Thousands turn out for return of hockey heroes in Dublin City

A homecoming event for the World Cup silver medallists was held in Dublin.

Mon, 06 Aug, 2018 - 19:06

By Cóilín Duffy in Dublin City Centre

Thousands of fans turned out in Dublin's Dame Street this afternoon to welcome home the Irish Womens Hockey team, who claimed silver at the World Cup in London yesterday.

Dublin Mayor Nial Ring and Sports Minister Shane Ross were among the dignatories present, as the squad members were given a huge welcome on stage just after 3pm.

Irish coach Graham Shaw addressed the crowd to rapturous applause, paying tribute to all of those who supported the players and management throughout this journey.

"All of these girls come from Hockey schools or else clubs all around of Ireland," he said.

"People here have been a part of that journey and it's just fantastic that they are here to support them and we really, really appreciate that, thank you all very, very much."

People gather for the team homecoming in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

On a broader level, Irish captain Katie Mullan touched on the efforts that had gone into delivering this World Cup success.

"It's very hard to put that into a few words," she said.

"There's been a huge amount of sacrifices from the girls, but I think we can all agree that every single one of them has been worthwhile, especially when we look out here and see the crowd, and I just want to say - Thank you Ireland!!!!"

We’re back! A massive thank you to everyone who came to meet us off the plane 💚 & to @DublinAirport @irishhockey @cityjet & our amazing sponsors @SoftCoGroup for treating us like queens 👸🏼 on to our civic reception to continue the celebrations 🥈 #HWC2018 #GreenArmy #ChaseIt pic.twitter.com/kbS1H0sCtK
— Green Army (@IreWomenHockey) August 6, 2018

Asked about her favourite moment of the Tournament, Mullen says it was a song that stood out.

"Definitely singing 'All I want for Christmas is You' before the final yesterday morning in the Park beside our Hotel where we did mobility every morning!

"It became a bit of a tradition that the night before a game it felt like Christmas Eve, so then the morning of the game it felt like Christmas morning, so we sung Christmas songs for the whole morning!"

Proceedings drew to a close as the squad sang that very song - they felt every day was like Christmas Day during this tournament, and Christmas certainly came early for a squad who delivered a World Cup Final appearance for the first time ever.

Who knows what else can come in the future.