'Excitement, surrealness' - New Ireland call-up proud to represent late grandfather
THE PHONE CALL confirming Erin Healy's first Ireland call-up last week was a special one.
It brought 'every emotion' for her and her family, the US-born attacker qualifying for the Girls In Green through her late grandfather, Hugh McGuire, originally from Clones, Co. Monaghan.
'It was an unreal experience, something I'd been working super hard for, something I'm super grateful for and it's exciting to be here,' says Healy on a Zoom call from Istanbul ahead of Friday's penultimate Nations League game against Türkiye.
'It was just an emotion of excitement, surrealness. Now I can just kind of play through my grandfather and make him proud. He passed away around eight years ago. I know he'd be excited for me.'
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Her mother, Maureen — McGuire's daughter — is particularly proud. 'She wanted to try to get out for one of the games in this camp but it's not going to work out this time.'
Healy's journey to this point has been interesting. The 42 mapped it last week: From La Mesa in San Diego to Adelaide United, where she caught Carla Ward's eye in the A-League Women's.
The 24-year-old came close to quitting football after college, instead focusing on her career as an accountant, but gave it another shot in the Portuguese top-flight with Club de Albergaria before pushing herself further in Australia.
'I fell in love with (football) again, I found the fun in it. And I think I'm at my best when I'm having fun. The Portuguese League showed I had more potential so I wanted to go to another team and another league to see how well I did there to see whether I continue soccer or finish it. I'm happy to be still here and still playing and now I want to make a career out of it.'
First day done for Erin Healy 🇮🇪💪 pic.twitter.com/3B8wYj3uQu — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) May 26, 2025
Healy has attracted interest from the WSL and NWSL recently, but today pledged her future to Adelaide United for the 2025/26 season.
The international dream now takes precedence: With a debut on the cards against Türkiye or Slovenia — in Páirc Uí Chaoimh next Tuesday — what can we expect from the new call-up? And what is she expecting?
'I like to be involved in a lot of the play and I like to be creative. I think I'm really inconsistent in the way I play, not inconsistent, but hard to read so I give a defender a lot to defend against.
'Just being able to play in different environments, and being able to perform in those environments, just shows that I can do well here as well.
'I just want to get my foot in the door and get comfortable. I'm ready to put my best foot forward and hopefully get some playing time. But you never know, whatever is needed from me.'
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