The fans drowned out the music…
Ireland lost out to a very good Holland team in the women’s hockey World Cup Final on Sunday, but they can be immensely proud of what they achieved.
Going into the World Cup, Ireland were ranked 16th in the world, and facing a group of the USA (7th), India (10th) and England (2nd), nobody gave them much of a chance of progressing.
Fast forward to Sunday where they’d conquered all and were faced with a stern Holland (1st). They were facing arguably one of the greatest teams ever in the sport. A team who is professional, with adequate funding.
Prior to the game, Ireland’s Call was played and the noise from the crowd is a terrific judge of just how many people went to support the team in the biggest day of their playing careers.
The video was captured by Mark Kavanagh, video analyst for the team.
Ireland’s performance has made people sit up and take notice. Earlier on Monday, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross announced that an additional €1.5 million in funding will be made available for teams preparing for the Olympics and World Championships. Much of this money is to go to the women’s hockey team.
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