Postcard from Perth: Dream ended at the shortest of stopovers

Perth was meant to be the shortest stopover of the lot on this tour of Australia but not for most of the press pack.

The combo of wind and rain that threatened to dampen the Irish spirits, yet may have aided Katie McCabe’s wondergoal from a corner, caught up with flights, leaving several of the domestic services grounded for all of Thursday.

Luckily, rather than by design, your correspondent was on the redeye that preceded the glut of cancellations, stranding most scribes in the city they least enjoyed for another 24 hours.

Perhaps it was the weather, or the arduous five-and-a-half-hour flight from east to west, but Perth didn’t share the allure of the other stopovers in Brisbane and Sydney. Much of the city, particularly around central station, is under construction with giant hoarding informing of the Transport 3.5m Plan, harnessed by a metro system.

We could experience from similar projects in the other cities how functional this project will become for those in Dublin awaiting a sod to be turned on creating a yard of underground track. Smooth, electrified shuttles from the Airport again magnify the idiocy of not immersing a facility for light rail into the Port Tunnel.

At least the Irish are at the core of constructing the new services, Gaeilige names galore etched on the signage and across the motor fleet stationed at laydown areas.

Two minutes from central station on the corner of St James’ Street lay An Sibin, another unofficial gathering point for fans and families. Abbie Larkin’s crew rocked up on the eve of the match to be welcomed by the Cork native manager, with record goalscorer Olivia O’Toole and her circle of friends from inner city Dublin enjoying the atmosphere and music getting the party going.

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