Louise Quinn has returned to the Ireland Women's National Team squad to do what she can to ensure they win their final two UEFA Nations League group games.

The 121-times capped defender has not featured for the Girls in Green since July 2024 and even though she will retire from football this summer there is still more that she can bring.

SECURE YOUR SEAT FOR IRELAND VS SLOVENIA

WNT Head Coach Carla Ward has asked Quinn to pass on her leadership to the squad as they prepare to take on Türkiye on Friday (18:00 Irish Time) and then host Slovenia in Páirc Uí Chaoimh next Tuesday (KO 18:00).

The return to Cork for the WNT will be special considering how well the experience was last year with a 3-1 win over France. That was also Quinn's last involvement for Ireland, but the Wicklow native is not done yet.

“I'm here to play. I'm here to fight for my position. It's not going to be given to me, I absolutely know that. Carla (Ward) doesn't owe me anything in terms of being like, 'Oh we'll just play her just because of this.' No, it's not how it works and I wouldn't want it to work that way," said Quinn.

“For me it's going to be fighting back for my position that the girls I feel like have settled into really well, which is exactly what you want as well when you're almost 35. You need people to be able to fill that gap when me, Niamh (Fahey) and Diane (Caldwell) have gone. 

“We have really strong characters, we have leaders, we have personalities. It's now just trying to gradually step in for them to ease into some of these leadership roles that have been missing.

"We absolutely have some of the girls that it's natural to them and they probably do it at club level and now again, you're asking, okay, how about another step up, another level? Can you do it at an international level? And it's not going to happen like clicking your fingers. 

“But it's something that we have that we have. We have some really strong people, strong personalities and so for me I can see that the team has grown through this campaign. And I think that's what is most important, and now we've really got to get the results and back it up.” 

First up is the Türkiye game on Friday, but supporters are encouraged to turn out in Páirc Uí Chaoimh to cheer on Ireland and give Quinn the send-off that she deserves in what will be her final game on home soil.

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE
League B, Group 2

Türkiye v Ireland
Friday, May 30
Esenler Erok Stadium, Istanbul
KO 18:00 (Irish Time), 20:00 (Local Time)
Live on RTÉ2 / RTÉ Player

Ireland v Slovenia
Tuesday, June 3
Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
KO 18:00
Live on RTÉ2 / RTÉ Player