Retiring defender Louise Quinn said she gave “every bit” of herself to the Republic of Ireland squad after making her final international appearance in the Women’s Nations League win over Slovenia.
The hosts in Cork needed to win by four goals to secure top spot and automatic promotion to League A but Saoirse Noonan’s early goal was the only one of the game.
The result means that Slovenia move up to the top tier as group winners and Carla Ward’s team will instead face a third-place side from the top tier in their play-off.
“First of all, we had to win the game, and we wanted to try win it by four,” Quinn told RTE Sport.
“It’s about building and going forward, and we did that after leaving ourselves with a tough task after the first game against Slovenia.
“That first-half performance was excellent, and I think with the way it is going, it is going to be really good for us.”
Before the final two Nations League fixtures of this campaign, Quinn announced she would retire this summer and received a warm send-off from the crowd in Cork as well as from her team-mates.
The 34-year-old, who has spent the last four years with Birmingham City, made 122 appearances for the Republic of Ireland including playing every minute of her side’s games in their first ever World Cup appearance in 2023.
“I said to the girls that this is the best shirt you are going to wear in your lifetime and your career, and it is the proudest thing that you can do,” the centre-back added.
“I felt like I honoured that a lot and I have loved every minute.
“I gave every bit of myself to this team throughout the years as I just wanted it so bad for those girls, and it’s been the proudest time of my life.”
Quinn’s decision follows on from Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey and Julie-Ann Russell all confirming their own retirements over recent months.
Republic of Ireland will now play a friendly double-header against the USA later this month before their Nations League play-off in October.
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