Denise O'Sullivan has been a winner all her career 

FROM the terraces of Knocknaheeny to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Denise O’Sullivan has shown what is possible for all young footballers from all across Cork city and county to achieve with hard work, determination and a bit of luck along the way.

When she started out with Wilton United, the best the Irish Women’s National Team could do was a place in the play-offs for the 2009 European Championships.

Now the team is off to the biggest event that the sport has to offer, and they will walk out at a sold out at Stadium Australia with O’Sullivan a big reason why they are there.

And she goes into the tournament as Ireland's most important player.  If Denise plays well, then Ireland have a chance in every game they play.

She set up Amber Barrett to score the only goal of the World Cup play-off with Scotland at Hampden Park last October. 

The midfielder saw space and the movement of the striker, and put through a perfectly weighted pass for Barrett to run onto.

For those who know her, that level of finesse and temperament is just another part of O’Sullivan’s game, something that she first used to win the FAI Women’s U14 National Cup with Wilton United back in 2008.

She captained a squad that had future League of Ireland players Ciara McNamara and Amanda Budden. 

Amy O’Connor, who was an Irish amateur international before switching to camogie on a full-time basis, was also in the group. 

Their leader was in the middle of the park and she made sure they navigated a tricky route to the final that brought Wilton United up against Rathkeale, Aisling Annacotty, Salthill Devon, and Eurkea of Kells.

O’Shea Park in Blarney hosted the final and O’Sullivan scored the first goal by knocking in a corner that Laura Murphy sent in. 

When the game went 2-1 and Longford were pushing for an equaliser, the captain took it upon herself to win the game.

After seeing a volley go narrowly wide, she turned in another corner and that made it 3-1 with just two minutes left to play.

Three years later, O’Sullivan almost rounded off her time with Wilton United with success in the Women’s FAI Cup. 

They faced St Catherine’s from Dublin at Turner’s Cross and went into the game leading the CWSSL Premier Division.

It wasn’t to be as St Catharine’s won 3-1, and O’Sullivan went on to play in the newly formed Women’s National League with Peamount United and later Cork Women’s FC.

That was just the first act, with her story continuing in Scotland with Glasgow City in the SWPL. 

O’Sullivan won three league titles in a row, and back to back trebles in 2014 and 2015. 

She also helped the club break new ground by becoming the first Scottish club to reach the quarter finals of the Women’s Champions League.

Her ultimate reward came from the bench, as she was voted Glasgow City Players' Player of the Year, Coaches' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

She is also a former Echo Women in Sport supreme award winner.  This paper recognised her talents a long time ago.

O’Sullivan’s work in Scotland earned her a move to the United States, and she joined Houston Dash in 2016. 

She went from there to North Carolina Courage, where she remains to this day.

The midfielder has won two league titles in the United States, and this helped established North Carolina Courage as one of the best teams in the NWSL.

While all of this was going on, O’Sullivan was gathering Republic of Ireland caps as the team began campaigning for a place at a first major tournament.

The squad changed the national conversation surrounding women’s football, and O’Sullivan has been right in the middle of that cultural shift since she marked her Irish debut by scoring a brace against Wales in a qualifier for the 2013 European Championships in Newport.

The FAI recognised O’Sullivan’s role in the team by naming her Senior Women’s Player of the Year in 2015 and 2020.

This was followed by her 100th cap, which she earned against the United States in Austin, Texas in April 2023.

The general feeling with her career trajectory was that it was all building to one moment. 

That is set to be realised at Stadium Australia when Ireland take on the hosts on the opening day of the tournament.

There should be some sense of pressure with this, but that will mean nothing to O’Sullivan. 

It’s the same game that she learned with her siblings on the terraces in Knocknaheeny playing with her brothers.

The only difference is the size of the pitch and the noise from the stands.

To O’Sullivan, this will mean absolutely nothing different. It will be the same as it always was and is for the Cork superstar.

It might as well be Pat Bowdren Park on the Lee Road. 

Or back on in Knocknaheeny, trying to get the better of her brothers John Paul and Mark in one of those games they played as kids many years ago.

She is one of our own and we wish her well.