‘The people of Donegal will continue to be resilient, strong and tough’

The moment Amber Barrett scored the most important goal of her life, her first instinct was the people of Creeslough and 12 months later they are still very much in her thoughts.

This night last year Barrett wrote her name into sporting history with the goal against Scotland at Hampden Park that took the Republic of Ireland to a first-ever Fifa Women’s World Cup. 

The Milford native went from being a substitute in the 65th minute to scoring, what was then, Ireland’s most important goal ever, just minutes later. She dedicated the life-changing moment to those who lost their lives in Creeslough. The goal had an immense historical significance but was also a tribute to the people of Donegal.

She immediately reached for the black armband she and her teammates wore to remember the 10 people who lost their lives in the Creeslough tragedy.  

Barrett's mother Jacqui is from Doe Point, her father Shaun Paul is a former Donegal minor and U-20 GAA manager, while her brother Luke is a former Donegal minor boss and is now part of the new senior team manager Jim McGuinness’ backroom team and Kane, another brother, plays for Milford and has represented Donegal at various levels. 

“It is always going to be slightly overshadowed by what happened in Donegal the days previous and that's something I won't be forgetting anytime soon,” Barrett told DonegalLive.

“It is different if it is just something that happened in your county and you didn't know much about it but the fact Creeslough played such a big part in my upbringing, my grandparents were there and I knew so many people who were there and affected by it and unfortunately people that died in it as well 

“That's what comes from knowing small communities everybody knows everybody I think that's why it had such an impact on me 

“I have no doubt that what happened in Creeslough we had something in the universe that was behind us on that Tuesday night in Scotland to be able to get us to the World Cup.”

The goal, in many ways, was a life-changing moment for Barrett, who has since been transformed into a household name and even had a spot on the Late Late Show in March. At home in Milford, Fr Stephan Gorman, a native of Letterkenny, even moved the mass time with the Girls in Green at the World Cup earlier at 10 a.m.

“For me, that was the best sporting moment I have had,” she said of the goal in Glasgow. 

“It's going to take a lot for it to be topped but you know at the end of the day the days previous will always play in my mind in that way as well, I think in a way it's hard to compare them such a high on a footballing term and such a low life experience. It was the link between Donegal and what had happened and I suppose the momentous occasion of scoring the goal definitely did probably change my life a little bit.

“I’m definitely more well known around Donegal, even going into the local shop I’m stopped a lot more but things like that there women’s football, in general, has dramatically increased and I think it has definitely changed my life in a positive way.”

Amber also recognises the strength of the community and the people of Donegal and she believes it will continue to help them in difficult times.

“I just know the people of Donegal will continue to be resilient, strong and tough,” she said. 

“That’s the mentality we have and the mentality I carry with me every day while I’m embarking on my journey of being a professional footballer and hopefully others can do the same as well.

“I just know the Creeslough community is still rebuilding and it will take a little bit of time but the strength of the community there is so present every day and will continue to be like that. They will rebuild and hopefully over the next few years they will get answers about what happened and that might allow people to move on as best as they can.”

The 10 people who tragically lost their lives in the explosion were Leona Harper (14), Catherine O’Donnell (39) and her son James Monaghan (13), Robert Garwe (50) and his daughter Shauna Flanagan Garwe (5), Martin McGill (49), Jessica Gallagher (24), Hugh Kelly (59), James O’Flaherty (48) and Martina Martin (49).

The 27-year-old plays for Belgian club Standard Fémina de Liège, who are currently second in the Belgian Women's Super League, and scored twice on Saturday in a 3-2 defeat against Leuven. She continues to live life with a smile on her face.

“It has been very very good,” she added, of the experience in Belgium. “From the end of the World Cup, we were straight into it directly after so I didn’t get much time at home but it has been great to be over here and great to be playing. The team has been doing well, we didn’t have a good result at the weekend but the performances have been very good so hopefully over the next coming weeks we’ll pick up some positive results.”