When looking at the players ahead of Ireland's World Cup debut last week, it was not difficult to see the pride they held at representing the country on such a stage.
The result was not the one you would have hoped for, although the performance against Australia suggested that there is still plenty to come from this side over the course of the tournament. Their passion both before and during the game was obvious, most notably during the national anthem.
Each and every member of the starting XI, including those born outside the country who only joined the squad recently, sang Amhrán na bhFiann with passion.
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It is a scene you can expect to see repeated during the upcoming games against Canada and Nigeria.
Ireland players using creative method to learn Amhrann na bhFiann
Sinead Farrelly has only been in the Ireland setup for a very short time, making her debut against the USA back in April before being included in the squad for the tournament in Australia.
The American-born midfielder has not had a huge amount of exposure to Ireland thus far, although she clearly felt it was important to learn the anthem ahead of the World Cup.
Speaking at to reporters in Australia, she revealed the creative method her and some of the other players in the squad had used to learn the song.
There's this middle part that I still don’t understand but I’ve been learning it phonetically.
It’s been really difficult and it’s been stressing me out because I’m like, if the camera is on me, I need to be able to get it right. So I still have to lock it down. But the first half is so in my brain and so it’s just finishing up.
I just think it’s important. When I’m out there with the girls before, they’re so loud and proud singing it and I just think that’s part of being on the team and showing my commitment and devotion to this. So it’s been important to learn it.
It’s just taking a little longer than I thought. It’s fun. And then you get to sing and feel like you’re participating and being part of the community.
I love singing and group singing is the best. And it reminds us that we're all here to play our heart out and have fun.
While the Irish language is not something she is familiar with, Farrelly and some of her teammate learned the lyrics in a phonetical manner in order to ensure they could sing it with the rest of the side at the World Cup.
With the easier option being to stand there silently, they deserve full credit for embracing everything that comes with representing Ireland at international level.
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