Amber Barrett dedicated her winning goal in Glasgow to the "ten beautiful souls in Creeslough" after providing the crucial moment which has taken the Republic of Ireland women's team to a first ever FIFA World Cup.
The 26-year-old came on as a 65th minute substitute against Scotland at Hampden Park in the crucial play-off for the 2023 finals and latched onto a pass from Denise O'Sullivan before finding the net with a composed finish which proved to be the historic winner in the 1-0 triumph.
Her goal celebration in the immediate aftermath of scoring was in tribute to the ten people who lost their lives in the explosion at the service station in Creeslough.
And wrapped in the flag of her native Donegal and clutching the Player of the Match award at full-time, an emotional Barrett told RTÉ Sport that the tragedy had been close to her thoughts given her close connections to the area.
"I know Creeslough like the back of my hand. Both my grandparents were Creeslough-born and bred and I spent my whole upbringing there in the summers and Christmases. Now every year I go back. From football I go to my uncle who's still living down in Creeslough," she said.
"I know people who died in the tragedy, I know people who were affected by the tragedy, I know people who were first at the scene at the tragedy and I've not been able to put it into words.
"There's been a sombreness about me the last few days. This is the best day of my life in terms of what we've done for football but when you put it into perspective, we don't scratch the surface of what happened over there on Friday and this result, that game, that goal, this award, I'm dedicating it to those ten beautiful souls who unfortunately perished on Friday, for all their families because I know they touched their lives.
"They certainly touched ours and this is for Creeslough, this is for Donegal, this is for Ireland."
Barrett's winning goal came with about 20 minutes to play and required a thought process as she raced through.
"Always take your first touch across the defender and I think my first touch took me away (from goal) after that," she said.
"I did the old reliable and just big-toed it. I just put it into the corner and the one thing going through my head as I was running through was the keeper doesn't come off her line so I couldn't chip her, so that ruled out the one thing I wanted to do. So I did the only thing I wanted to do then and scored."
The goal led to a tense finale as the Irish side looked to hold on and while the magnitude of the achievement was slowly sinking in, the impact on future generations was not lost on the player.
"It was the longest 20 minutes of my life when that goal went in," she said.
"I kept checking the clock every 30 seconds and it seemed like 10 seconds were going.
"But I've said it 100 times since the game finished, I do not know what we've just done. I can't believe it.
"This is for all the young kids growing up. Now they have something to dream for. I'm so happy to be part of this team."
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