Huge welcome home for triumphant girls in green, as IRFU announces annual €1.1m grant

The Irish women's rugby team received a rapturous welcome at Dublin airport this afternoon when they arrived home with their first ever Six Nations trophy.

Hundreds dressed in green, white and orange turned out in the arrivals hall to greet the squad, who also clinched the Grand Slam with their 6 - 3 win over Italy in Milan yesterday.

Speaking at Dublin Airport, captain Fiona Coghlan said: "Everyone just gets on so well…How you can keep 30 girls happy, I don't know, but our management manage to do it…Every week, you have a different roomie so you're getting to know each other…It's just brilliant."

Ollie Hayes, whose daughter Fiona is in the squad, said he hoped their achievement would spur on the Government to give more support to women's rugby.

"They're a long time knocking at the door. The main thing they're looking for is recognition, which they have never got," he said.

"But now people are beginning to look up and see that women's rugby is just as good (as men's). The commitment is unbelievable - my daughter gets up at 6am and goes to the gym before she goes to work. They're all working or going to college - they're not professionals."

Meanwhile, the IRFU today announced a €1.1m annual investment in women's rugby with an ultimate target of Olympic success.

The money will be used to create a high-performance squad to qualify and successfully compete in Rio in 2016.