Hockey Women's World Cup: Ireland making history with smiles on their faces

Ireland celebrated reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time

The tweet from Irish Women's Hockey simply read "World Cup semi-finalists!!!!! There are no words."

There's a dictionary full of adjectives that could be used to describe this momentous World Cup - historic, amazing, unbelievable, preposterous - but none do justice to what has gone on here at the Olympic Park over the last fortnight.

I was in Valencia in 2015 to report on the huge disappointment of a penalty shootout loss to China in the quarter-finals of the World League. It was a defeat that would cost Ireland's women a place at the Rio Olympics the following year.

Sport can be a cruel mistress, but from the lowest depths it can also provide the highest of highs.

It took many months for the squad to get over that heartbreak, but since then they have grown together and on Thursday evening it felt like life had come full circle and in another quarter-final, in another major tournament, in another shootout, the demons were finally exorcised when Chloe Watkins slammed home the winner with half a second to spare.

At a reception three weeks ago, where the players were presented with their World Cup jerseys by family and friends, coach Graham Shaw produced a motivational video about the journey to London and it began with a reminder of that game against China.

But it also recapped the big wins which saw Ireland qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years and how close this group of women had become.

There has not been a lot of player turnover. Ayeisha McFerran, Yvonne O'Byrne, Katie Mullan, Nikki Evans, Anna O'Flanagan, Megan Frazer, Shirley McCay, Lizzie Colvin, Hannah Matthews, Chloe Watkins, Nicci Daly and Gillian Pinder were all part of that squad in Valencia and since then the likes of Zoe Wilson, Lena Tice and Roisin Upton have only made it stronger.

While only two of the 18 women are over the age of 27, 13 of them have more than 100 caps. There are strong bonds.

Much has been written about the discrepancy in the budgets between Irish Hockey and a full-time programme such as England and all of that is true, but there is no substitute for commitment and sacrifice and being accountable to each other.

I am sure every member of the Irish squad would love to be paid handsomely for playing hockey instead of having to balance work or study with the requirements to be a player on the world stage. But these women are professional in every other sense of the word.

I am also pretty certain that every member of the England squad would gladly hand over their pay cheque to still be in this World Cup - their tears at going out of a home tournament in the last eight every bit as real as Ireland's were full of joy.

But what has set this Ireland team apart has been the sheer fun and enjoyment they have been having.

True, it is easy to say that when you are the 15th ranked of the 16 teams in the tournament. Some might even say it is a message to keep the opposition off guard or to relieve any pressure of playing on the big stage.

Actually, as I have discovered, it has not been just talk at all. They really have been walking around London with smiles on their faces and that has translated onto the pitch from the very first game against the USA when they played with a freedom that you don't always see.

Their post-match interviews are genuine and not the usual run of the mill platitudes from media-trained athletes that is so commonplace nowadays.

It's a squad full of personalities. Tice most certainly has a future in TV presentation, seizing the BBC Sport microphone and interviewing her team-mates - no rehearsal needed.

Ali Meeke's favourite singer is Justin Bieber, but Ali should probably stick to the hockey (and take a look at her penalty against India as she calmly slotted the ball through the goalie's legs!).

What has taken place over the past three weeks, whatever happens this weekend, has been the stuff of fairytales but of course for the players and management it has been a long and winding road for much, much longer than that.

This World Cup campaign is their reward for the hard work, the sacrifices, the early morning gym sessions, the dedication, the commitment.

This journey of dreams will end this weekend. But having been around this squad for three years I believe it's only the start with more special moments to come.