MANNION BACK IN IRISH SQUAD
Fans at heart of Rovers success
Rovers. I felt like I was fighting the big boys in my own little way, as we tried to win the judicial battle to get Tallaght Stadium built.”
This is Carpenter: “I couldn’t let it go without trying. I had to do everything I could because I remembered my childhood journeys from Monkstown to Milltown, the 46A bus, the friendships, the excitement, the colour, the noise, the belonging.
“You need somewhere to hang your hat. For me that was Rovers.”
Donated
So out of nowhere, in the midst of despair, these three fans and 300 others dipped into their savings accounts and started giving money to run Shamrock Rovers.
And they have continued to give. All in, across two decades, the Members club have donated an approximate €7million to the club.
That’s ordinary fans making extraordinary gestures. The club wouldn’t exist, never mind be in a position to start their drive for five, without those supporters who saved them from extinction 19 years ago.
“If we didn’t have Rovers we would have a huge void in our lives,” says Holmes. “I wouldn’t be able to replace it with anything else. I’m not into GAA. To me, Rovers represent friendships and family. Going to matches across Europe with my son, those are special memories to me.”
Other fans have their own recollections. To Madden, being in Tallaght Stadium, finding his seat on the day they entered the stadium against Sligo in 2009 was special, being in Belgrade when they defeated Partizan just as good.
For Carpenter, the night Stephen Rice scored against Spurs in the Europa League is the one stored in his memory bank.
“We had four and a half thousand fans that night in White Hart Lane; after it their owner spoke to one of our board members. ‘I wouldn’t pay for any of your players; but I’d spend big money to sign your fans’.”
Tonight those fans will congregate in Tallaght for their 16th season, seeking history, hoping to make it five-in-a-row.
Yet in the League of Ireland — whether it is Rovers or any club - winning isn’t a scoreline. It is about being part of a community.
That’s winning. Don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t.
MANCHESTER United defender Aoife Mannion is back in the Ireland squad after a long spell on the sidelines with injury.
The centre-half has been selected for the friendlies away to Italy next Friday and at home to Wales on Tuesday February 27.
Mannion, who made an impressive start to her international career last year, missed out on the World Cup because of a knee ligament injury.
A quad tear then meant that last weekend’s 3-1 FA Cup win over Southampton was her first appearance of the season. Mannion came off the bench in injury-time.
Club
Her club boss Marc Skinner said: “It’s nice to welcome Aoife back.
She’s played a couple of Under-21 games now and got the minutes in her legs. We still have to build up slowly and carefully.”
One new name in the squad is Wake Forest University forward Emily Murphy. English-born Murphy, who qualifies for Ireland through her
Dublin-born father, trained with the Girls in Green in April 2021.
Liverpool duo Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan and West Ham’s Jess Ziu are all back after long-term injuries.
Ireland take on Italy (5.15pm) in Viola Park, the home base for ACF Fiorentina, before welcoming Wales to Tallaght Stadium (7.30pm). IRELAND SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses), Sophie Whitehouse (Lewes). Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (Reading – on loan from West Ham United), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Caitlin Hayes (Celtic), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Aoife Mannion (Manchester United), Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses). Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Lily Agg (Birmingham City), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Megan Connolly (Bristol City), Ruesha Littlejohn (London City Lionesses), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Heather
Payne (Everton), Jess Ziu (West Ham United), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace). Forwards:
Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool),
Emily Murphy (Wake Forest University).