Áine O’Gorman: ‘I always said, the dream is to play in a major finals . . . I am so lucky to live that dream’

Amber Barrett is standing in the corner of a meeting room just off the hotel lobby, holding a mobile phone and a captivated country in the palm of her hand.

The radio interviews keep coming, she has scored that goal dozens of times this morning via the airwaves of Ireland, just as she has also been asked to travel the road to Creeslough and back, doing so with tears in her eyes, Tír Chonaill in her heart.

Áine O’Gorman is buzzing around while some of her team-mates knock about in various states of tiredness, exultation and disbelief. They arrived back on a charter flight in the early hours of Wednesday morning, greeted on the tarmac at Dublin Airport by a cacophony of flashing lights and blaring sirens laid on by the airport’s fire and rescue team.

Truth is, they came home a different group of players. That’s what happens when what has been a lifetime work for many makes you an overnight success story. Nevertheless, here they are, this is where they find themselves today, idols for a generation of girls and boys, women and men. Their team is now our team, Ireland’s team.

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“When I went to see Olivia O’Toole playing in Richmond Park as a kid, my dad brought me, that was the moment I realised I could live the dream of playing for Ireland,” says O’Gorman, who made her debut at 16. She’s 33 now.

“I always said, the dream is to play in a major finals and that’s the next step for women’s football in Ireland. I am so lucky to live that dream.”

In schoolyards and sports pitches across the country they have become real-life superheroes – from Megan ‘Cannonball’ Campbell to Vera Pow!, from Louise ‘The Mighty’ Quinn to Amber, simply Amber. For when Damien Duff says your goal reminded him of Romario, Amber is all that is needed.

From where the women’s game was in 2017, the trajectory over the last five years has been quite something. Without the stance taken back then, Tuesday night in Hampden Park would not have been possible.

“Absolutely, 2017 was a big turning point,” admits O’Gorman. “When you start competing at a higher level, it is all those little percentages that make a difference – your charter plane, your backroom team, your physios, your nutritionists. And when the going gets tough that can be what the difference is.”

Ireland’s style of play has often been tough on the eye, but their defensive duties are something the players wear as a badge of honour.

“I think we all enjoy it, we love getting in the way, putting bodies in the way,” says O’Gorman, who was almost the goalscoring star of the night but missed a chance to put Ireland in front. “I closed my eyes, I thought that was my moment, but it wasn’t to be.”

No, the moment of the night was reserved for something greater than sport and it was to be delivered with powerful poignancy, the girl from Milford bringing tears to so many.

“Obviously we’ve got Amber, Roma McLaughlin and Ciara Grant in the squad, and what happened in Donegal is so tragic,” says O’Gorman.

“I think that was a really special moment for Amber. It was a great touch in and great finish and really special celebration too.”

There can only be one first time, and this is the group of women who have wrestled history to yield. Plans for Australia can start, Joxer can forget Stuttgart and Rome, and instead start dreaming of Sydney and Auckland.

“And you can still get your credit union loan,” jokes O’Gorman. “I was even saying that to people last night, ‘you better start saving for Australia.’ What a place to go, what a place to play a World Cup.”

For Chloe Mustaki, she wants this to be the start rather than the end of something for the women’s game in Ireland.

“Hopefully now, it can be the norm – girls can dream of being professional football players and make a living from it, and not worry financially will they be able to support a family and all the rest,” she says. “I think it will be major, hopefully we’ve inspired enough young girls to keep at it.”

Eventually, with her radio interviews wrapped up, Amber walks through the room. “Don’t be so serious,” she smiles at a group of journalists. “Loosen up.”

And off she goes, her cape fluttering in the slipstream, one of Ireland’s latest superheroes.

Marvels, the lot.

Ends.