‘Amazing journey' – Ireland icon retires from football after storied career where ‘best moments were in a green jersey'
LOUISE QUINN has announced her immediate retirement from football.
Quinn, 34, hangs up her boots having won 121 caps - behind only Emma Byrne and Denise O'Sullivan in the all-time list - in 17 years for Ireland, scoring 16 times.
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Celebrating with Leanne Kiernan after July's win over France which proved to be her final Ireland appearance
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She cited Ireland's historic 2023 World Cup journey as being among her most treasured moments in the game
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The towering defender was always a weapon aerially at both ends of the pitch
The centre-back said: 'Retiring was no easy decision and you go back and forth.
'When the time arrives that you need to write your retirement statement, they are the hardest words to find. But it is time for me to hang up the boots.
'There are so many reasons as to why or why not but it's just one of those things, when you know, you know.
'I have had the honour of playing with some incredible clubs, Blessington FC, Lakeside, Peamount United, Eskilstuna United, Notts County, Arsenal, Fiorentina and Birmingham City.
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'I've been through it all with these clubs; I've won, lost, been promoted, relegated, experienced liquidation, reached the Champions League with many headers scored and many tackles missed.
'But they all have all given me a chance to prove how much I love the game. And that's it, I love the game and I'm going to miss it.
'The Ireland team, that is the reason why I always wanted to play this game.
"Some of the best moments of my life have been in the green jersey. I've been part of something so special.
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'It's just been an amazing journey for me.
"It's been my whole life since I was 14 years of age, when I started at under-17 level, and I've just had the absolute privilege to play for 20 years for my country.
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'For me putting on the green jersey is, and will forever be, the most important thing and the best thing that I've ever done.
'Some of the proudest moments for me were stepping out on the pitch at the Aviva and there are 36,000 there or playing in the World Cup in Australia and most of the fans there are Irish, it really does not get better than that.
'The foundations were laid by legends of the women's team before me and for a short period I was lucky enough to play with a few of them too.
'Then it was up to us to continue that fight to put the Ireland team on the map on the international stage.
"We built, we fought, we were always a team, a group that would give everything to everyone in our Irish bubble. And the World Cup proved that dreams do come true.'
After making the breakthrough as a teenager with Peamount United, she captained the club to the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division title in the league's inaugural 2011-12 season and was named Team of the Season.
She moved to Sweden in 2013 and - bar a one-season stint with Fiorentina - has been based in England since 2017, winning the Super League and League Cup with Arsenal.
All but one of her goals for Ireland were headers but she had not lined out for Ireland since the 3-1 win over France last July.
She had not featured under new boss Carla Ward because of a hip injury which has seen her sidelined since October.
Although not wholly unexpected, her decision to hang up her boots will deprive the squad of yet more experience following the previous retirements of Niamh Fahey, Diane Caldwell and Julie-Ann Russell.
Last month, Ward spoke of her hope that the quartet could still have a role to play within the squad
She said: 'There's four massive leaders that can really help guide people off the pitch as well as on the pitch
'I'm still trying to work a solution where we get them in the environment in some capacity because I think that's really important.
'For example I spoke to one of them about potentially coming in and being a player liaison, a link between players and staff but being a sounding board for the players, particularly the senior players.
"That can be really powerful - really powerful.
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