Ciara Grant: Everyone who spent time on the journey is so proud of these brilliant women
Until recently, people would ask if I’d like to be playing football these days, now so much has improved for female players, and I’d tell them ‘not really’. I had my time, I enjoyed my career and wouldn’t change anything. But when I see the Ireland girls out there at the World Cup, I can admit I’d dearly love to be 10 years younger. Ok, maybe 15.
I must admit I don’t get much time to watch football these days. Two young kids, who appear to own the television, dictate that. But whenever I do, I’m so impressed with the level. In our time, you would regularly hear people say, ‘I can’t watch women’s football, the standard is this or that’. There are no excuses now. These women are brilliant.
Living in Barry in Wales, I don’t get to watch many of the Ireland matches. So I’ll be intrigued over the next few weeks, especially watching the girls who I played with, to see how they’ve developed over the years. Megan Campbell, Louise Quinn, Denise O'Sullivan and Áine O’Gorman had come into the Ireland squad before I finished. They were babies then, but you could already detect the spirit and determination in those girls. Diane Caldwell and Niamh Fahey were already stalwarts. I played with Niamh at Arsenal too as well as Ruesha Littlejohn. And Grace Moloney at Reading. Great people. That’s what gives me confidence we’ll do well, that there is such a volume of experience and resilience in the squad.
I’m thrilled they’ve achieved what we longed for during the 17 years I played for Ireland, and so many women before me strived for. We had our what-ifs and hard-luck stories. I’ve forgotten so many of them, but the European Championship campaign of 2009 lingers, when Noel King was manager. That playoff with Iceland, drawing 1-1 in Dublin,
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