Hundreds cheer on girls in green at World Cup

Hundreds gathered at the Irishtown stadium in dublin to cheer on the Irish team when they took on hosts Australia and Canada.

Attendees were hoping that Irishtown native Abbie Larkin will get some match time.

Her uncle Micheal Larkin, who organised balcony bingo during the Covid-19 pandemic, was instrumental in organising the events. speaking on rTÉ ahead of the Australia match, Mr Larkin said there was huge excitement in the area.

“Abbie is after putting in a hell of a lot of work. It’s amazing. It’s absolutely buzzing around ringsend and Irishtown,” he said.

For the Australia game, rain dampened the spectators in Irishtown at the end of the first half, but it did not dampen the mood.

While some scrambled for cover, plenty more grabbed blankets and umbrellas and remained camped in front of the big screens.

Clouds cleared as the second half began, but a cloud of a different kind descended briefly, when Australian Captain steph Catley made it 1-0 in the 52nd minute.

Fans were buoyed again when Abbie, the pride of Irishtown and the youngest player in Vera Pauw’s squad, was brought on in the 63rd minute.

Meanwhile, almost 500 Irish soccer fans gathered on Coogee Beach just outside sydney on to show their support for the girls in green ahead of their World Cup opener.

The Irish abroad created a human #COYGIG sign on the popular beach at sunrise and on hand to capture the special moment was Westmeath man, dermot Judge, who moved down under almost five years ago. “It’s all excitement here. There were close to 500 people out at 5:30am, lots of locals, but also people who have come over especially to support the women’s team, and even some family members of the team themselves.

“It was nice to see such a mix,” dermot said.

The gathering was organised by a man named Keith donnelly, founder and director of Keith’s Closet, a not-for-