Ireland's match-winner Amber Barrett broke down in tears on Wednesday morning as she paid tributes to the victims of the Cresslough tragedy.
The Donegal woman scored the goal that gave Ireland a 1-0 victory over Scotland and sent them to next year's World Cup for the first time in their history.
Barrett, whose mother hails from Cresslough, dedicated her goal to the ten people who lost their lives in the tragic explosion last Friday.
READ MORE: Irish sport stars pay tribute to women's team after World Cup heroics
And in an emotional interview on the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, Barrett pointed to the minute's silence before the match at Hampden Park as the most memorable moment of her career.
She said: "The moment of silence before the game, I think that was, for me personally, that's one of the best moments I've had I think in my life,” she said.
"When I think you’re talking about 10,000 – 11,000 people in Hampden Park… the silence that fell in terms of respect, from the Irish people, from the Scottish people, you just can’t ignore that.”
Asked how she was able to channel her emotions to still produce a great performance on the pitch, Barrett said: “You can’t ignore what happened. I think having so many personal connections to Creeslough… you can’t just get off the train and away you go and forget everything.
"I think seeing everything on social media as things have progressed over the last few days, you’ve read stories about what happened to people, why they were there and you know stories of the little girl and her dad going to buy a birthday cake for the mum… I think you just can’t put that into words in terms of perspective.
"We don’t scratch the surface in terms of importance in life… I just think that this whole thing of the Irish women’s team qualifying for the World Cup, it gives some sentimental value to their lives and I'm so glad to be part of it.”
Becoming audibly upset, Barrett added: "We’ve done our best to lift spirit, but in terms of perspective I don’t think you can. I think it’s been very, very difficult.”
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