Analysis: each tournament's legacy and impact will be seismic for Irish sport and society, but for much different reasons
When we take look at the players, coaches, styles of play, the personality of the two squads and the circumstances of the games themselves, 1990 and 2023 have more in common than we might expect. Both managed by a charismatic, foreign-born coach beloved by the Irish public, in Jack Charlton and Vera Pauw. Both led by brave, tough-tackling captains, in Mick McCarthy and Katie McCabe.
Both playing with a defensive, hard-to-beat style of football, with enough individual talent and flair to upset the odds. Two teams making full use of the Granny Rule, Charlton’s World Cup squad featuring 15 players that were born outside the Republic of Ireland, Pauw’s with 10. Throw in a glamour meeting with the World Cup hosts - Italy back in 1990 in the quarter finals in Rome and Australia in the opening game of the tournament in Sydney this time around - and we can see there are many similarities between then and now.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, current and former Irish women's soccer players, and some enthusiastic young fans, talk to Samantha Libreri ahead of the World Cup.
But so many differences too. When we look back at media coverage of major sporting events like a World Cup or an Olympic Games, whether through books, documentaries, or even episodes of Reeling in the Years, it reveals a lot about where society was at that moment in time. These sporting events help remind us what the national mood was, what the political climate was like. It offers us an insight into what mattered back then, and why, when we try to assess their legacy and impact. Sport is a mirror of society, reflecting the emotions, feelings and values of a time and place, as it stood back then.
"The 1990 World Cup captured Ireland’s imagination," commented the New York Times. "The team defied the odds in Italy, its unexpected run to the quarter finals transfixed the nation. Many saw it not simply as the summer when Ireland became a true soccer nation — its loyalties having always been split between soccer, rugby, Gaelic football and hurling — but as the start of the country’s economic boom in the 1990s. Italia ’90 was Ireland’s coming out on the international stage."
A national football team, its style of play, the characters and personalities of its squad members, can also say a lot about the country they are representing and the values that it holds close to heart. The players that pull on the green jersey, their journeys, and how they came to be there at the World Cup, tells a story about Ireland, about emigration, family ancestry and the social issues that existed at the time.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Like Family, Breda Donohue meets the families and fans of the Irish team ahead of the World Cup
When we look at Ireland in 1990 and in 2023, life is very different, especially for women. Consider the fact that when Charlton’s side enthralled the nation by reaching the quarter finals, there was no FIFA Women's World Cup. Women could watch and admire the feats of the boys in green as they beat Romania on penalties and battled Italy, but they could not play in a World Cup of their own. The dream didn’t even exist yet. The first FIFA Women’s World Cup would only take place in 1991.
When asked about dreaming of playing at a World Cup as a child, veteran Ireland defender and Liverpool captain Niamh Fahey said the dream only came later on in her career, when greater visibility for women’s sport was starting to grow. "I didn’t dream of it when I was younger," Fahey told the Second Captain’s podcast. "I pretended that I was Liverpool and Michael Owen in my back garden. Obviously I watched all of the tournaments with the Irish men’s team. But as far as ‘a dream’, it was only something that happened later in life."
When we take a closer look at the squad members of Ireland’s two debut World Cup teams, it reveals a cast of characters moulded by their life experiences. Their families, the different countries they grew up in. Triumphs and tragedies on and off the pitch.
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From RTÉ's Soccer Podcast in 2020, Niamh Fahey talks about becoming Liverpool captain
Paul McGrath, star of Italia ‘90, was deeply respected by football fans for his incredible abilities in defence. But it is his warm personality, his bravery and vulnerability in so openly battling his demons with alcoholism and suicide, describing his childhood experiences in orphanages, and about growing up as a black child in 1960s Dublin, that revealed the depth to his character, on top of being a world-class football player. His status as a cherished national icon is undisputed and his football performances are only one aspect of why he is so greatly admired throughout Ireland. McGrath is a heroic figure in Irish sport and emblematic of Italia ‘90.
Likewise when we look at Ireland’s squad for this summer’s World Cup, there are also a host of characters and personalities that are to be admired. Both for their football abilities as elite level athletes, but also the causes they champion and the values they hold as people. They reflect a modern Ireland.
Team captain McCabe's campaigns for the LGBT community, Chloe Mustaki's battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and manager Pauw's brave public statement that she had been the victim of sexual assault, are all insights into a team filled with role models who have overcome adversity and stand up for social justice.
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From RTÉ Sport, interview with Amber Barrett after her two-goal performance against Zambia in June 2023
In a sombre moment, striker Amber Barrett dedicated her winning goal in Ireland's World Cup play-off to the victims of last year's disaster in Creeslough, the village where her grandparents live. "I’m dedicating it to those 10 beautiful souls who unfortunately perished," she said in an emotional interview after beating Scotland. "For all their families. This is for Creeslough. This is for Donegal."
Perhaps one of the most remarkable stories of perseverance and bravery to come out of the current Ireland squad belongs to midfielder Sinead Farrelly. A new member of the squad, born in Pennsylvania but qualifying through her Cavan-born father, the 33-year-old was a whistleblower for the current sexual abuse scandal dominating the NWSL, the highest professional football league in America.
The impact of the abuse she suffered resulted in Farrelly taking a seven year break from the sport in 2015. She made a remarkable return to playing football last summer and is now preparing to feature in her first-ever World Cup. The bravery she displayed in coming forward to speak about her experiences of abuse has earned her respect and admiration from many.
Women's team and FAI at loggerheads - Republic of Ireland women's team threaten to withdraw from international with Slovakia pic.twitter.com/9QNbpl9quK
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) April 4, 2017
Each member of Pauw’s team has their own story to tell. Journeys of having to battle ongoing sexism and inequality en route to the country’s first-ever World Cup. Stories of changing in airport toilets on international duty, having to hand back oversized tracksuits, being described as "the dirt off the FAI's shoes" as recently as 2017. This Ireland team’s trade union fight for equal pay and better treatment will be felt by generations of future women’s footballers.
The journey to the 2023 World Cup is vastly different from Italia '90 when we compare interest from the public, TV viewing figures, prize money, and the expectations placed on each squad given the resources available to them. Each tournament’s legacy will be seismic for Irish sport, but for different reasons.
Yet, with closer inspection, the number of similarities is also quite striking. Over two decades apart, the playing style and substance of Charlton and Pauw’s squad, the love of the Irish public toward its manager who got them through qualification for the very first time, and the admirable cast of personalities and trailblazers in each squad, is also noteworthy. Each team’s experiences en route to the grandest stage of all, and the elite players and coaches that led the way, tell us a lot about Irish sport then and how it stands now, as the fight for more resources, better standards of facilities, and media coverage for women’s sport continues year on year.
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From RTÉ 2fm's Jennifer Zamparelli show, RTÉ journalist Samantha Libreri on the Irish team's preparations ahead of the World Cup kickoff on July 20th
What Ireland’s teams of 1990 and 2023 share in common is an ability to put their country on the world stage, create joy, make a nation proud, inspire future generations to follow in their footsteps and, perhaps one day, even emulate their achievements at another World Cup.
When Ireland first qualified for a World Cup in 1990, and enjoyed some of the most joyful days many can recall in the history of the State, that same dream was not even a possibility for half the population. Women could watch, but a FIFA Women’s World Cup did not exist. The dream for women to represent their country at a World Cup wasn’t possible yet.
Pauw’s team, featuring LGBT campaigners, whistleblowers drawing attention to abuse, the entire squad’s battle for equal pay, represent so much of what is admirable about the power of sport and a more modern, inclusive Ireland. On and off the pitch, the team have battled to get to Australia. They will now live a dream not even possible when Ireland reached its first World Cup 23 years ago.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
