O'Connell Street to host Irish World Cup homecoming

A public reception will be held on O'Connell Street on Thursday to welcome home Ireland’s World Cup history makers.

The Girls in Green’s maiden World Cup campaign ended at the group stage, with Vera Pauw’s side picking up their first point in the 0-0 draw with Nigeria, having lost 1-0 to hosts Australia before a battling 2-1 defeat at the hands of Canada.

The journey ended on something of a sour note as tensions simmered between Pauw and captain Katie McCabe during Monday’s goalless draw, with the Arsenal star's calls for second-half substitutions ignored by the manager.

The squad will be paraded with a public reception on Thursday evening in front of the GPO on O’Connell Street, beginning at 6:30pm.

"We’ve all enjoyed watching the Girls in Green do us proud in Australia," said the Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste.

"Now is our chance to tell them in person just how proud we are of them.

"I have no doubt their efforts will have inspired lots of girls and boys all over the city to try and be like them some day. So come along to O’Connell St on Thursday and lets give Vera and the squad a welcome home to remember!"

Uncertainty surrounds the future of Pauw in charge, with her contract due to expire in the next few weeks.

Pauw has consistently aired her desire to remain at the helm, but talks earlier in the summer appear to have stalled.

We need your consent to load this rte-player content We use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.