A song cheering on the Republic of Ireland at this year's FIFA Women's World Cup is being released ahead of the team's first-ever appearance at the tournament.
Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream) is a celebration of Irish sportswomen. It is the perfect tune to cheer on the Girls in Green as they compete at the World Cup in Australia.
The song is written by Maria Walsh and recorded by Zrazy, made up of Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson.
The music duo previously went to Number One in Ireland with the hugely successful 1990 World Cup song Watch Your House (Ooh Ah, Paul McGrath).
The track contains an excerpt from the speech made by President Michael D Higgins on St Patrick’s Day this year.
“We are all part of a rich and vibrant global community that is bound together by a shared love of life,” President Higgins says in his contribution.
Broadcaster and vlogger Shebahn Aherne, the twin sister of Irish international footballer Ruesha Littlejohn, also features in the single.
The song's middle section is a celebration of Irish sportswomen, with Katie Taylor, Sonia O’Sullivan, Kellie Harrington, Leona Maguire and Rhasidat Adeleke also name-checked on the track.
Songwriter Maria Walsh said: “I had been following the Irish women’s team for a long time and it was really inspiring to see them battle their way through to the World Cup finals in Australia.
"It was a truly extraordinary moment when Amber Barrett scored that winning goal against Scotland. I couldn’t resist the feeling that we should do something special to celebrate that – and Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream) is the result.
"Hopefully it’ll give Irish fans something unique and memorable to sing on the terraces during the remainder of the build-up, and at the World Cup finals in Australia.
"I really wanted the song to properly celebrate the extraordinary Irish women, who have represented us so powerfully on the world stage.
"For so long Irish women were sidelined, but the success of our female heroes in sport has demonstrated just how profoundly wrong all of that was. And the Irish women’s football team are the latest – and potentially most far-reaching – expression of the reality that Irish women are entitled to equal respect and equal treatment in every aspect of Irish life, without exception."
The track is being released on the Hot Press Records label. Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream) by Zrazy, featuring President Michael D Higgins and Shebahn Aherne, is available from Friday, July 7, for sale on iTunes and to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and all other relevant online platforms.
Listen to the song here.
