With two days to go, preparations are well under way in Sydney for the opening game of the Women’s World Cup when Ireland takes on the hosts Australia.
The Republic of Ireland squad will not be the only Irish people taking centre stage at that event.
The kick-off for the game will be preceded by a four-minute opening ceremony which has been produced by a man from Clonsilla in west Dublin.
Barry Wafer from Rizer has created the opening, closing and bronze medal ceremonies of the ninth Women’s World Cup after his company successfully won the bid to run the landmark events on behalf of FIFA.
While the company, which he founded after moving to Australia 23 years ago, is no stranger to producing large-scale experiences for big corporate clients (a recent one included Kylie Minogue under the wing of a Qantas aeroplane) the ceremonies for the Women’s World Cup will be the biggest audience for which they have put on a display.
While FIFA will not allow him to divulge too many details about the events, he said a celebration of culture will be at its core.
Mr Wafer said: "I can't give you themes on what we're doing but I think it's nice to say that we're going to really celebrate the place in which we come from both here and in New Zealand.
"It's a great nod to culture which cultural beginnings both Australia New Zealand and it's a nice way to celebrate being here."
The move of the event from the 40,000 stadium that is located just at the back of his office at the Disney Studios in Moore Park in Sydney to the much larger 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia presented some challenges for the company, which had to redesign parts of the event to tailor it to the new location.
But Mr Wafer said he believes that up to half of that crowd could be Irish and that will make for a unique atmosphere for the opening game of the tournament.
He said: "I think it's going to be immense. I think there’s going to be massive support, both for the Australian and the Irish teams and I think it's gonna be an incredible evening.
"I think the energy is going to be unlike any we've seen before. I think Australia's pumped to have any big sporting events.
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"With the Matilda's doing what they do and spearheading sport and football in this country. It's such a great atmosphere and people are really excited about it. I can even see it with my own nine-year-old."
He added: "There’s Lionel Messi, there's Ronaldo and then there's Sam Kerr, for a lot of kids who are Australian. To see the excitement for such a tournament coming is amazing."
Another Irish person who will be watching the game closely is Shauna Keogh from Tallaght in Dublin.
The television producer of series such as 'Inside the K’ and tv features on GAA and AFL player Cora Staunton, she spent a year following for fortunes of the Australian women’s football team for a Disney Plus series.
She said the characters who make up the Matilda’s are what makes them the most loved sporting team in Australia.
Ms Keogh said: "Look at their backstories you know, like Caitlin Forde talking about how she's had to she had to fundraise to travel to games.
"You have Hayley Raso who is now playing for Real Madrid but had broken her back and had learned to walk again, overcoming a huge obstacle and I think it's the love of the game, the love of the sport, the love to be successful.
"So I think when people have given their heart and soul to something you know, people can connect with them emotionally and I think that's what it is with this team."
She said: "I think people have connected with him emotionally and want them to do well.
"Everybody has really fought to get to where they are today, dedicated their lives to training and improving their game and what they've done is they've invested back into the next generation and so that's where their following comes from.
"They don't take anything for granted. They don't feel privileged. They really work for their success but they understand the importance as well of playing their game as role models also for the next the next generation coming up."
However, despite her deep connections with this team of players, she vows she will cheer for her home country on Thursday.
"I'll always have a soft spot for the Matilda’s but my hearts with the Irish of course. I'll be in the green," she said.
Among those who will also be wearing green in the crowd next Thursday will be three former GAA players who have recently arrived in Sydney in recent weeks to play for the Women’s AFL side the Sydney Swans.
With a fourth Irish woman signed by the club in the last few days, they now have a record number of Irish players for an AFL side.
Five years after Cora Staunton first blazed this trail it brings to 33 the total number of Irish women now playing AFL in Australia.
Jenny Higgns from Roscommon arrived in Sydney seven weeks ago to play for the Swans.
Her husband Colm Shine, who also played for Roscommon, has got a job as the team's kit man.
She said: "The Sydney Swans have been amazing. Like they've made us feel so welcome. They love their Irish here.
"You know, there's now four players on the team and there's another four or five on staff as well."
Back home she was playing in places that have little or no facilities for women's teams, in a code that is battling for better standards and equality.
But here she proudly shows RTÉ News around the state-of-the-art facilities that Sydney Swans have which include a large fully equipped gym, an indoor Atsro training pitch, a pilates studio, ice baths and a dressing room with personalised lockers with digital keypads, which contains photos from home and a clear plastic bag filled with Barrys Tea bags.
She said: "I guess it's a very topical issue at the moment back home you know. I’m 13 years playing for Roscommon and the same difficulties arise every year in terms of our standards of the facilities and the basic standards really.
"Then you come over here you really just want for nothing. We get off the plane, someone's collected you there.
"The facilities as you can see here are out of this world. We have S&Cs physios, doctors on call at any time, not to mention the amazing high-performance coaches that we have here as well.
"It's like a dream come true for a female athlete really to be coming into an environment like this that's your sole purpose is just to be the best you can be."
Another new arrival is Julie O’Sullivan from outside Kenmare, Co Kerry who said that while it is been difficult to leave her family and twin sister behind, she does not feel too far from home in a country that is currently heaving with Irish immigrants of her age.
She said: "I'm quite young still so the change isn't too bad at the minute. I would have probably come over to Australia anyway.
"There's a lot of people coming over, a lot of people from where I'm living, they’re in Sydney as it is.
"There's Irish everywhere, down in like Coogee beach and areas like that. If you're looking for a bit of home, you just go down to areas like that and you're sorted straightaway. They're everywhere."
Paris McCarthy from Castleisland, Co Kerry is Julie’s teammate and housemate.
They have arrived in the city at a crucial time for women’s sport in Australia and they are hoping to soak up the celebrations that the World Cup brings.
"If you walk down to like Circular Quay you'll see all the flags for the World Cup. For me, I'm just extremely excited for it. I just feel a buzz around the club because there are 22 of us going to the game."
"So you'll see half of the team and Australian jerseys, half of us and Irish ones."
"Obviously, they're a very, very good team and Sam Kerr is one of the best in the world but I think Katie McCabe is up there with her and I think it'll be an amazing matchup.
"It'll be exciting to see and I think if they come out with their heart and play as hard as they can, they could come out with a win."
Their coach Scott Gowans watches on as his new recruits speak to RTÉ News.
This AFL team is just over a year old but he said the influx of Irish players, including recent recruit Tanya Kennedy, is bringing a good dynamic to the side.
He said: "They’re great people that just bring a culture of, I suppose, determination. Capacity to learn the game.
"A little bit of resilience by moving halfway around the world to play and then to a great personality. They really are infectious and really great teammates."
While he said they initially struggle to adapt to the oval ball, the players' speed on the pitch is what marks them out from Australian players.
He said he is also enjoying learning Irish lingo from the new recruits, with "banjaxed" being the one he is most recently added to his vocabulary.
Mr Gowans will be cheering on the Matildas on Thursday and is predicting a 1-0 win for the home side.
His players will be hoping the speed he associates with the Irish will be on display and the word banjaxed will not come into the equation for either side, on what will be a landmark day in both Irish and Australian women’s sporting history.
