Sinead Farrell Reports from Páirc Uí Chaoimh
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND captain Katie McCabe says returning for another international fixture at Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh as a Champions League winner with Arsenal is “really special”.
Ireland are back in the famous GAA venue for a crucial Nations League clash with Slovenia on Tuesday evening, where they must win by at least four goals if they are to secure automatic promotion to League A.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh hosted a Republic of Ireland women’s international fixture for the first time last July on what turned out to be a memorable occasion. Ireland defeated France 3-1 to pick up their a first win in their Euro 2025 qualification campaign. 18,399 fans filled the stadium for that fixture, and McCabe is hoping for a similar atmosphere as Ireland face a tough assignment against the Group B2 leaders.
“We feel the love and support from the people of Cork the minute we arrived down,” McCabe said “So, I’m really, really excited to get out in Páirc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow night with the girls.
“I think for us as players that France game will stick with us for a long time. It was an amazing crowd, a fantastic day and a remarkable result against one of the best teams in the world. I’ve taken a walk into town over the last day or two and I can feel the support already when you’re walking by shops and pubs on the bank holiday weekend and everyone’s kind of cheering us on.”
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McCabe cut her Champions League celebrations short last week to link up with the Ireland squad ahead of the Türkiye game. But she said it was no sacrifice on her part as she was eager to return to the international fold.
“I’d spoken to Carla straight away and of course, you have to enjoy the celebrations of winning a Champions League. She asked me how I was and I said I was ready because everyone knows how much I love playing for Ireland and representing my country and leading these girls out. I never take it for granted. It was really, really hard for me to miss that Greece home game back in Tallaght.”
In the build-up to that game against France last year, McCabe was linked with a move to Lyon in which she was identified as a “firm target.” She said that the speculation was “really nice” at the time but insisted that she was committed to staying with Arsenal having signed a new deal in September 2023. McCabe originally joined the club in 2015.
She can reflect on that period now as a Champions League winner with the Gunners after a shock 1-0 victory over Barcelona.
“I think obviously when you play for a top club, naturally those sorts of interests become media topics,” she said when reminded about the Lyon rumours. “For me, I was fully concentrated on representing the club to the best I could obviously all season. Domestically, we were frustrated with how things panned out for us.
“But we had such a remarkable run in the Champions League right from the very start in the qualification phase. So, to go through right until the very end and win the club a European trophy after 18 years was really special.”
The task facing Ireland tomorrow is significant given that they must win by at least four goals if they are to overtake Slovenia at the summit of Group B2 and earn automatic promotion to League A. If they fall short, they will head down the play-off route in October.
McCabe, however, says the goal target is the not their primary focus tomorrow. The bigger concern is improving on their form from last Friday where they were forced to come back from 1-0 down against Türkiye to snatch a 2-1 victory in Istanbul.
“I don’t think it’s important,” she said when asked about required goal tally.
“Well, it is obviously important about how many goals, but if we don’t score the first one you can forget about the fourth. We just have to be fully concentrated on how we’re setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible.
“For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways but, like I mentioned to you on Friday evening after the game, if we want to top this group we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch. We’ve looked at it. We’ve obviously got one more session today and we’ll be absolutely giving everything tomorrow evening.”