Boys and girls at the Tyrrelstown INTERSPORT Elverys Summer Soccer School camp welcomed Republic of Ireland Women's National Team Manager Vera Pauw to the fun.

Pauw, who cast her eye over the next generation at a Republic of Ireland WU17 assessment later in the day, spent the morning interacting at the Dublin 15 venue alongside Women's National Team Coach Jan Willem van Ede.

The sold-out camp took place at the Tyrrelstown Community Centre's All-Weather facility, which is shared by the local school and sporting groups. "There are many girls starting to play and these camps are fantastic for it because you can start enjoying and experiencing the game," said Pauw.

The Ireland WNT Manager was thrilled as both boys and girls spoke about going to her team at Tallaght Stadium and she hopes to see those friendly faces again once the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers kick off next month. "The fact that girls can aspire to something now because it is so bright and open. That is so healthy for the whole community," she said.

The FAI and Fingal County Council are looking at re-establishing Tyrrelstown Football Club, which closed in 2015. Both parties have been involved in getting the club back on track to cater for the enthusiastic footballers in the area.

Speaking at the INTERSPORT Summer Soccer School, Fingal County Council Senior Sports Development Officer Niall McGuirk was delighted to have so many participants at the camps. "We see the INTERSPORT Elverys FAI Summer Soccer Schools as the ideal programme to try and kickstart a football club in the area. Work is already underway to get that football club up and running again.

"We have six FAI Development Officers based in Fingal, one of which covers the Tyrrelstown area. We've approximately five clubs in Dublin 15 that have undertaken camps. We see them as a great way for getting kids participating in sport," McGuirk added.

FAI Development Officer for Fingal, Jamie Wilson spoke enthusiastically about football in the area. "The Summer Soccer Schools have showcased the huge demand for football in this area. All the camps have seen an increase on numbers this year with two camps remaining at St. Mochta's and Corduff FC next week. Most of the coaches are from Dublin 15 with one living just across the road from us here which shows a real pathway too."

Republic of Ireland Women's National Team commence their FIFA World Cup Qualification campaign away to Georgia on September 17th.

There are two remaining weeks of INTERSPORT Elverys Summer Soccer Schools with limited places remaining nationwide. To book your place visit https://bookings.summersoccerschools.ie/s/