Comebacks are synonymous with football. The media are full of stories of athletes fighting the odds to regain their place at the top. You would, however, be hard to find one as satisfying and welcome as that of the Republic of Ireland’s Sinead Farrelly.
The 33-year-old is heading to her first World Cup after only 140 minutes of senior international football, marking one of the most remarkable returns. After a playing career in which she has overcome serious injury and experienced sexual abuse, she is a favourite to be named in the Irish lineup that will face hosts Australia in their sold-out tournament opener.
Before 1 April 2023, Farrelly had not kicked a ball competitively for eight years. Regarded as a highly talented midfielder, she had been playing in the NWSL and represented the USAat every youth level. A car crash in 2015, however, caused injuries and a concussion that forced her to her retire from professional football.
It would emerge years later, however, that injury was only a small part of what Farrelly was dealing with. Along with her Portland Thorns teammate Mana Shim, she revealed to the Athletic in September 2021 the sexual coercion and harassment to which both players had been subjected by their former coach Paul Riley. It was an act of bravery that added huge weight to emerging reports of abuse across the National Women’s Soccer League. It saw Riley dismissed from his role at North Carolina, despite his continued denial, and set off a wave of investigations that have resulted in fundamental change in the league. For a player whose time on the pitch had been relatively limited, her impact and courage off it has been transformational.
Any comeback was always going to be on Farrelly’s terms and as the 2023 NWSL pre-season approached she decided to try. Impressing at Gotham, she signed a one-year deal with the club and made an emotional return to the field against OL Reign. One week later, she was making her international debut for Ireland, impressing in a 60-minute cameo against the USA in Texas after her international clearance came through. Though born in Pennsylvania, she qualifies through her father and has dual citizenship. “Ireland has always been really interwoven into our life and my family life, so it feels a little surreal, but I feel really honoured and proud to be wearing this badge,” she told FAI TV on her introduction to the team.
Only three months away from the World Cup, she became an integral part of Vera Pauw’s major tournament plans. “We were waiting on a player like Sinead,” the manager said after her debut as she looked to consolidate a squad that has been developing since qualifying for their first major tournament last October.
Preparations have not been completely smooth in the weeks spent preparing in Dublin. There have been injuries to key players with Aoife Mannion and Megan Campbell unable to recover in time. Pauw herself has been under the microscope with allegations of weight-shaming and controlling coaching methods from her time in the NWSL, claims she strongly contests.
Nevertheless, there is no doubting the anticipation that surrounds a team that have come so far. Ireland is known for passionate support of its sporting icons and appearances on cultural beacons such as the Late Late Toy Show and being made Grand Marshal for this year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade shows how far they have broken through in Irish society.
Based in Brisbane before their opener, the squad appear relaxed as they settle into their new environment. There is a genuine sense of excitement despite the scale of the task ahead. They have been handed a difficult draw both in terms of their opponents – Australia, Canada, Nigeria – and the travel (Ireland will travel 8,000km in the group stage alone). Yet with the likes of Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan on the pitch, coupled with that infamous Irish spirit, there is a feeling that anything can happen.
“Something proves only to be impossible the moment it shows to be impossible,” Pauw says. “We’ve had a fantastic programme to prepare ourselves and we give our all. But we have to be realistic. It’s our first World Cup. We do not have as many players as others do. But we have a fantastic group with a heart for Ireland and that is immense.”
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Wales put up a stern challenge in the USA farewell send-off, holding out until the 76th minute against the world champions. The USA came through in the end, however, thanks to two goals from Trinity Rodman. Her second was the pick as she unleashed a wicked finish from just outside the box after some chaotic Welsh defending.
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