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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark Donlon

Katie McCabe sends birthday message to partner and Ireland teammate Ruesha Littlejohn

Republic of Ireland women's football star Katie McCabe took to Instagram to wish her partner and Ireland teammate Ruesha Littlejohn a happy birthday.

The Irish duo are enjoying some downtime in the off-season after their club campaigns drew to a close.

McCabe stars for Arsenal while Littlejohn plies her trade for Aston Villa.

READ MORE: Fans hail 'best footballer on the planet' Katie McCabe after stunning hat-trick

Posting on Instagram, McCabe paid tribute to her partner.

She said: "Happy birthday my love."

The pair have been together since 2016 and McCabe previously described how she knew it was love after a holiday the couple enjoyed in 2017.

She said: "It was our first holiday for me, I could just kind of get that feeling.

"But even as corny and cheesy as it sounds I remember even seeing Ruesha for the first time and thinking, "Oh my God!" It's indescribable the feeling you have."

The Arsenal ace also revealed that their first date went from milkshakes to cocktails as the pair hit it off.

She explained: "It was in St Alban's where we live currently.

"Ruesha's sister lives down there and she was visiting her for a weekend and we went for a milkshake together.

"We ended up buying the milkshakes, and chucking them in the bin and going and having a cocktail instead.

Katie McCabe and her partner, Republic of Ireland striker Ruesha Littlejohn (Instagram/rueshalj)

"It was a weekend off football so we went for the cocktail instead. It was a good time."

McCabe and Littlejohn are current stars in Vera Pauw's Republic of Ireland senior women's team.

The side currently sit in second place in Group A as they bid to qualify for the World Cup.

They sit eight points adrift of group leaders Sweden, who have played one game more than Pauw's charges.

They will be back in action once again this September when they take on Finland.

McCabe previously explained that she and Littlejohn do not let their own relationship impede on their progress with the national team.

She said: "We're both very passionate about it, obviously our drive is to win trophies and qualify for championships with the Republic of Ireland.

"We're both very driven in that sense.

"Don't get me wrong, we've clashed heads a few times over certain games and training sessions but that's part and parcel of the game.

"We're very professional when we are playing football, that's our main focus. We can relax then when we get back home."

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