MARIE Crowe has given birth to her fourth child and first daughter in what she dubbed ‘the best day’.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, the RTE Sport presenter profusely thanked the staff at the Coombe Hospital for helping to deliver her newborn Jessie on Saturday.
Crowe is a regular across RTE’s sporting coverage but specialises in football[/caption]
She joked her sons were already curious as to whether Jessie will be a left-footed or right-footed baller[/caption]
Husband and former Laois Gaelic footballer Billy Sheehan cradling their new addition to the family[/caption]
They are now a family of six as Jessie joins brothers Timmy, Billy and Davie[/caption]
Amid a series of heartwarming family photos, she said: “The best day. Jessie joining the gang 15-3-25.
“Her brothers wondering what her kicking leg will be when she is just one day old.
“Staff in the Coombe hospital are absolute legends.”
The accomplished broadcaster is adept at covering a wide range of sports as evidenced by her being congratulated by figures from across the sporting spectrum.
Meath GAA/AFLW ace Vikki Wall, jockey superstar Rachael Blackmore, Ireland hockey star Naomi O’Carroll and former soccer stalwart Aine O’Gorman were just some of the familiar faces to react to her uplifting Instagram post.
O’Gorman herself is in the midst of welcoming a newborn into the world as her partner Rachel gave birth earlier this month.
In a sweet photo on Wednesday, the former Peamount United winger was seen smiling for the camera while cradling their new arrival.
Many of her ex-Ireland teammates were quick to react to the lovely post.
Katie McCabe wrote: “Congratulations to you both.”
Louise Quinn, who herself became a mother only a fortnight ago, labelled Emily ‘beautiful’ while Chloe Mustaki was also smitten with her ‘amazing’ bundle of joy.
Stephanie Zambra and Leanne Kiernan were also over the moon with each commenting a series of heart emojis.
The Ireland WNT are next in action on April 4 and 8 in a Nations League double-header against Greece.
They’ll be seeking to rectify a poor start under Carla Ward that saw a patchy 1-0 home win over Turkey followed by a 4-0 drubbing in Slovenia.
Their male counterparts will be equally aiming to salvage their Nations League campaign this evening by avoiding relegation to League C.
Longtime colleague turned Fine Gael senator Evanne Ni Chuilinn got to say hello to Jessie too[/caption]
Their first leg against Bulgaria takes place in Plovdiv with Sunday the date of the return leg in the Aviva Stadium.
Ahead of tonight’s game it is clear that boss Heimir Hallgrímsson does not subscribe to the theory that relegation in the Nations League might be no bad thing.
That school of thought highlights that it would provide better opportunities for favourable results and, potentially, qualification for Euro 2028, although that should come automatically as tournament co-hosts.
But, for Hallgrímsson, whose only positive results to date have come against Finland, he could do without his side acquiring the reputation of being one on the slide.
The 57-year-old argued: “Does it matter? My thoughts are, we need to play good opponents day in and day out to develop as a team.
“That’s why group B is important for us, there are differing views on it and I respect that.
“But I think it’s really important to stay in group B and play higher ranked opponents.
“Experiment? Yes, we have players who don’t have caps and we’d like to see them in action, we called in players we feel are ready to play, that’s why we bring them in.
“It’s also a time to give players a chance, but it’s not like we will lose anything or risk anything in this game, as a group we like to stay in group B and compete with better teams.”
