- Abbie Larkin has brought immense joy to the people of her town, Ringsend as she made it to the Republic of Ireland’s Women’s squad
- She is the youngest player to make the team whose appearance at the 2023 competition happens to be their first
- Larkin had other interests in sports but stuck to her gut instincts to remain a soccer player and now, she is reaping the fruit of that decision
Ringsend’s Abbie Larkin made it to the Ireland National women’s squad in 2023 and the whole town went haywire. Not only does the women’s national team make it to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia in July 2023, their very own star player made the cut too.
Larkin skipped steps on her way up the ladder a couple of times so this new milestone at the age of 18 is no surprise. She is the youngest member of her team and also one of the youngest female soccer players in the World Cup.
Here are some facts about Abbie Larkin that would wow you…
Know These Interesting Facts About Republic of Ireland’s Abbie Larkin
1. She is Just 19 Years Old and Has Achieved so Much
Abbie Larkin was born on April 27, 2005, in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Her parents are Ethyl Larkin and Robert Larkin and she has an older brother named Brandon.
Robert was a musician way back in his days and so, Brandon took over from him and started off a musical career on his own. Ethyl was a homemaker basically, who took her time to watch over and tend to her kids. She is also related to Daniel Kelly, a professional Irish soccer player.
Abbie Larkin attends Ringsend College and manages to balance her career and school.
Ethyl and Robert’s job included encouraging their only daughter, Abbie, in her chosen soccer career. Though Ethyl isn’t fond of Australia, she and her husband are happy to make the trip there in July 2023 to support their daughter.
She started off playing soccer for the local team Cambridge FC in her youth career. Abbie was part of the team from then till she was 9, then she got admitted into The Metropolitan Girls League Academy.
The standard age for admittance was 11 years but given that Larkin was exceptionally good, she got in 2 years younger.
Her youth-level career was at Home Farm and then she eventually joined the Irish Association football club, Shelbourne.
By 2021, at the age of 16, Abbie was signed into the senior panel from the Women’s Under 17 National League team. Upon her debut, she made an impression by scoring despite being an 84th-minute substitute.
From then, her senior career stats began to spiral out of control as she further impressed her team.
2. Abbie Larkin had a Variety of Sports to Choose From, Growing Up
When she was much younger, Larkin knew exactly what she wanted to do. She knew she was born to play soccer but this did not stop her from experimenting with other sports and interests.
She played Gaelic games, tag rugby and even dabbled in boxing at the age of 6. She was quite good at boxing, she was offered an opportunity to be part of Michael Carruth’s gym but she turned it down. She knew it wasn’t for her and she didn’t enjoy other games as much as she did, soccer.
One sport she actually admitted to liking is horse riding. Although she doesn’t get a lot of time to ride horses, she enjoys it. The soccer player even confessed that when she gets a break from soccer, she would go back to horse riding.
This is one sport Ethyl doesn’t particularly enjoy because she watched her daughter fall off a horse one time.
Sports aside, hailing from a musical family was also something Abbie considered. She tried music, and learned how to play the guitar but always complained about sore fingers. She also learned how to drum and was quite good at that.
Given this, she can always fall back to music as she learned the basics of being a musician. However, soccer always comes first.
3. She Made a Controversial Club Switch from Shelbourne to Shamrock Rovers
When Abbie was first signed to Shelbourne, it was a dual signing. She debuted for the club in October 2021 and with her performances, she won another signing with the club in 2022.
Shelbourne had a successful 2022 Women’s National League competition and when it ended, they sought to retain one of their finest players.
Larkin initially signed with the club yet again but later moved to Shamrock Rovers. Shamrock Rovers was newly reformed at the time and they made away with Abbie and some other Shelbourne players.
This move was quite disappointing to Shelbourne who went petty in their reaction and response.
4. Dublin-born Abbie Larkin had a Song Composed for Her
Abbie Larkin was named part of the Republic of Ireland’s national women’s team. She and the other players would be representing the country for the first time in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
More interesting is the fact that a young teenager from the small town of Ringsend made the team.
Since the announcement and the build-up for the games, the people of Ringsend have shown their support for Abbie. Not only are they supportive, but they are also very proud of her and have shown it in various ways.
A group of musicians in the town took their time to compose a song for their girl, Abbie. There have been decorations at the stadium and arrangements for funfairs and to watch the games.
Even the pubs in the town have special offers for the people in support of Larkin.
Abbie Larkin has brought so much joy to her people and they are showing how proud they are. They would continue to do so no matter what the final outcome of all the matches would be.
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5. Abbie Larkin is a Coach back Home
During her free time, Abbie Larkin gives back to her community. She volunteered to be a coach for the young girls who aim to be soccer players as well. Given that she had people she looked up to, starting out, Abbie is giving the girls in her community something to look forward to.
She offers her coaching expertise every now and again and is glad to do so as the ‘little she can offer’.
In the same vein, the young Shamrock Rovers soccer player has been a part of Aviva Soccer Sisters. With the sisters, she also contributes to their camp aimed at increasing the number of female soccer players.
