Páirc life suiting Ward's Ireland just fine
Amber Barrett of the Republic of Ireland, second from left, celebrates with teammate Jess Ziu. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
After the Republic of Ireland women made it three wins from their three games at Páirc Uí Chaoimh they all celebrated in the middle of the pitch, hand-in-hand, hand-in-hand through their, Páirc life.
As the ground staff quickly moved to put the GAA goals back up ahead of the Munster hurling final here on Sunday, the Irish Women’s National Team celebrated another historic victory on the banks of the Lee. And this was surely the best.
“We all knew it was going to be tough and that we were the underdogs coming into this game, but, we’re Irish and we are going to push through it and we got the result that we needed. The girls are absolutely buzzing,” the player of the match Abbie Larkin told
Match-winner Amber Barrett added: “That was bloody mental, how resilient we were in the last 20 minutes. I always have this unbelievable self-belief that I only need once chance in any type of game; sometimes it falls, and sometimes it doesn’t matter what form I’m in.
"And it was probably harder to miss than score but I’ll take it.”
On a day when former Ireland international Katie Taylor announced she is set to fight at the home of GAA in September, the current Girls in Green squad returned to the home of Cork GAA for the third time.
First there was the Páirc de Triomphe when hometown hero Denise O’Sullivan delighted the 18,399 in attendance by scoring a crucial goal that helped Ireland defeat then second seeds in the world France in July 2024.
Second then was when another local, Saoirse slayed Slovenia with the only goal in their victory here in June 2025, albeit Noonan’s early header didn’t lead to the Slovenian slaughter that was needed to climb above their opponents and snatch promotion in the Nations League.
And third was last night and the visit of the Netherlands. With Noonan sitting on the bench and O’Sullivan sitting in the stands due to her suspension, the pressure of continuing the run of Cork goalscorers on Leeside was placed on Megan Connolly’s shoulders.
But while she would’ve been the most popular choice amongst the 12,569 crowd to open the scoring, the roar when Ireland took the lead in the 19th minute through Kyra Carusa instead could hardly have been any louder.
An incisive pass from Reusha Littlejohn’s picked out Abbie Larkin and her precise through ball found the run of Carusa just inside the penalty area.
The Ireland number 19 still had a lot to do but she did it superbly, shrugging off her marker before coolly rolling the ball into the bottom right corner of the net at the Blackrock end.
Ireland 1 Netherlands 0, although if it wasn’t for the perfectly placed black bin bags on the scoreboard at the City End, it would have been Ireland 1-00 Netherlands 0-00.
Statement win. Amber Barrett the hero again as last min goal seals 3-2 victory over Netherlands.
— John Fallon (@JFallonExaminer) June 5, 2026
A ticket to World Cup in Brazil on line v France in Grenoble on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/7oOfzLvtj0
It was a lead Ireland would take into the break on what turned out to be a wet and miserable night.
It was a lead that lasted until the 70th minute (69 minutes and 55 seconds to be exact) until the Dutch equalised thanks to a penalty from Dominique Janssen, despite the best efforts of Courtney Brosnan.
Then in the 71st minute (70 minutes and 54 seconds to be exact), Ireland edged in front again through Abbie Larkin.
“This is definitely up there (one of her best moments), oh my god,” added Larkin.
The Dutch showed their courage to make it 2-2 and just as it looked like Ireland would have to settle for a draw and a playoff spot, Barrett, the Hampden hero, the match winner in Scotland to send Ireland to the last World Cup, tapped home from a few yards.
Maybe it’s an omen. We will see on Tuesday.
All roads now lead to Grenoble where Ireland’s women could record a similarly historic double-header victory to what the men produced against Portugal and Hungary late last year.
Arguably, it may even surpass it. Maybe they should play more matches at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
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