Republic of Ireland women's National team manager Vera Pauw has been commended for her 'brave' interview with Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late show this evening.
In a statement released earlier this year, Pauw said that she had been 'raped' and 'sexually abused' as a young footballer.
In the interview with Tubridy, Pauw spoke about why she released the statement how she has been coping since she went public about her experiences earlier this year.
"I've been okay," began Pauw, "But if you do something like that, you didn't do it because you like to go out. It's just because there was no other way after 30 years and after 10 years of trying to make people aware of it and nobody did anything, it was the only way that I could survive it - I could go on with my life."
Pauw also spoke to Tubridy about her fear of going public, and also the overwhelmingly positive reaction she has had from Irish people since she released her statement.
"The moment that I put out that statement, that was such a key moment in my life and I just pushed that button and I was sitting like this (as she shields herself).
"My phone was -ring, ring, ring- with all the retweets and I thought 'oh, what did I do?'
"And then my husband said, 'Vera you have to look at Twitter, you have to see Twitter.'
"I opened it, and it's still hard to talk about, I saw such a tremendous support from the Irish people.
"Everybody was embracing me and saying, 'come here and we will catch you, we will protect you.' Over 3,000 messages within an hour. That was all people that really thought about what I am going to write here.
"That kept me on my feet at that moment."
Many people were blown away by Pauw's 'brave' and open interview this evening. Taking to Twitter, plenty of people praised Pauw for her bravery and honesty.
"Well done@verapauw Loving the conversation about menstruation and woman’s sport. A fantastic interview with a wonderful advocate for women in sport. Honest, reflective, vulnerable, we are very lucky to have her," said one user.
"Vera Pauw is a remarkable woman for what she endured in her past. So brave of her for going public earlier in the year. She is surrounded by goodwill in this country. She's one of our own now," said another.
"Vera Pauw comes across as a really nice woman. Warm, genuine, brave & good at her job. Super role model," says another.
"What a wonderful person Vera Pauw is, it’s not hard to see how she has moulded a great group of players," said another user.
While another user tweeted, "Brave & Powerful stuff from@verapauw this evening on #LateLateShow Made a massive impact in sport and elsewhere for women through her approach & honesty."
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