Sinead Farrelly enjoying 'difficult and wonderful' World Cup journey

Sinead Farrelly has just one hour of international football under her belt with the Republic of Ireland – and yet it feels like so much weighs on her shoulders at this World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

She was a shock call-up in the days before Ireland's April friendly against the USA in Austin, the FAI sorting out the paperwork in time for her to make a debut.

Farrelly had only recently returned to the game after an eight-year hiatus, having suffered concussion in a serious car crash in 2015. That period was profoundly stressful for the Pennsylvania-born midfielder for additional reasons. In 2021, she and her old team-mate Mana Shim went public with allegations against former Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley, the subsequent investigations finding widespread sexual abuse and misconduct in the NWSL.

In March 2023 Farrelly came back to football, joining New Jersey outfit Gotham FC. A month later she shone for Ireland, and now she’s going to a World Cup – a head-spinning journey that she’s still trying to process.

"It’s been difficult and wonderful, lots of ups and downs but I wouldn’t have chosen another way. I’m just grateful for it," the 33-year-old reflects now.

"I pretty much gave up soccer for good. It’s definitely been on my mind as I’ve come back. It was causing me a lot of anxiety at first because I was like, 'I have so much I have to catch up on, I’m not where everyone else is’.

"I shifted my perspective. There’s nothing else I can do at this point. I’m here, I just have to show up with where I’m at and what I have and trust it’ll be enough. If it’s not I’ll take a different path, but so far, so good."

"I felt pretty fragile on this journey back."

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