Katie McCabe and Joanne Byrne stand up to be counted when it matters
Irish football should be grateful for these role models
Two Irish women who care passionately about their game. Two Irish women who stood up to be counted this week. Two football heroes. Take a bow Katie McCabe and Joanne Byrne.
On Tuesday evening, as the kids were coming for their tea in time to watch the national senior women’s team play Poland in Gdansk, Katie again proved her worth as one of the Irish game’s best players ever.
On Wednesday evening, slightly later than tea-time, Byrne proved that her love for the beautiful game is as evident when she’s playing political football as it is when she’s supporting Drogheda United now that the club owners have decided to dismiss her services as a volunteer.
Let’s start with Katie. Out of contract at Arsenal in the summer, the Tallaght native couldn’t have picked a better time to again lead by example as Carla Ward’s team held on against a late flurry from the hosts to beat Poland 3-2 in their World Cup qualifier.
Scorer of a quite brilliant second goal - and guilty of a late miss from the penalty spot - McCabe was described after the game as the best left-back in the world by Ward. High praise but not unreasonable.
Despite a suspicion that Katie herself would prefer to play higher up the field, she delivered again in this reluctant role on Tuesday. And not for the first time, we were left to wonder how well Katie McCabe would cope against her peers in the male game.
I’d suggest her spirit, her technique and her ability to snap at heels when it matters would have been right at home in the World Cup play-off in Prague last month. Alas current rules - that girls cannot play mixed football after 14 - dictate that speculation about the likes of Katie playing against male opposition will be forever that, pure speculation.
What can’t be denied is her influence on the next generations. Any young girl who watched Katie against Poland this week can only have been inspired to follow in her footsteps. And that will be Katie’s legacy, that she continually inspired those generations coming up behind her.
The same can be said of Joanne Byrne off the pitch. Last month, she was brave in her call-out to have the Euro 2028 games against Israel scrapped in protest at the crisis in Palestine. That bravery cost her the role of chairperson with her beloved Drogheda United no matter how the club try to paint it.
Yet she was brave again in the Dail on Wednesday when she called-out Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan for his patronising remarks and knee-jerk reaction to the recent and disgraceful flare issues at the opening of the new astro at Oriel Park when Dundalk played Drogheda in the Louth derby.
Byrne didn’t have to point out that a social media post on the Minister’s own account celebrated the use of pyros pre-match that night - and is still online - but she did highlight it as she vowed to continue to stand up and be counted for League of Ireland football despite her recent travails at United.
Thankfully, like Katie McCabe, Joanne Byrne is not afraid to tackle with a bit of bite. Irish football should be grateful to count these two women in our ranks.
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