Sister: ‘This is Denise’s dream’
When Denise O'Sullivan steps onto the pitch at Stadium Australia in Sydney today, she also steps into the history books as part of the first ever Irish women's team to play in a World Cup finals.
With an audience of over 80,000 in the stadium, and millions worldwide, she carries the nation's hopes on her shoulders. Those cheering her on the loudest will be her family in Knocknaheeny making sure their support for their younger sibling is heard all the way Down Under.
Denise’s older sister Sinead told the Cork Independent that reaching the World Cup is the realisation of a lifelong ambition for the sports star, and that she had her goals mapped out from a young age.
“When Denise was in primary school, the teacher asked the kids what they wanted to be. She said that she would like to play with Cork City, then go on to play with Ireland, then America and win the World Cup. She was just 8 years of age and now she has done everything she set out to do. She has 102 caps and she’s only 29, it’s amazing,” she said.
Sinead explained that her sister’s passion for football started at just the tender age of three. Denise, who is the youngest of 10, used to play with her older brothers outside their house. “In those days there were no PlayStations and you were thrown outside the door! She played with the five boys morning, noon and night. She just got stuck in,” she said.
From there, she went on to play with the local soccer team, New Farm. “That was a boys' team. She might have been 8 or 9 at that stage and she was the only girl playing with them, but she ran the pitch!” she added.
Sinead says that although the O’Sullivan clan can’t make it to Australia, they are in constant contact with her and she will have huge support back in the rebel county. “We are in touch with her all the time,” she said.
“We gave her a big farewell a few weeks ago, where she first kicked a ball outside my mother’s door. We have a lot going on for her and we will be cheering her on from the other side of the world,” she added.
Speaking about the nasty injury Denise suffered last week at a friendly match with Columbia, Sinead said that the family were distressed when they heard she had been hospitalised after the tackle. “We were very upset because this is her dream, she worked toward this her whole life and to have it potentially snatched away from her before the first game would have been horrific,” she said.
However, she is hopeful that Denise will make an appearance at the game today. “From her feedback, I think she will be playing. She’s done the training. It’s a very bad bone bruise, it’s painful, but it’s not going to keep her down. Those 1,000 candles that we lit for her have worked!”
While the entire nation supports her sister today, Sinead says the community that nurtured and supported her from the very beginning will be amongst the proudest people of all.
“Knocknaheeny is full of flags. There’s people there that have seen Denise play soccer all her life, who saw her at nine years of age and said she would be a star. They were on the journey with her and for them to see her get to this level and play at the World Cup, is fantastic. They are buzzing for her.”
If you want to join Denise's family cheering on the team, The Mardyke Complex is the place to be today. "We are going down to the Mardyke this morning at 10.30am," said Sinead. The match kicks off at 11am but the venue will be open from 10.30am to allow fans to get settled in before kick off. Avondale United will also have a viewing party at Cork Con with the Cork City FC Women’s players. Carrigaline United and St Vincent’s GAA will both be open from 10am for the game.
On Wednesday 26 July, the O’Sullivan clan will watch the match against Canada in Murphys Rock Bar on Ballincollie Road. Kick-off is at 1pm.
There will also be a Womens World Cup Watch Party free event organised by Munster Football Association at Turners Cross Stadium where gates will open at 12 noon.