After winning her 111th cap against Nigeria in Ireland’s final game of the World Cup last July, Niamh Fahey, then three months away from her 36th birthday, was, inevitably, asked if there were any thoughts of retirement in her head. She didn’t rule it in, she didn’t rule it out, she hadn’t given it a whole lot of thought at that stage. But, she admitted, if that game in Brisbane proved to be her final appearance for Ireland, there’d be no “better way to go out”.
As it’s proved, Fahey isn’t done with her international career just yet. After overcoming a calf injury that has ruled her out for Ireland since that night in Brisbane, and only saw her make her first start of the season for Liverpool last month, she has been brought back in to the squad for the friendlies against Italy in Florence on Friday and Wales at Tallaght Stadium the following Tuesday.
And when she talked about getting the phone call from Eileen Gleeson last week, she had the look of a woman who appreciated it maybe as much as her first call-up 17 years ago. “I was absolutely buzzing,” she says.
Gleeson, after all, isn’t short of centre back options these days, the return of Aoife Mannion and the emergence of Caitlin Hayes bolstering a crop that still includes Louise Quinn and Diane Caldwell, with the defensively versatile Megan Campbell also now back in the fold. Add in the youthful Jessie Stapleton, and others chomping at the bit for a recall, such as Hayley Nolan, Claire O’Riordan and Savannah McCarthy, and the competition has never been stiffer.
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“There’s no guarantees about anything in life,” says Fahey when asked about winning her place back. “It’s a very competitive squad, especially in defence, one of the strongest we’ve ever had – and there are a few out still. Caitlin has done excellently since she came in, fair play, the whole unit as well. I can only control what I can control, it’s not going to be easy, I just have to train well and we’ll see how things go at the end of the week.”
She is, though, just relieved to be hale and hearty again after her injury woes. “Yeah, I had a bit of a rough time after the World Cup and missed all the [Nations League] games. So I’m delighted to be back in. It’s a fresh start with a new group, and it feels so new – and it feels like a fresh start for me too.
“It was just another calf injury, the story of my life. It’s been there for the last year and then it was a re-rupture in a preseason game against Manchester United, it just popped again. They’re not the quickest of injuries to come back from, so it was a frustrating time again.
“Coming up to the World Cup, I was under so much pressure to get fit after the initial calf injury, pushing myself to make it. I probably didn’t have enough time off afterwards, I probably needed a couple of extra weeks, but I wanted to get back into Liverpool and hit the ground running in preseason. But yeah, that’s when it popped again. Fingers crossed, no more calf injuries and that’s the back of them.”
So long as she can stay fit and get in the Liverpool team, she sees no reason now to call time on her Ireland career. “I haven’t ever looked too far ahead, I focus on my club first, see how that goes, and if I’m doing well enough then I’ll get selected for Ireland. That’s always been the way. But in the here and now, I’m fit and healthy and playing for my club week in, week out, and that’s where I’m at. I’m happy to be back in a green jersey. I’m still here. There will be a day, of course [when she retires], but not yet.”
And having missed out on the Nations League campaign, she was enthused by reports back from her team-mates about the new management team. “I’ve spoken to the girls and they said what a positive and professional environment it is, how well run it is. It’s quite clear that there were issues in the past, but everyone is comfortable with where we are at now and if there ever needs to be an issue addressed everyone knows the correct channels. I don’t think that’s an issue any more.”
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