Now the battle returns to the field of play for Ireland

The Ireland senior women’s team have had more attention for wearing the ‘Respect’ shirt than the green shirt, writes Liam Mackey.

I wrote last September about a visit to Tallaght Stadium. Ireland were hosting Portugal in a senior women’s international. It was a dead rubber game for the home side, since qualification for this year’s European Championship finals in the Netherlands, was beyond their reach.

Still, it was a night of considerable consequence for my wide-eyed companions: my young daughter and two of her equally football-mad friends, whose disappointment at Ireland losing 1-0 was swept away in the game’s aftermath, as they waded into a throng of excited children pitch-side to meet the Irish players.