Ireland’s second-greatest goalscorer behind Robbie Keane worked in a vacuum for women’s soccer, but is glad to see Ireland finally reaching the World Cup and reaching a wider fanbase
“I’d go around and ask for them to be put up in their shops for our games, club and country. The only people going to our matches then were families and friends. We had to do our own publicity,” she recalls.
Her name and her talents quickly spread beyond the flats, but you don’t get bigger than Sheriff Street; you aren’t allowed get too big for whatever boots you are wearing. The streets won’t let that happen. “I could have gone down that road, but thankfully I didn’t. I always say, it’s left or right, you pick the right path or the wrong one. If I’d picked the wrong path, I wouldn’t be speaking to you today. Many of my friends who went the other way are dead now.
When she thinks back to her childhood, some of her happiest memories are sitting down with her dad to watch Match of the Day on Saturday nights. He loved football, so she did too. He was a Man United fan; naturally she was, too. He adored George Best; she followed suit.It was their thing, what they talked about. But soon it was her that was getting talked about in football circles. Word had spread through the football community in Dublin: the kid was special.
But for all the goodwill towards the Irish women’s team right now, O’Toole has been surprised by the tone of some comments tossed in her direction. “I wrapped my arms around her. ‘Are you all right? Welcome to the team, you’re here on merit, I’m looking forward to training with you.’ Just like that, you could see the relief in her,” recalls O’Toole.
“You hear something and see something different every day,” she continues. “My job is a pleasure, I actually love working in it.” “Even when I watch the girls on the telly, I’d be sitting with the family and as soon as the anthem comes on, I’m up on my feet singing my brains out.
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