Katie Taylor has paid tribute to Ireland's footballing heroes after celebrating watching some of her former teammates qualify for next year's World Cup.
Taylor won 11 senior caps with the Girls in Green between 2006 and 2009 before moving away from football to focus on boxing.
During that time, she played with the likes of Aine O'Gorman, Niamh Fahey and Louise Quinn, who are all Australia bound next summer.
Speaking on Vera Pauw's side becoming the first Irish women's team to qualify for a major tournament, Taylor said: "It was an amazing moment – amazing scenes to watch. I think they have been chasing that goal for a long, long time. What an amazing team as well – there have some fantastic players. "
During her time in a green jersey, Taylor and her teammates could only dream about playing at a World Cup, but the undisputed lightweight champion was thrilled to see the current crop of players make history by beating Scotland.
She added: "It was always on the horizon for any player that was there. But we always fell short. I don’t think we ever went close when I was there – we didn’t even make the play-offs.
"This group of players who are playing now are a fantastic group of players – they are just phenomenal. There are some of the best players in the world there – the likes of Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan."
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