, eager to thank the women for what they had achieved for their sport.
Children rushed forward with sticks, flags and jerseys, all staring up in awe as the women happily signed everything and chatted with young fans.
The players were giddy with excitement, singing songs in between media interviews and wrapping themselves in flags.
Although the celebrations were planned for the city centre, a large contingent of fans had shown up at the airport to welcome home the Irish women’s hockey team.
Testament to the their appreciation of their fans, the World Cup finalists had invited supporters to join them in London to celebrate after the game.
Now, they were back in Dublin, and the party was getting bigger.
Team manager Graham Shaw said that having a good time had been key for his team from the outset. ‘We set out to enjoy it. We said we would enjoy every single second of it whether it was in the hotel, in the team meeting, whether we were doing mobility or flexibility sessions – just everything, we just wanted to have fun,’ he said.
The squad were visibly overcome with emotion when they heard how Sport Minister Shane Ross had announced a €1.5million increase in Olympic sport funding, some of which will go to the team.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Mr Ross said he had enjoyed the ‘experience of a lifetime’ after travelling to support the team in their final matches of the tournament.
‘For me it was something to treasure for the rest of my life,’ he said, adding that he expected that there would be a welcome surge in membership in hockey clubs nationwide in response to the squad’s success. ‘That’s what heroes of this sort do: they inspire other people to join them. And that’s what’s going to happen and that’s why the Government are going to support them in their Olympic bid as well,’ he said.
The woman named goalkeeper of the tournament, Ayeisha McFerran, was treated to several lively chants of ‘We’ve got the best goalkeeper in the world!’ by her teammates throughout the afternoon.
The 22-year-old carried the award under one arm, confessing that she was still in shock at the accolade.
‘This is very much a team award,’ she said. ‘The team did their job, we defended so well as a whole unit.’
McFerran also credited reserve keeper, Grace O’Flanagan, for her success. The pair could be seen working closely together in practice over the course of the tournament.
‘Without her I wouldn’t have it at all,’ she said.
Though the team seemed truly startled by such a show of support
‘We just wanted to have fun’ ‘You’re an inspiration to me’
at the airport, it was trivial compared to what was to come later in Dublin city centre.
As they travelled by Garda escort into the city, people who had likely never even heard of the team until last week waved and cheered on their convoy as it passed. Following a reception in City Hall, they took to the stage outside Dublin Castle, their mouths gaping open as each player emerged onto the platform and took in the swarm of people stretching down Dame Street.
Tricolours and county flags flew high as fans roared their appreciation for the team.
One young girl, proudly sporting her own club colours and hoisted on to shoulders below, raised her homemade banner aloft that carried the words, ‘You’re an inspiration to me’.
In a show of solidarity, the group pulled players who failed to make the final cut onto the stage to celebrate the years of collective effort to finesse their final heroics. And
friends and family of the team danced in front of the stage as they looked on in amazement at the size of the crowd.
Pascal Watkins, proud mother of Chloe Watkins, who scored the deciding semi-final winning goal against Spain, described the reception as ‘surreal’.
Mrs Watkins admitted that though her daughter comes from a strong hockey family even they were astounded by the team’s success in London.
‘We were over for the whole tournament and they just kept going and going and going and going until the final day, which we didn’t really expect, to be honest, and it was just incredible,’ she said.
Her daughter received her 200th Irish cap at the World Cup final, which the midfielder said added to what was already an exceptional experience. ‘A few of us before the tournament were kind of joking, “if I get six games in, that’ll be the final and that’ll be my 200th so we better go all the way,”’ Ms Watkins said.
The team treated their cheering fans to a rendition of All I Want For Christmas reflecting that each game carried with it the excitement of Christmas Day for the squad.
Laura Raeside of Glenanne Hockey Club took her three hockey-playing children – Jessica, 12, eight-year-old Liam and sixyear-old Grace – to see the team.
Jessica said: ‘It’s amazing because they are amateurs and they played against professional teams and came second. It’s crazy!’
Lindzi Harrison of Skerries Hockey Club had travelled to London for the tournament. Her mother, Joan, gave the 15-year-old the tickets for Christmas. ‘I just love hockey and it’s great for Ireland to have gotten to the World Cup final for the first time ever,’
‘It’s a great day for the women’
she said, draped in the Tricolour.
Groups of teammates from the players’ clubs also took to the streets. Jenny Clifford, who attended the festivities alongside members of Glasnevin Botanic Hockey Club, hailed the team’s success. ‘It’s not just about getting 100 likes on Instagram. These girls work their butts off and look where they are today,’ she said.
Further along the crowd Marie Duncan was singing and dancing, waving an inflatable green banner.
‘It’s a great day for the women and it’s great to be a woman today,’ she said. Captain Katie Mullan said the team had functioned in their ‘own little bubble’ during the tournament and were not aware of the level of support.
‘It’s just incredible and the whole nation has got behind us and it’s what Ireland is all about,’ she said. ‘It’s an incredible feeling.’
The silver medallists sang out the reception with poignant, evocative words from their favourite song, the Lighthouse Family’s High, for a team that have come so far: ‘At the end of the day remember the days / when we were close to the edge / and we’ll wonder how we made it through the night / the end of the day / remember the way / we stayed so close till the end / we’ll remember it was me and you.’