IN a couple of weeks’ time, we'll all be bitten by the Women’s World Cup bug.
In the initial stages, you’ll think you can avoid all the hoo-ha and patriotic fervour from Australia and New Zealand - but you won’t.
You’ll be setting your alarm clocks, you'll be firmly in the Sydney time zone before the 82,000 fans stream into Stadium Australia on July 20 to watch ‘the Matildas’ take on the Republic of Ireland in their opener.
And before the group stages expire, we’ll know everything about our local heroes from Balbriggan, Wicklow, Letterkenny, Milford, Cork, Dublin, Roscommon and Galway, and the Anglo-Irish and Irish American contingent that have enriched and transformed Vera Pauw’s 23-strong squad into a wonderful melting pot.
And you know somewhere along the line we’ll fall in love with swashbuckling Amber Barrett. Again.
And we won’t be able to ignore Youtuber Ruesha Littlejohn. Chloe Mustaki’s life-story will knock you for six and lift you back up again.
Ciara Grant could chat all day about whatever you want and tell you exactly what the number six does in the team and will happily regale you of her GAA days back in her native Donegal.
The players’ back stories will have you howling for more.
In the swanky surroundings of O’Reilly Hall in UCD on Thursday, the national media had already been bitten by the bug and were here to watch the handing over of the green jersey to each of the 23 lucky players bound for Australia.
One by one, they were invited onto the stage where they received their numbered and named jersey and a warm embrace from their manager.
Ruesha Littlejohn – the joker in the pack – came out shadow-boxing throwing jaunty lefts and rights before bouncing up onto the stage.
Goose-bumped footage was thrown onto the big screen of how Ireland made history by qualifying for their first-ever World Cup finals. The vibe was slickness itself.
The 23 players migrated to another huge function room where they took their allocated seats and waited for the media to pitch for interviews.
It felt like speed dating, as journalists rushed to their favourite player for interview.
Each player was impeccably patient. For a while, you just couldn't get near Amber Barrett's table.
If Tuesday and Wednesday were deeply emotional times, as Pauw informed those luckless players who didn't make the cut, Thursday was slightly better.
There were still some mournful tones among the chosen ones for their team-mates who suffered World Cup heartbreak.
Absolutely nobody would want to relive the Zambia tie again. Last Thursday night’s warm-up game in Tallaght was an audition from hell.
Pauw wanted one last look before she decided on the 23 players.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” said Amber Barrett, forever Ireland’s goal hero of Hampden, “because, until you actually get the nod that you’re going, you can’t be delighted.
“Vera could easily have turned around and said to me: ‘No, Amber, you’re not part of the 23.’ And then you’d question why you’d been building yourself up for this.”
If there was a shred of doubt about Barrett being on the plane to Australia, she absolutely nailed her seat down with two second-half goals against Zambia.
“As much as people were saying: ‘Vera can’t leave you out,’ I didn’t buy into that.
“In a way it could’ve been the case that it was down to how I played against Zambia. I haven’t asked Vera that question and it’s a question I’d be comfortable about asking: ‘Did that 45 minutes against Zambia get me over the line?’ I’d say it probably did.
“I’d like to know the answer out of curiosity. I couldn’t have turned around after those 45 minutes and not played well and complain about not getting selected.
“You’ve 45 minutes to prove yourself. But I think Vera knows the relationships I have with the players, that they know I’m a reliable person to have around the team, and you’re also there because you’re good enough.”
By this stage of proceedings, Barrett had probably granted over 20 interviews for print, digital, radio and television, but spoke to The Irish News with the enthusiasm of it being her first of the day.
“Everything I’ve got I’ve had to work for it,” said the former Donegal GAA star.
“I think that’s a big characteristic that I have and when I was given the nod on Tuesday, I definitely felt I’ve earned it, it wasn’t just handed to me. That was a really proud moment for me and for my family as well.”
Amen, Amber Barrett.
Set your alarms. The Women's World Cup bug is gonna get you.
